November 11, 2010
What Would Your Perfect Treatment Plan Look Like?
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In this blog article, I’d like to hear your opinion.
It’s very clear that the mental health professionals out in the world do not agree on treatment goals for dissociative identity disorder (DID / MPD). For that matter, the mental health professionals of the world do not even agree that dissociative identity disorder is a real and legitimate diagnosis, let alone agree on how to best work with trauma survivors with dissociative issues.
The disparity of perspectives and lack of education, training, and knowledge about dissociative disorders means that therapists take all kinds of different tactics in their approaches. Obviously, some of these approaches are more effective than others.
After reading the hundreds of comments on the different articles on this blog, it is very clear that many dissociative survivors are not feeling completely satisfied with their healing process. There are various limitations and obstacles in the way of having optimum treatment. Many of you have written about some wonderful therapeutic experiences, but plenty of frustrations have also been included.
Please note: I am not asking about your therapist’s personal faults – please don’t use this blog as a way to bash your therapist.
I’m actually asking the opposite. Dream big for a minute. If there were no limitations preventing you from having the perfect treatment plan for DID, what would that include?
In my opinion, those of you that have DID or live with someone with DID are the experts here. You are much more knowledgeable about DID than the mental health professionals are and you know what genuinely works for you and what doesn’t. So, in order to get an better understanding of what works best for the treatment of DID, I’d like to hear from a bunch of you. You are the true experts here on what works. You all know what you need to get through your healing. You know what helps and what doesn’t help at all (even if the mental health professionals insist on doing it that way).
Obviously what works best for one person may be a very different list of options than what works best for someone else, which is completely ok. Everyone’s opinion is welcome and no one will be more right than anyone else.
Your comments would be appreciated, and your ideas as a collective group will be important. The comments you write could send a message to the trauma therapists of the world and hopefully help them to hear what actually works, from your perspective.
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If you could design your perfect treatment plan for DID, what would that look like?
- How many times per week or per month would you meet with your therapist?
- How long would your sessions be?
- What kinds of things would happen in your sessions?
- What artistic or creative therapies would you include?
- Would your sessions be inside of an office or anywhere else?
- What time of day would your sessions occur – morning, afternoon, evening, or night?
- Besides your therapist, who else would you want to have on your treatment team?
- Would you include any kind of group therapy in your treatment plan?
- What kinds of approaches would you want your therapist to use?
- Who from your DID system would be allowed to speak and present up front during your sessions?
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Any other thoughts, comments, or ideas are welcome!
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By:
Kathy Broady LCSW
Copyright © 2008-2010 Kathy Broady LCSW and Discussing Dissociation
