March 23, 2010

United States of Tara is Integrated Now? Really?

Posted in DID Education, DID/MPD, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Family Members of Trauma Survivors, Friends of Multiples, Integration - yes or no, Internal Communication, Supportive Spouses, therapy, Therapy and Counseling, trauma therapist, United States of Tara tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , at 4:00 pm by Kathy Broady


Toni Collette wins Best Comedy Actress Emmy, 2009

Toni Collette wins Best Comedy Actress Emmy, 2009

So here we go again.

The second season of the Showtime series “United States of Tara” starring the Emmy Award winner Toni Collette has begun.

The first season was full of controversial episodes, and most of the survivor population with dissociative identity disorder was disappointed and angered by the series.  Even though some of the best-known trauma psychiatrists were allegedly acting as advisors for the show, there were still far too many inaccuracies and misrepresentations for the comfort level of real DID survivors.  (Maybe next time, Showtime, executive producer Steven Speilberg, or writer Diablo Cody should speak more with clinical therapists that treat dissociative clients on a long-term basis.  If you ask me, therapists know more about the clinical realities of DID than psychiatrists anyway, but that’s a whole different rant.)

The first episode starts with Tara tossing out the clothing and personal items that belonged to her formerly recognized four or five insiders.  Tara had ended the first season in the hospital, and had apparently done so well in her brief hospital stay, that it had been three whole months since her insiders had surfaced.  She was sure they were all gone.  She was already saying goodbye to them – more like good riddance to them – and her family gathered around the charitable donations dumpster to make crass comments toward the inside parts.

Oh dear. What a way to start the season.  Fifty-one seconds into the show and my eyes are popping out with enough material for a blog post. (Dare I even watch the rest of the episode?!)  Yeeesh!

So this very first minute of the show brought up some of my very biggest complaints about the way some mental health professionals and hospital programs treat DID / MPD.

One of the most devastating techniques that treatment providers can use with dissociative survivors is to push the whole integration idea.  To push the idea that insiders need to not be allowed out, or need to be silenced, or need to be pushed to the back, is damaging to the person as a whole.  Integration is not anywhere near the cure-all or ideal goal it is professed to be, and frankly, expecting dissociative clients to having these “alleged integrations” too fast is absolutely harmful.

I have seen too this happen far too many times.  This is not good treatment for dissociative identity disorder!!

You cannot go into a hospital program and walk back out, a few weeks later, as an integrated multiple.  This is NOT possible.  I don’t care how much this is advertised as possible, it is not.  It is complete farce, and it will not work.

Sure, you can temporarily push your insiders back into hiding.  Or, your insiders can push you out to the front and rebuild the dissociative wall behind you so that you are completely separated from your system.  You might think you are alone. You might think you are “integrated”.  But you are just separated from your insiders.   In fact, you are more dissociated than ever because now you have a complete dissociative block between you and the rest of your selves.

This is not helpful.

Unfortunately, there are hospital programs or therapists that encourage this kind of treatment.

It doesn’t work.  It won’t stick.  Those inside parts are not gone.  They might be hidden, but they absolutely are not gone.  And this new or encouraged separation will just cause problems down the road.  I’d bet money on that.

I realize that many of you may want to push your insiders back in, or make them shut up, or make them go away, because you believe that your life would be easier and more manageable if they were gone.  I can understand the concept that having one personality is easier than having a dozen or two (or three) personalities.  I get that.

But it’s still not a good idea.

The various parts of you were created for a reason, and they hold valuable pieces of your life, your history, your emotions, your skills, your abilities, your memories, your talents, your energy, etc.  They represent years of your life, and it takes all of you together to make the whole picture – and as appealing as it might be to think that three weeks in the hospital can solve everything with a quick integration, this is an illusion and a lie. Genuine integration, if it is actually desired and if it is actually going to be successful, requires years of work.  The various selves to work through all the things that caused them to be separated in the first place – and that just takes time.

