What's New for You? 8 More resources for Dissociative Trauma Survivors!

Starting a new year. — Image by Lars Borris Jensen .

Hello hello! Happy New Year!

Wowzers — it’s already the end of one decade, and the start of a new decade. That’s okay, because I have a lot of good news to tell you about what’s gonna be here in this New Year at Discussing Dissociation. We are in our 11th year, and our DD Community is continually growing, and expanding to include new people, with new needs, new questions, new concerns. I have 8 resources to announce! So yep, thanks to you, we’re building even more resources and services for dissociative trauma survivors and their loved ones. Do you wanna know what’s new for you in 2020?

1. A New and Improved DID Community Forum

First, let me smile and carry on for a bit about the Forum. I am so so so pleased and happy with how the Discussing Dissociation Community Forum (DDCF) is growing, building, and developing. We have an excellent group of dissociative folks in our forum, and they chatter about all kinds of stuff. They have joke threads, they have support threads, they have playful threads, they have heartbreaking threads. They speak of grief and loss. They speak of joy and triumphs, confusion and clarity, struggles and successes. They write about therapeutic gains, and therapeutic challenges. The forum members are real people from of all stages of the dissociative healing process, and they genuinely each help each other.

It’s really good to see. I’m so proud of our DDCF community, I really am!

And yes, OF COURSE, there is still room for you, so if you are interested in checking out the DID Forum, click HERE.

We’ve recently upgraded to a better forum platform, and have wrinkled out most of the crinkles. It’s working good, it’s easy to read, it’s user-friendly, it’s gentle on the eyes, and we love it. However, there’s always room for improvement, and I’m sure that we’ll continue to add new bits and pieces as we find ways to grow.

- - What friendly DID community do you belong to — do you have one?
  - Do you have enough support?
  - Do you have enough people in your life who understand what it’s like to live life as a multiple with many inside people?
  - If you’ve answered no to those questions, DDCF is a great place for you to try.

2. The Discussing Dissociation Educational Forum

The EDUCATIONAL side of the Forum will be opening in a few weeks.

DDEF, the Educational Forum, is different from DDCF, the Community Forum.

Yep, it’s been a long wait, but Laura and I are already working on DDEF now, and we will have that side of the Forum ready for you very soon.

The Educational Forum will be exactly that. DID Education. It will be a place where Laura and I do our best to teach more about DID, explain what helps with the dissociative healing process, how to improve communication with your insiders, and why to do all that inside work. We won’t be there in the forum as anyone’s individual therapists — think of this forum more like two teachers, each having their own classroom, teaching information about Dissociative Identity Disorder. Laura and I will each be doing our best, using our years of experience to answer the questions that you have for us.

More about DDEF later, but do know that’s it’s already being built, right now.

- - Do you have questions about the DID healing process that you can’t get answered?
  - Are you interested in learning more about what works vs what doesn’t work?
  - Are you tired of talking to people who say DID is rare, who dismiss your multiplicity, and don’t address your concerns accurately?
  - If you’ve answered yes to any of those questions, DDEF could be the place for you!

3. The Support for Spouses Forum

Yep, the DID spouses and partners forum is opening in 2020. We are super excited about opening up areas specifically for those who love and care for their dissociative spouse, dissociative partner, or dissociative family members. Sometimes the dissociative person doesn’t have answers for their partners. They can’t explain it. Or they are amnesiac for what you’re talking about, so they really don’t know.

Or maybe the partner needs support for themselves, to have a place to vent, to have a place to ask their own questions, to talk about their own issues that get stirred up. If you live with a dissociative person, or have frequent contact with someone who is DID, you will need to accurately understand DID in order to live comfortably with your person. What you do, can help or can hurt your dissociative loved one.

The Support for Spouses forum will be a place to talk about all of that.

- - Are you concerned about your dissociative loved one, and feeling alone with those issues?
  - Are you wondering how to help your dissociative partner, and struggle with what to do?
  - Do you need your own place to vent about the wild and unusual things that are happening in your home?
  - If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, the Support For Spouses Forum could be right for you.

4. Weekly (or Monthly) Email Support

As you know, Laura has been providing individual Email Consultations for quite some time. We understand that many survivors, or the loved ones of survivors, need regular, dependable, consistent, and ongoing support as they struggle with their issues. A single email helps, of course, but lots of emails will help lots more!

With that in mind, Laura has started offering weekly (or monthly) Email Subscriptions. Each week, you can send an email to Laura and get a response back. At this time, Laura is willing to customize this service to match each person. You can select the length of reply, the frequence of exchange, so pricing can vary, depending on how much or how little email support you want. Laura can tailor each email subscription to match your specific individual needs. And yes, an ongoing email subscription will be more economical for you than a single-purchase email consultation.

