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Does the mind fall apart in multiple personality disorder? Some proposals based on a psychoanalytic case
1Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA.
Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association
|January 1, 1997
Summary
This study challenges the fragmentation theory of multiple personality disorder (MPD). It suggests MPD symptoms arise from organizing fantasies of external control, often linked to childhood abuse experiences.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Psychoanalysis
- Trauma Studies
Background:
- The prevailing view of multiple personality disorder (MPD) posits mind fragmentation since Janet's 1889 theory.
- This theory suggests separate "selves" emerge from disaggregated mental components.
Observation:
- A psychoanalytic case study of MPD was conducted.
- The study focused on the subjective experiences and internal world of the patient.
Findings:
- The study challenges the fragmentation model of MPD.
- It proposes that MPD symptoms stem from powerful organizing fantasies of external control over mind and body.
- Childhood sexual and physical abuse experiences appear crucial in shaping these fantasies.
Implications:
- This reframes understanding of MPD etiology, moving beyond simple fragmentation.
- It highlights the role of specific traumatic experiences in the development of complex dissociative phenomena.
- The findings suggest therapeutic approaches should address these organizing fantasies and their traumatic roots.