It is a cruel trick for hospitals to sell this approach as something they can achieve for the client – because the hospital won’t be there six months or a year down the road, when the apparent “integration” falls apart and the devastated client is left feeling at fault.  And it is compounding the wrong for Showtime to present this approach as something that actually happens.

The other problem in this first minute of United States of Tara is the negative way that Tara and her family are speaking about her insiders.  Where is their kindness and compassion?  Why such blatant disrespect?  Where is the appreciation for what those insiders did for her?

EVEN IF I believed in sudden or quick integration as a general theory (which I most definitely do not), I would still say to Tara and her family members that their “good riddance, you big pains in the butt” attitude was an obvious indication of why this particular attempt at integration was not going to work.

Clearly, there were still plenty of issues left unresolved.  Clearly, Tara and her family harbored resentment, irritation, and bitterness toward her insiders.  The insiders did not integrate because there was acceptance, understanding, and blending of their roles.  These insiders were clearly not wanted, not liked, not understood, not appreciated.  They were hated.  And if Tara is still hating on her insiders, then she is still hating herself.  This is not the kind of foundation from which any kind of healthy progress is made.

You cannot integrate your insiders if you hate them.
You cannot make them go away, just because you hate them.

I suppose you can pretend they do not exist because you don’t like what they did. But that will not help you to get better.
I suppose you can act like they are not real because you don’t want them.  But that will not help you to get better.

Hating on your insiders, in any way, shape, or form, is not conducive to good treatment.
Hating your yourself, in any way, shape, or form, is not conducive to good treatment.
Your insiders are still parts of you, now and for always.

As far as I am concerned, neglecting your insiders is a form of self-abuse.  Neglect is neglect, and if you are not working hard to appropriately meet the needs of your insiders, you are carrying out of form of neglect.

It is so very important to develop positive acceptance and understanding with your insiders.  It is imperative to the success of your healing, and one of foundations of your treatment, to be kind, gentle, and compassionate to your inside parts.  Build positive teamwork.  Build good cooperation.  Build good internal communication skills.  Become friends with each other.  You and your insiders really have to be able to get along and work things out together in order for your healing to progress.

Somehow Tara forgot to do this, and somehow her hospital program forgot it as well.

She can pretend that shoving her insiders away, or pretending they don’t exist, is a wonderful option for her.

But it really will not work.

Later in the previews, it becomes clear that Tara starts realizing she is switching again.  (She calls in transitioning.  What a bulky word, but ok – it’s a transition from one self to another.)  So yes, she clearly switches from one part to another.  That’s no surprise.

Someone on her treatment team should have told her months ago that that her “they are gone” approach wasn’t going to work.

Because it didn’t.

Obviously.

—–

By:

Kathy Broady LCSW

www.AbuseConsultants.com

www.SurvivorForum.com

Copyright © 2008-2010 Kathy Broady LCSW and Discussing Dissociation

December 5, 2009

Multiplicity – Keaton Style

Posted in DID Education, DID/MPD, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Family Members of Trauma Survivors, Friends of Multiples, Internal Communication, Supportive Spouses tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , at 12:26 pm by Kathy Broady



Multiplicity, the 1996 movie with Michael Keaton, is not specifically about Dissociative Identity Disorder – it is technically about being cloned — but it is a funny, light-hearted comedy that absolutely pertains to DID / MPD.

Have you watched this show?

Keaton’s character has a lot in common with DID.  As you watch the movie, you can see the following similarities happen in this sequence:

