Then They Were One: An Innovative Approach to the Diagnosis & Treatment of Dissociative Identity Disorder

The following is an edited version of what was written by a middle-aged married Caucasian female, mother of three who originally presented with 137 alters. She writes from her perspective as experiencing the transition from the “modified abreactive therapy” to the non-abreactive “As If” technique in the early 1990’s. ( The complete narrative is in CHAPTER SEVEN.) She “It has decreased the amount of time it takes to join and integrate alter personalities in the core. This method eliminates the suffering and perceptual disturbances associated with joining alters together. In the past, I have endured the discovery and integration process of 43 alter personalities, each joining like a climax after a period of painful discovery.Through my experience, it has become evident that the use of abreaction is totally unnecessary. It is not necessary to re-experience the pain in order to heal. I can tell you from the other side of the coin because I am a multiple personality. My hope is that the mental health professionals will listen to me. Dr. Flora, whom I have been in therapy with for 12 months has developed a technique not utilized by other professionals working with multiple personalities. He does not believe in the use of abreactions. If great pain is present in an alter personality he takes the pain away and processes the experience separate from reliving the traumatic experience. There has been enough suffering. Why should one need to re-experience it? All past trauma has already been experienced in some part by one or more alters. It is only necessary to bring that experience into the core. By joining an alter into the core personality a veil of energy is removed and the knowledge is absorbed. It is not necessary to relive trauma by the core personality.By the use of this method of Dr. Flora’s, I have been spared great suffering. It is my desire to proclaim this truth to all mental health professionals in an attempt to reduce the unnecessary suffering in integrating multiple personalities.”( Her final fusion of the 247th alter took place in 1998 and she has been dissociative-free ever since. You can read her testimony in CHAPTER TESTIMONIALS.)