DID/MPD Archives - Robin Shapiro

Proof that Dissociation can be seen in the Human Brain!

The University of Washington medical school does not believe in dissociation and will not teach its psychiatrists about it. Schools that teach only cognitive behavioral therapies do not mention dissociation. It's great to see this research that shows proof that it actually exists. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-09-neuroimaging-dissociative-symptoms-reveals-wounds.html Novel neuroimaging study on dissociative symptoms reveals wounds of childhood trauma

By Doug Plummer|2022-09-26T20:23:53-07:00September 26th, 2022|Comments Off

Interesting 45-minute documentary of DID woman who got her father put in jail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsXFcbPbvI4 Interesting, somewhat sensationalized, video from the Australian 60 Minutes show, about a woman who went to the cops and won in court. The story is brutal, as is often the case for people with massive dissociation. The outcome is lovely. Check it out!

By Robin Shapiro|2019-06-01T14:30:45-07:00June 1st, 2019|Comments Off

Easy Ego State Intervention Workshops

Dear Readers, Ego state work has been around since before Freud, and in latter years, has been the main stay of many practices. Interventions can range from "How old did you feel when you were yelling at your wife?" to "Let's identify those dissociative states that take over your body." I've been working with this

By Robin Shapiro|2018-04-16T12:30:12-07:00April 16th, 2018|Comments Off

Installing the Future

Dissociative people often lack coherent narratives of their pasts (Mary Main & Dan Siegel). I'm finding that they often lack coherent visions of their futures. Today I "installed the future" in a formerly dissociative client, who has given me permission to tell this story. When "Linda" was 6 weeks old, her mother became gravely ill

By Robin Shapiro|2013-04-26T18:27:24-07:00April 26th, 2013|Comments Off

In Ego State Therapy, Let the Client Run the Internal Show.

Twenty-seven years ago, when I worked with my first DID client, I became the "go to" person for soothing the young, distressed ego states. As a result, I was on-call 24/7, never took longer than a week's vacation, and was constantly fielding emergencies. Finally, a savvy consultant told me to put the "oldest, wisest part"

By Robin Shapiro|2011-08-20T17:22:40-07:00August 20th, 2011|Comments Off

Therapeutic Metaphors from Star Trek and other Popular Culture

Utilization is the idea that therapists should use the culture and the language that their clients already use. If your client has watched Star Trek, they already know how to utilize these great tools. Safe place: "Do you know what a containment field is on Star Trek? Great! So imagine your safe place has a

By Robin Shapiro|2010-08-28T14:23:46-07:00August 28th, 2010|1 Comment

Kathy Steele: Neurobiology of DID, on Science Friday

Kathy Steele, cocreator of the Structural Dissociation Theory, patiently defends the existence of Dissociative Identity Disorder to Ira Flatow and Numan Gharaibeh (a clueless psychiatrist) on NPR's Science Friday. Worth a listen: http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/200911133 I've run into this blindness before, mostly in analytically trained psychiatrists, despite all evidence.

By Robin Shapiro|2009-11-13T20:35:04-08:00November 13th, 2009|7 Comments

UCLA 2009 Trauma Conference Day 1, van der Kolk & Shapiro

Day 1: Bessel van der Kolk is lovely. He's humble, he's funny, and he is the premiere researcher on the neurobiology and/or efficacy of trauma treatments in the world. And cute and brilliant, of course. Here are nearly random gems from 3 hours of notes: With trauma, there are no stories, only sensory experience: images,

By Robin Shapiro|2009-03-06T22:35:54-08:00March 6th, 2009|2 Comments

“The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook”

I'm reading piles of books in preparation for writing a trauma therapy survey book. My friend and colleague, Barbara Hinsz lent me Glenn Schiraldi's The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook. (McGraw-Hill, 2000) It's a great self-help book, one of the best I've seen. Schiraldi's a good writer. I never wanted to fix his sentences. He's simple without being simplistic.

By Robin Shapiro|2009-02-18T17:23:36-08:00February 18th, 2009|Comments Off

Psychology on TV: The Mentalist & My Own Worst Enemy

The Mentalist & My Own Worst Enemy portray very different uses of hypnosis and psychological strategies. Tim Kang is Kendall Cho, the stage hypnotist turned California Bureau of Investigation adjunct. While his skeptical colleagues look on, Cho uses (Milton) Ericksonian hypnotic techniques to befuddle, assist recall, and produce telling reactions in witnesses and "persons of

By Robin Shapiro|2008-10-17T08:39:10-07:00October 17th, 2008|6 Comments

New Sybil movie. DID in the media.

CBS aired a new Sybil on Saturday, starring Jessica Lange as the therapist and Tammy Blanchard as Sybil. It was less fantastic and spooky than the original Joanne Woodward/Sally Field movie, and was a realistic depiction of a poly-fragmented DID person. The movie depicted realistic switching behavior, flashbacks, losing time, and amnesia between parts. It

By Robin Shapiro|2008-06-09T20:41:32-07:00June 9th, 2008|Comments Off