  • Putting his fax machine (electronic equipment) on the blitz easily
  • Creating split, after split, after split, with each different self assigned to work in different areas of his life
  • Feeling that life is overwhelming and he can’t get it all done
  • Participation in scientific experiment (ok, so this is supposed to be a fun post, so I won’t delve into that)
  • Having an unusual, complicated sense of time, especially once he has more than one self
  • Fighting between the parts over “who’s me” – “I’m the main one – No, I am!”  The different selves squabble over who is the leader of the body-life, e
  • As the different parts have different experiences, they contain different memories and different feelings.  While they all started from the same place, they develop unique lives.
  • The different parts argue with each other – take opposite opinions, have different goals, different priorities. They each make significant decisions that effect the whole of the body-life.
  • At first, the idea of having split lives works really well.  It helps to get more things accomplished effectively.
  • Experiencing “memory loss” – the parts are not aware of what the other parts are doing, and they have to suddenly cover for the activities of the other parts
  • Gradually realizing they need to coordinate and talk about whose doing what to keep things running smoothly
  • People out in the world can notice the difference between the different parts, despite their best efforts to not let this be seen
  • Sometimes its hard to tell the difference between the parts – sometimes the differences are more than obvious
  • Once the original person starts splitting, the easier it is to split again, and again, and again.  Eventually, the parts begin to split as well.
  • “Not me” – it was one of the others – passing responsibility and blame to someone else in the system
  • Bickering and fighting occurs between the parts — they even get jealous of each other
  • As there is more and more unawareness of what the others are saying or doing, the reality of being multiple affects his life more significantly
  • As the different ones experience new activities for the very first time, the newness of the event is an exciting unexpected experience for each of them.
  • The “host” of the system realizes that he has handed his life out to so many others, and at some point, he misses his life, and wants to get back involved.  While being away so much has its perks, he realizes he is missing out by not being involved.
  • Consequences start happening when the parts do not know what the other parts know, when one part can’t cover for another, and the information gaps start becoming more and more obvious.
  • There are hurt feelings between the parts when they think outside people like one of the other parts better than them
  • When they finally work together on a project, they can accomplish a lot, really quickly
  • When insecurities arise between the parts, they have to remember “You are me, I am you” – they have to remember they are really the same person, even though they experience life as different people

That’s pretty good for Hollywood!

How many of these events can you relate to?

Have these kinds of complications happened in your life as a multiple?

Have you experienced these feelings in your life as a multiple?

This movie is a nice change from the usual dark, unflattering versions of multiplicity portrayed in the media.  It’s not a perfect display of life as a dissociative survivor, but it shows a lot of humor about the difficulties in developing system cooperation and internal system communication.

If only real life as a multiple was this fun…!

For some light-hearted entertainment that you might relate to as a multiple (or as someone who lives with a multiple), I recommend watching this show.

Enjoy!

———-

By:

Kathy Broady LCSW

www.AbuseConsultants.com

www.SurvivorForum.com

November 28, 2009

I’m Thankful for the Readers of this Blog

Posted in Borderline Personality Disorder, DID Education, DID/MPD, Dissociative Identity Disorder, emotional pain, Friends of Multiples, Online Therapy, therapy, Therapy Homework Ideas, Trauma, trauma therapist tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , at 5:23 pm by Kathy Broady


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It’s Thanksgiving weekend here in the US, and besides the wonderful traditional family meal and pleasant times with my kids, this time frame reminds me of something else.

Discussing Dissociation has been up and visible for nearly one year now.  Yep, in a few days, it will be a year already!

Wow.  Where has the time gone??!!!

There is truth to the saying that time flies, or is it because time flies when you’re having fun … or maybe I’m just getting older, lol.

Anyway, I’m being silly, but I do want to say today how much I appreciate all of you that have been readers here at this blog.  The number of faithful, returning readers has been utterly amazing to me. If you look back through all the pages, you’ll see well over a thousand excellent comments from a wide variety of the readers.  Wow!  The input you all have made in this blog has brought it to life and given it a life-filled energy that I certainly couldn’t create on my own.

For the way each and every one of you have contributed to the positive, educational nature of this blog, I sincerely thank you.  I truly appreciate your involvement, your thoughts, your comments, your questions.  You’ve helped to make this little site a safe, comfortable community for dissociative trauma survivors. I think it’s a job well done, and once again, I do sincerely thank you for your part in this process.  Writing a blog wouldn’t be nearly so fun without hearing comments from the readers!  You all rock!

