ARCHIVED: Appendix H: Handbook on Sensitive Practice for Health Care Practitioners: Lessons from Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse – A note about dissociative identity disorder

Appendix H: A Note about Dissociative Idenity Disorder

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) - which was previously called Multiple Personality Disorder - is a psychiatric condition which requires specialized training to diagnose correctly. The DSM-IV-TR criteria for DID include "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)."^11p.529

Researchers believe that DID is almost always associated with a history of severe child abuse⁶⁹ and requires very specialized treatment by a multidisciplinary team. If a health care practitioner encounters a person who has been diagnosed with DID and is not already receiving treatment from a mental health team, a referral to and collaboration with such a specialized service is essential.