ABOUT THE BOOK
Introduction Imagine a young child free of organic disorder or chemical imbalance, and innocent of what life has to offer, yet so traumatized by the most horrific environmental encounters that the child’s only salvation is to constantly escape into a world of his/her own making - a place to hide until yet another brutal storm passes. Now imagine these storms in the form of the most hideous physical and emotional abuse occurring day after day, month after month, year after year, with no end in sight and no place to turn. Such is the early lives of many individuals who we may later come to recognize as suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder. Dissociative Identity Disorder, or as it was formerly known, Multiple Personality Disorder, is characterized in DSM 1V as the presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states (each with its own relatively enduring pattern of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and self) that recurrently take control of the person’s behavior, leaving the individual unable to recall important personal information that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness. These distinct identities or alternate personalities initially appear to serve to protect the individual from enduring consistent and persistent trauma, but in the long run leaves the individual without a cohesive personality structure with which to relate to the environment and others. Developmentally, DID is understood to arise during childhood as the result of an interaction between consistent/persistent trauma and the child’s normal capacity to fantasize, dissociate, and engage in imaginative play. Theory suggests that the child escapes into fantasy to avoid severe distress until, through repeated reinforcement; the altered state develops an elaborate history and set of behaviors that can eventually be recognized as a distinct and alternate state of consciousness. DID is estimated to affect approximately 1-2% of the population, and those suffering experience a range of symptoms including loss of time, severe anxiety, and impaired social functioning. Mrs. Kingston-Koerner also offers some frank and valuable observations to all professionals who have had the opportunity to work with DID clients. She does this by offering her own observations of the therapist-client relationship as well as the general view of DID in the professional community. Mrs. Kingston-Koerner’s account of her experience with DID is genuine, heartfelt and scholarly. It serves to enrich both our clinical and professional knowledge of dissociative disorders. In the chapters that follow one woman, unequalled in courage and fortitude, successfully combines science, social commentary, and her own personal horror to offer a unique insight into the experience of dissociative identity disorder. It not only captures the interest of the reader, but compels one to attempt to understand and reflect upon the different perspectives of the “alters” and how their very different ways of relating to the world create chaos for the sufferer. David Miller, Ph.D. FROM THE AUTHOR Feel free to e-mail me with questions or on where to obtain the book. You can also find it on the web.