Many of you have questioned why I started this blog in the first place.  The original reason is not as mysterious or worrisome as some of you may have thought.  It’s a widely stated and highly recommended common practice for therapists to use blogs for marketing purposes.  Marketing experts recommend to write what you know about, and to respond to the comments you receive.  Blogs get quickly listed in search engines, and they are an easy, economical way for your target audience to get to know you, and to see what you do, and to become more familiar with the work that you do.  It’s a simple as that.  Check the blogosphere for blogs by therapists.  You’ll see that most therapists write about their fields of work the same as I do.

I just happen to know about a very specialized topic – dissociative identity disorder.  And my readers are a very distinct but wonderful population – dissociative trauma survivors or trauma therapists.  (There aren’t very many of us out here — it’s no wonder that we are congregating together!)  And yes, practically all of my blog articles have been very specific to DID, not that the topics couldn’t also apply to other populations, but the point of this blog is to “discuss dissociation” so I do tailor my articles to being about dissociative disorders, and the DID population.  There’s no mystery there, lol.  I think I’ve said that pretty upfront.

But something much bigger has been happening besides my having found a very effective marketing tool.

With all the positive sharing and support that has been created here, this blog has provided a deep sense of hope and healing for so many people.  Having that absolute knowing that others are progressing along their healing journey as well, many survivors don’t have to feel so very alone.  You might learn things from my articles, but you can also learn from each other, the same as I learn from you as well.  It’s a wonderful circle of positive, helpful information, and that in itself is priceless.

Building a sense of safety, knowing you are not alone in your struggles, and learning from others who have been there too provide emotional foundations that so very crucial to healing and can augment your therapeutic process.  Please remember, this blog is in no means a substitute for actual therapy, but it does provide a lot of educational support for survivors working on their own healing, or for therapists learning about working DID / MPD.

Again, you all have immensely helped to create that healing, informative atmosphere, and I am grateful for that.

We have to create and protect places of healing.

Even survivor-led blogs such as the truly incredible BTC blog have become targets for destruction by the “hazing / flaming / insaniacs” of the world.  Do we really want the haters and gossipers to take over and ruin all the places of healing and support?  How sad is this?!!

I know that you know there are predators and perpetrators out there in the world.  For some of you, your abuse stopped years ago.  For some of you, you are still smack dab in the middle of fighting your abusers.  Some of you are being hassled and manipulated by internet predators (whether you know it or not), and some of you are safely away from any direct attack from anyone.  No matter where you are in your life, there are abusers and predators out there in the world, (including those wolves in sheep’s clothing hiding within the dissociative population itself), so the importance of having safe retreats amongst all the danger and destruction is more important than you might realize.

Those of you that feel the loss of BTC’s blog can understand what I’m talking about.  It’s a real shame that abusive people continue to ruin the good places and run off the good people.  I think that is a tragedy.  But it happens.

  • Are you one that sits back quietly, doing nothing even though you see others destroying places of support?
  • Do you believe the lies and negative gossip spread about helpers and healers?
  • Are you so angry from your own abuse that you are willing to take that out on people who have helped you?

Surely the survivor population can see through the manipulations of abusers.  You are adults now – you can start seeing through the tricks that are being played out there.  Please remember to think for yourself the next time you hear some negative hogwash about someone who has dared to be a helper / healer.  You can take a stand against that.

Complacency only allows abuse to continue.

Trauma survivors, I encourage you to ban together in protection of your valued and positive healing resources.

So many of you grew up without any safety or comfort or support.  You learned to pull deep within yourself or to block out the world entirely.  You survived it alone.

But it doesn’t have to be that way anymore.

Most of you are still learning about how important and helpful it is to have places of safe connection, genuine relationship, and gentle bonding.   It may be scary to be around people, but building a positive, healing, trustworthy community is a way of overcoming the need to be isolated in order to avoid abuse.

Again, I challenge you to protect your places of healing.  Protect those that are your helpers.  Stand firm around your leaders that fight against abuse.

Don’t fall into the trap of complacency or destructive participation.

Your healing resources are depending on that.

