Dissociative Identity Disorder Summary

Eye movement desensitization and reprogramming, or EMDR, therapy is a controversial treatment forcing on people with post-traumatic stress disorder. In order to treat the trauma related problems, this method of therapy focuses on having the patient reliving the distressing event in order to think it is in a more logical and structured way. In Bruce Bower’s article EMDR: promise and dissent: new research enters debate over a highly touted trauma therapy – eye movement desensitization and reprogramming, he takes the readers through a typical therapy session by explaining that, “ A session of EMDR usually lasts about 90 minutes. The client first thinks about the earlier trauma and comes up with an image from the incident. He or she then chooses a current negative belief that goes with the image and a desired positive attitude toward it. A sexual abuse survivor, for instance, might come up with “I am damaged for life” and “I’m safe now,” respectively.” One unique aspect of EMDR is how this technique incorporates the use of body through rapid side to side eye movements and alternating sounds or taps on a series of body points. As the participant imagines the trauma and discussing the emotions and stress levels, the therapist simultaneously conducts the particular sensation to body such as holding up two fingers and moving them back and forth.

Treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder is possible. The current treatment of PTSD encompasses several types of psychotherapy combined with a medication regimen. Cognitive therapy is one type of therapy used to combat PTSD. The goal of cognitive therapy is to allow the patient to slowly experience feelings, thoughts, and events associated with the trauma in a controlled setting. This allows the PTSD sufferer, to categorize the traumatic feelings associated with the event and assign a more positive meaning to them. Thus providing a coping mechanism. Another school of thought places the therapeutic focus on gradually exposing the PTSD sufferer to elements of the trauma. The goal is to desensitize the patient to the traumatic event. This allows the patient to resume a normal life. One other form of therapy used in treatment of PTSD is EMDR. EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a form of exposure therapy that places the emphasis on guided eye movements. The theory is that the movements help retrain how the brain reacts to memories of the traumatic event. Success has

EMDR therapy, EMDR uses an eight-phase approach, referring to the past, present, and future aspects of the traumatic experience, and dysfunctional stress stored memories. The first Phase calls History and Treatment Planning. In this phase the therapist listens the patient's history and develops a treatment plan. In Phase II, the preparation, the therapist teaches the patient how to calm down him/herself with the help of relaxation techniques. The phase III is Assessment in which the therapist asks the patient to visualize the image of the disturbing event, then asks him/her to develop a positive cognition associating with that image. In Phase IV, Desensitization, the patient  focuses on the disturbing memories during short sessions of 15-30 seconds. At the same time, he/she also focuses on the alternative stimulation such as directed eye movements, slapping hands, or voices. This process repeats  many times until the patient's reaction to the target memory becomes less distressed. In Phase V, Installation, the therapist again with the use of bilateral stimulation asks the patient to remember the event about which the positive cognition is developed in the phase III, and makes sure that

Dissociative identity disorder is a condition of mystery that is not clearly understood because of its way of presenting in a patient. In this research article there will be in depth analysis of the condition that is so publically recognized by Hollywood but at times ignored by medical professionals. There will analysis of demographics and who is affected more; male or female will also be looked at closely. There will also be a review of what factors predispose individuals to Dissociative Identity Disorder, and how it is diagnosed. There will also be information of how the disorder is treated via therapy and medication. The usual signs and symptoms will also be discussed and

According to Sharf, (2008) the eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) was designed to treat posttraumatic stress disorder. EMDR requires that the clients visualize an upsetting memory and accompanying physical sensations. The clients repeat negative self-statements that they associate with the scene. The procedure is repeated again and again until the client’s anxiety is reduced. EMDR focuses on desensitizing strong emotional reasons in clients and help them to reframe their belief systems to accommodate new emotional states (Sharf, 2008).

Since being introduced in 1987, EMDR is the most commonly utilized with patients experiencing PTSD or other anxiety disorder. EMDR is considered a form of exposure therapy characterized by the integration of visualization, desensitization, and reprocessing Greyber, L. , Dulmus, C. , & Cristalli, M. (2012). Originally designed for adult patients, EMDR protocol has been adapted for children who suffered trauma including PTSD with mixed results.

