For dissociative trauma survivors, Mothers Day is often a painful time. For survivors with Dissociative Identity Disorder, mother issues are usually complex and difficult to sort out. Momma-trauma comes in a variety of forms. So many, many different kinds of Momma trauma. That in itself is so very sad. Here are three possibilities to consider. For some survivors, their mothers were … [Read more...]
Abandonment — A Painful, Tender Hurt for Dissociative Trauma Survivors
Abandonment is such a tender issue for trauma survivors. Most survivors with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID/MPD) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) have had more than their fair share of genuine abandonment instances. For severe trauma survivors, abandonment would have been experienced over and over in various situations: Each time your parents or caregivers turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse … [Read more...]
HBO’s “In Treatment” – Is That What Therapy is Like?
How many of you have been watching the award-winning HBO Series, "In Treatment" with Gabriel Byrne, Dianne Wiest, and John Mahoney? This HBO series is currently near the beginning of its second season, centered around how Dr. Paul Weston (Byrne) conducts therapy sessions with four different clients, and then his own individual therapy process with his own therapist, Dr. Gina Toll (Wiest). In my opinion, the "In … [Read more...]
United States of Tara – Going too Far
Okay. So I was all kinds of optimistic and hopeful that the Showtime series, United States of Tara, would be a positive statement for Dissociative Identity Disorder. After all, Showtime interviewed Dr. Richard Kluft, an informed psychiatrist, one of the founding fathers of the treatment of DID/MPD. That was a good sign, wasn't it? Well. As a trauma therapist with 20+ years of clinical experience working with … [Read more...]
Child Parts – When They Hold Suicidal Power and Influence
We've had some very interesting discussions on the "What do you think about Suicide?" blog article. Thank you to everyone who writes and comments on this blog - your participation is valued and appreciated. One of the topics that surfaced on that thread is the idea that trauma survivors with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID/MPD) may have child parts within their system that can be suicidal, and that the ability … [Read more...]