———-

By:

Kathy Broady LCSW

www.AbuseConsultants.com

www.SurvivorForum.com

Copyright © 2008-2010 Kathy Broady LCSW and Discussing Dissociation

November 15, 2009

Attachment to the Perpetrator

Posted in DID Education, DID/MPD, Dissociative Identity Disorder, emotional pain, Family Members of Trauma Survivors, Friends of Multiples, mental health, Physical Abuse, sexual abuse, therapy, Therapy and Counseling, Therapy Homework Ideas, Trauma tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , at 7:53 pm by Kathy Broady


Last night, I saw another television documentary on Jaycee Lee Dugard – the young woman who was kidnapped at age 11, held captive for 18 years, and found alive, along with her two daughters on August 26, 2009.

Jaycee is now 29 years old.

Jaycee spent the past 18 years held captive in the backyard of a registered, violent sex offender, Phillip Garrido.  Garrido fathered Jaycee’s two daughters, and has been charged with numerous criminal offenses.

While most of the world was thrilled to see Garrido arrested and locked away into police custody, Jaycee and her girls had different emotional reactions.  Initially, when questioned by the authorities, Jaycee was supportive of Garrido, she refused to admit her real identity, and when the facts weren’t adding up, she claimed to be hiding from a fictitious abusive husband that lived in another state.  She had chances to tell about her perpetrator, but her first responses were to protect him.  Her two daughters cried when they heard Garrido was arrested.

Garrido spent years torturing these young women, but yet they were clearly connected to him.

How can this be?

This dynamic is called Stockholm Syndrome.  It is when victims form positive, caring attachments with their violent perpetrators.  The more victims have to depend on their perpetrators for their very survival, the more likely the victim will form an attachment to their perpetrator.

The world has been appalled as they heard this story.

But this story is not a new story.

This story happens to many children every day of the year.

Many dissociative trauma survivors have lived a life all too similar to the life that Jaycee lived while with Garrido.  As children, most dissociative trauma survivors lived – day after day, year after year – under the strict sadistic control of a sex offender.  They were repeatedly sexually abused, many became pregnant, they were given hidden identities and new names, and they were taught bizarre religious beliefs.  Many DID survivors were locked and confined in unhealthy places, made to be completely dependent upon their abusers, and the reality of their daily abuse was hidden from the neighbors.  It is not at all uncommon for DID survivors to have been sexually involved and sexually controlled by their perpetrators well into their adulthood.

The main difference between most DID Survivors and Jaycee Dugard is that most DID survivors were not kidnapped by a stranger.  Most DID survivors who have lived this kind of ongoing abuse were simply living in their family homes.

These DID survivors were being raised by their father and mother.  They didn’t have the hope that someday they would be rescued and returned to their “real family”.  They were with their real family.

In either situation, the child-victims learned to adapt to the sadistic behaviors of the abusive parental figures in order to survive.  Despite the extreme abuse, they learned to depend on the abusers.  Everything from breathing, food, clothing, water, shelter, warmth, education, medical attention, etc. was controlled and monitored by their abusers.  There was no personal space.  There was no way to get away.  There was no known place to run to even if they had gotten away.

The child-victims knew they were stuck there.

They knew that their life and basic survival needs were completely dependent upon keeping the perpetrator happy.  They learned to base their own survival on effectively meeting the needs of the perpetrator, and the perpetrator had the power to decide if they would live or die.  To survive, they became loyal to the perpetrator.

Perpetrators purposefully create this kind of dependence in their victims.  They want their victims to feel trapped, and to lose hope, and to be stuck in their abuse.  They do not want their victims to know there is a way out, or to find a way out.  Perpetrators want to be in control of absolutely everything, barely leaving their victims room to breathe on their own.

In keeping the required secrets, the surviving children often  learned that the ONLY person to turn to in time of trouble or need is the perpetrator.  To get their daily survival needs met, the child learned they had to placate, please, and depend upon the abuser.

In these long-term abusive situations, the perpetrator is both the caretaker and the abuser.  The child learns to love and hate this parent.  The child feels either trapped in the abuse, or feels tied to them in order to get their needs met.

Consequently, the child-victims have to depend on their abusers for their care.  Who else will feed them?  Who else will get their books for school?  Who else will provide clothing and a place to sleep? These children have no where else to turn, so they form a variety of trauma bonds with their perpetrator.