- - Do you prefer to write, and express your concerns through text instead of with voice?
  - Do you feel too shy or overwhelmed to leave your home but still need ongoing support for your dissociative issues?
  - Do you wish you had someone to write to who understood the complexities of DID life?
  - If you have answered yes to any of these questions, an ongoing DID email support service could be beneficial for you. Please email and contact us for more information.

5. Video Consultations with Kathy Broady, MSW

As you know, I’ve been doing Phone Consultations for many years. These are great, and thank you to all of you who have spoken with me over the phone. This year, I will be setting up a Video Consultation option for those people who prefer face-to-face contact. Seeing the person you are speaking with may be helpful, and can make the conversation feel more real, and it allows me to see your inside parts as well as hearing your inside parts.

These Video Consultations can be scheduled with yourself, and/or with your local therapist, and/or with you while you are with your local therapist. We can coordinate ways to talk about what’s going on for you, especially if you are feeling stuck or lost on certain issues.

- - Do you want to see who you are talking with?
  - Do you want me to be able to see your various system parts when they come out to the front?
  - Do video conversations feel more real to you than telephone conversations?
  - If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, a video consultation may be right for you.

6. In-Person, Intensive Consultations with Kathy Broady, MSW

Yes, you are reading that right. Have you ever wanted to meet with me for an hour, or even for few hours, or for an extended period of time, and have your very own in-person intensive consultation?

I am open to doing exactly that!

All In-person Consultations are tailored to fit your individual situation, and are designed to do what works best for you. I am willing to creatively match what you need with the goal of helping many of your system people have a positive healing experience. These session times will be designed to match your needs, to promote healing for your entire system, and to do as much healing work as you can manage. Because I already understand DID and how it works, you will save a lot of time, as I will most likely understand what you’re talking about.

- - Do you have an afternoon, or a day, or a week to dedicate to your healing process?
  - Are you able to work safely, but intensively with your dissociative system?
  - Would you like to do a huge amount of healing in a concentrated chunk of time?
  - If you’ve answered yes to any of those questions, an In-person Intensive Consultation could be right for you. Please email and contact us for more information.

7. More Videos! or More Puppies! or More Bears!

Oh, have you seen the latest video on the Discussing Dissociation playlist?

First — let me give you a heads up. In the video, these adorable little puppies get quite loud in their singing. They were only 2 weeks old, and they were just learning how to use their voices. So you know, their voices were making all kinds of weird sounds at this age. Keep your volume controls nearby as sometimes they get a little loud! But you know, they are just soooooo cute!

This little video hints to a few things, and if I can get to all this, I’m gonna be busy!

Well, one thing is for sure. This video does NOT hint that Pinky will have any more puppies. I am sad to say that Pinky’s years of being a puppy-momma have had to come to an official end. Pinky has been the most beautiful of momma’s to all her little ones, but she has reached the age where she needed to retire from all that mommy-busy-ness, and now she can enjoy her days playing with Pixie and Joe. Sadly, no more puppies for Pinky, but don’t you worry — I still have lots more puppy pictures to share.

So what does this new video mean?

- - Does it suggest there will be more videos for the YouTube channel? Well, of course.
  - Does it suggest another Hiddenton Bear story pack is coming? Oh, that needs to happen too, yes.
  - Does it suggest more puppy stories and more puppy videos? Oh, I sure hope so! I have some creative ideas in my mind about that too!

8. A new look for Discussing Dissociation Blog

Yes, the DD blog will soon have a new look! I’ve already picked out the new site theme, and I am thoroughly convinced it will be better, more user-friendly, and easier to navigate. I haven’t got this big event scheduled just yet, but I will certainly let you know ahead of time so the change will be announced. I think you will like the new and improved site. Stay tuned — I’ll let you know more when I know more.

Oh, there are more things, but 8 is enough to mention today.

I’m going to be busy this year, that’s for sure. And that’s great!

Would you like to join me in any of those resources?

You are welcome to be part of this exciting stuff too!

As you can see, we are busy and growing and thriving here at Discussing Dissociation. There’s never a dull moment, and there is no shortage of good ideas around here.

Who knows what else 2020 will bring!

What are YOU doing in 2020?

Which resource will you check out first?

I hope you find some, or several of these resources helpful for YOU, and that you share this information with anyone else you know who is looking for more support and guidance about Dissociative Disorders.

And please remember, if you need any further information or have questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to email and contact us.

I wish you, and all of yours, the best in your healing journey.

Warmly,

Kathy