[When applying this type of therapy to treating a client with post traumatic stress disorder, EMDR is a reasonable choice because… ]

EMDR aims to process the ‘frozen’ information of the traumatic event by identifying and concentrating on the distressing experience whilst directing attention to the therapist’s hand movements which elicits back-and-forth eye movements. The rapid eye movement (REM) hypothesis posits that the back-and forth eye movements used in EMDR produce a brain state similar to that produced during REM sleep which is known to generate essential functions such as memory consolidation (Stickgold, 2002). Hence, the eye movements would facilitate and allow for further information processing of the traumatic event which would, consequently, reduce the chronic and distressing symptoms of PTSD (Solomon & Shapiro, 2008). Thus, the theoretical account provides evidence as to how EMDR would be an effective treatment of PTSD symptoms (Van Rood & de Roos, 2009).

EMDR is another evidence-based therapy for trauma including PTSD. EMDR is a comprehensive method that helps adaptive information processing, and it consists of eight phases to address and reprocess traumatic memories and relieve psychological stress. The eight components of EMDR comprise of “client history, preparation, assessment, desensitization, installation, body scan, closure, and reevaluation” (Shapiro & Laliotis, 2010). Researchers conduct studies and examine the efficiency of EMDR for trauma treatment. According to Francine Shapiro (2014), the article stated that all randomized studies and clinical reports associated with EMDR therapy for psychological and somatic disorders are reviewed, and components of EMDR are evaluated as well, the evidences showed that EMDR is beneficial for improvement of negative emotions, beliefs, and physical sensations resulted from adverse life experiences. Similarly, researchers recruited 36

Dissociative identity disorder, which was formerly known as multiple personality disorder, is a disorder that a person seems to experience at least two or more personalities. Dissociative identity disorder is usually the effect of severe trauma during a person’s early childhood. This trauma is usually repetitive physical, sexual, or emotional abuse to a child. The children that are the receiving end of this abuse tend to use this dissociative aspect as a coping mechanism. Some people who suffer from dissociative identity disorder also may have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. The different personalities of a person with dissociative identity disorder, have their own race, sex, and age. They

Briere and Scott (2012) proposed that any successful therapy involves correcting the pathological elements of the fear structure, and that this corrective process is the essence of emotional processing. The theoretical foundation behind EMDR is less well developed at this point. However, it is likely that EMDR is functioning as another form of exposure by confronting the patient with the traumatic memory, thus aiding emotional processing of the traumatic memory (Leeds, 2016; Rothbaum et al., 2005). The specific role of the eye movement is unclear, but serves as a distraction by allowing the patient to remain with the upsetting image and reactions (Chemtob et al.,

EMDR was introduced into the field of psychology by a psychologist named Shapiro (Shapiro, 2007). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a recent psychotherapy treatment that has slowly began to be used increasingly more. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing begins with the therapist meeting with the client. They will assess the client and the client’s goals. EMDR is often used with people who have suffered a traumatic event or have PTSD (GoodTherapy.org, n.d.). The goal of EMDR then, is to asses what stressor the client suffers and to use the treatment to alleviate the trauma. The client and therapist will go over the memory of the event, discussing triggers and

We currently have seven therapists who are trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR is considered a best practice in the field of treating trauma. One of our clinical supervisors is trained in EMDR. We continue to consult with

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy developed by Francine Shapiro that says that traumatic memories are the cause of psychopathology. The most widespread use of EMDR is for the treatment of Post-traumatic-stress disorder. It is thought to ease the symptoms of PTSD. Shapiro believes that, when a traumatic or distressing experience occurs, that these events overwhelms the normal coping mechanisms. Therefore, since the coping mechanisms are overwhelmed with sensory data, the memory and associated stimuli are inadequately processed and stored in an isolated memory network separate from other memory networks. The goal of EMDR is to reduce the effect of distressing memories by engaging the brain’s natural adaptive information process mechanism, and

Stage two, labeled the preparation phase, consists of the clinician preparing the client for the processing of disturbing memories through various means. A therapeutic relationship between clinician and client is established by educating the client about the problems they are having and by explaining the process of EMDR. In addition, the clinician teaches the client a series of self-calming techniques that help clients maintain “dual awareness” during the following stages. Once a relationship is established and the client has been taught self-calming techniques, the assessment stage begins.