Since the child-victim’s life depends on their perpetrator, the victim develops a loyalty to the perpetrator.  They experience a positive loyalty when the perpetrator meets their daily needs.  They experience a fear-based loyalty when their life depends on it.

Whether the offender parent is being appropriate or violent, the dissociative child is drawn into the relationship, and feels emotionally connected to the perpetrator.

Child-victims might split off parts that keep the abuse separate from their feelings of love and appreciation.  It’s hard to genuinely care about someone who is hurting and abusing you, but child victims often have to manage both of these scenarios. They might split off parts to deny the abuse, so they don’t have to remember the violence.

And after living that dynamic for years of time, survivors lose the ability to recognize who or what a perpetrator is.  They grow up feeling responsible for pleasing perpetrators, learning how to tolerate abusers instead of learning how to leave perpetrators. They grow up believing that attaching and bonding to a dangerous person is critical for their own life.

Attachment to the perpetrator creates many layers of confusion for many years to come.  It is a critical area of healing that requires a great deal of work in the therapy setting.

Do they love their abuser?  Do they hate their abuser?  Do they recognize their abuser as an abuser? Can they recognize who in the world is or isn’t an abuser?  Can they leave their abuser?  Can they bond with a non-abuser?

Even as adults, far too many DID survivors can no longer separate who is who.  They will live a life connecting to one abuser after another, yet they won’t be able to recognize a safe person when they meet one.  DID survivors may feel more comfort in the victim role, and they may prefer the familiarity of abusive relationships over the strange unknown of safe relationships.  Or, they may assume that all people are abusers, and thus miss out on the opportunity to learn the difference between a safe person and a perpetrator.

Every DID survivor has attached to at least one perpetrator in their lifetime, and probably more than one.

It is critical to work on this trauma dynamic in therapy.  This work is essential for healing.  Otherwise, DID survivors will feel a high degree of comfort with perpetrators, and will not be able to stay connected to a safe person when they meet one.  Or, they’ll accuse a safe person of becoming a perpetrator.

There are a lot of different possibilities, most of them ending up as relationship disasters.

In order to have any chance at having successful social relationships, dissociative trauma survivors absolutely must address the attachment they feel to their perpetrators.

The health of your future relationships depend on it.

———-

By:

Kathy Broady LCSW

www.AbuseConsultants.com

www.SurvivorForum.com

May 17, 2009

CIA MIND CONTROL: Out Of Darkness Into The Light

Posted in DID Education, DID/MPD, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Family Members of Trauma Survivors, Friends of Multiples, Mind Control, Trauma, trauma therapist, United States of Tara tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , at 1:03 pm by Kathy Broady


I don’t typically use other web-sites as the source of my blog posts, but today I want to share some important information out there to my readers.   Survivors of mind control need the validation and encouragement that this Press Release gives.   I welcome discussions, questions and comments to the following information.

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http://www.goodkarmapr.com/press%20releases8/press%20releases8.htm

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CIA MIND CONTROL:
Out Of Darkness Into The Light

You are invited to a special public presentation
from two of the most successful U.S. government whistleblowers, Cathy O’Brien and Mark Phillips.

With celebrity guest Roseanne Barr
scheduled to appear!!

Also special guest speaker Colin A. Ross, M.D.
Internationally renowned clinician, researcher, author and lecturer in the field
of traumatic stress and trauma related disorders.
Dr. Ross is currently a consultant on the hit Showtime series
United States of Tara (1st season).

Friday June 5th, 2009
7PM – 10PM
Hollywood United Methodist Church
6817 Franklin Avenue (at Highland Ave.)
Hollywood, CA 90028

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OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE!!

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Government Whistleblowers, Trauma Recovery Expert and Roseanne Barr to Speak Out Against Torture and Mind Control

Cathy O’Brien and Mark Phillips will be joined by Dr. Colin Ross (an expert on clinically diagnosing and treating trauma based personality disorders) and TV legend Roseanne Barr at a speaking event in Los Angeles on June 5th.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) May 11, 2009 – As the issue of torturing individuals held in detention facilities plays out in the news media, two of the most successful whistleblowers are speaking out on how CIA programs such as MK-ULTRA actually involved torturing U.S. citizens, our allies citizens and how these heinous atrocities were allowed to continue under the 1947 National Security Act.

Cathy O’Brien was a White House/Pentagon level MK-ULTRA mind control victim, who claims torture was used on her to fragment her personality to make her forget secrets and criminal covert operations she had been forced to participate in over a thirty year period. “Many of the same criminals in control of the government today were in control of me,” Cathy says. “And they are acutely aware that torture and trauma causes humankind to forget.”

Cathy adds, “Now that torture is finally a predominant political issue, the reality of how it’s actually being used continues to be kept from the public by those in control of the government and corporate media. Those who control information control knowledge, which in turn controls the thoughts, perceptions, opinions, and actions of those they inform.”

What about the argument that torture is justified as a means to extract information? Cathy says, “Considering today’s technological advancements, pharmaceuticals, computerization, and classified mind manipulating weaponry, it’s clear to see that torture is not only archaic, but is actually a diversionary issue from more prevalent forms of mass mind manipulation being used on the human population.”

Cathy was rescued in 1988 by Mark Phillips, a U.S. Intelligence insider knowledgeable on CIA mind-control techniques who acted after he was told by a Chinese Intelligence officer that Cathy and her then eight-year-old daughter, Kelly, were mind-controlled slaves of the U.S. government. Mark says that the super secret technology used on Cathy, Kelly and others is an, “evolved system of remote human physical and psychological manipulation that has only recently been officially recognized by accredited mental health physicians for what it is – absolute mind control.”

Cathy and Mark circumvented the news media’s blackout on their case with the greatest true life love story of extraction and recovery from the CIA ‘s mind control project ever told.

You can hear their story along with a discussion on the issue of torture at an event called “CIA Mind Control: Out Of Darkness, Into the Light” which will be held on Friday June 5th, 2009 in Hollywood. The event begins at 7PM at Hollywood United Methodist Church located at 6817 Franklin Avenue (at Highland Ave.).

For more info call 805-653-1588 or visit GoodKarmaPR.com.

A portion of the proceeds go to Children of the Night, a non profit that rescues children from the ravages of prostitution and domination of pimps.

Joining Cathy and Mark will be Dr. Colin Ross, a globally recognized expert on trauma related disorders and author of “The CIA Doctors: Human Rights Violations by American Psychiatrists.” Dr. Ross provides proof, based on 15,000 pages of documents obtained from the CIA through the Freedom of Information Act, that there have been pervasive, systematic violations of human rights by American psychiatrists over the last 65 years. As well, he proves that the Manchurian Candidate “super spy” is fact, not fiction. He describes CIA documented experiments by psychiatrists to create amnesia, new identities, hypnotic access codes, and implanting new memories in the minds of experimental subjects.

Also scheduled to appear is comedian Roseanne Barr. In addition to being a champion for the rights of abused children everywhere, she was treated by Dr. Colin Ross for DID recovery.

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ABOUT THE SPEAKERS & ORGANIZERS

Cathy O’Brien is a fully rehabilitated US Government White House/Pentagon level mind control survivor whose testimony for the US Congressional Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Oversight was censored for so-called “Reasons of National Security”. Upon the advice of an attorney in 1995, this testimony was released en masse in book form, aptly entitled TRANCE Formation of America, to bring truth to light and survive whistle blowing on US Government tortures. Despite media censorship and death threats and attempts, these proven, documented facts have now reached over 48 countries, been licensed and translated into 8 languages, and are in major universities worldwide such as the Oxford Law Library.

Mark Phillips is a native of Nashville, Tennessee. For nearly 30 years he was a highly successful marketing and advertising executive for two airlines and a medical equipment manufacturing company. While he lacks the published academic credentials as a scholar, professional writer, or mental health physician he is recognized internationally by mental health and law enforcement professionals as a credible authority on the secret science concerning external control of the mind. Throughout his career he also held a DoD issued Top Secret Security clearance as he was exposed to various classified behavioral modification projects. Mark was required to sign an oath of secrecy. To this day he’s restricted by sedition laws from revealing certain specific still classified details that directly relates to his employment.

Roseanne Barr’s creation and portrayal of Roseanne Conner on ABC’s Roseanne has been hailed as “the most ground breaking kitchen-sink sitcom since All in the Family, (Entertainment Weekly)” adding, “She’s the funniest disturber of peace that we have.” In 1998, she hosted her own talk show, The Roseanne Show, for two seasons. Currently, she speaks truth to power at her website and blog RoseanneWorld.com and can be heard Wednesdays at 5PM PT on Pacifica Radio’s KPFK 90.7FM. She also has a Sunday radio show at KCAARadio.com and a program on Free Speech TV called Tipping Point. She is proud to work with organizations such as ACORN and Children of the Night.

Dr. Colin Ross is an internationally renowned clinician, researcher, author and lecturer in the field of traumatic stress and trauma related disorders. He’s the founder and president of the Colin A. Ross Institute for Psychological Trauma and is the Executive Medical Director of three trauma programs located in Dallas, Texas – Grand Rapids, Michigan – and Torrance, California. Dr. Ross has written extensively on the subject of dissociation and trauma. His latest books include The Trauma Model: A Solution to the Problem of Comorbidity in Psychiatry and Schizophrenia: Innovations in Diagnosis and Treatment. He is a member of the American Psychiatric Associations and the Int’l Society for the Study of Traumatic Stress, and is currently a consultant on the hit Showtime series United States of Tara (1st season).

Children of the Night is a private, non-profit, tax-exempt organization founded in 1979 that is dedicated to assisting children between the ages of 11 and 17 who are forced to prostitute on the streets for food to eat and a place to sleep. Since 1979 Children of the Night has rescued girls and boys from prostitution and the domination of vicious pimps. This much needed organization provides all programs with the support of private donations.

Good Karma PR is a small public relations firm dedicated to helping promote the works of those individuals and organizations that are doing something good for the world. Good Karma PR has worked with; Roseanne Barr, Cynthia McKinney For President, Ed Asner, John Trudell, Dr. Steven Jones, William Rodriguez, Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, Clifford Carnicom and Dr. Gwen Scott ND. They’ve also helped launch films such as America: Freedom to Fascism, Washington You’re Fired and The Elephant in the Room.

April 15, 2009

Negative Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse Survey

Posted in Depression, DID Education, DID/MPD, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Friends of Multiples, mental health, Prevention of Sexual Abuse, Self Injury, sexual abuse, Supportive Spouses, therapy, Therapy and Counseling, Therapy Homework Ideas, Trauma tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , at 5:01 pm by Kathy Broady


April is Child Abuse Prevention month.

Education is one of the biggest factors in the prevention of child abuse.  Those of you that have been sexually abused or physically abused know the effects of that abuse all too well.  Child abuse can affect the entire life of the survivor, and the seriousness of its effects cannot be ignored.

If you are a trauma survivor, you can help to inform others about the seriousness of sexual abuse.

Are you the supportive loved one of a trauma survivor?

Are you the parent of an abused child?

Are you the spouse / partner of a trauma survivor?

Have you completed a Negative Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse Survey?

To help further understand the implications of treatment for childhood sexual abuse, AbuseConsultants.com would appreciate your participation in an educational survey, NICSA Survey.  Your responses can be completely anonymous, and additional comments are welcomed.

Please go to AbuseConsultants.com and follow the links provided on the home page.

The following areas of impact are questioned on the NICSA Survey:

  • Addictions
  • Anger Issues
  • Anxiety and Panic
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Criminal Histories
  • Damaged Relationships
  • Depression
  • Destroyed Career
  • Detachment from Self or Others
  • DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder)
  • Eating Disorders
  • Experienced Losses in Life
  • Fear
  • Increased Medical Complications
  • Lack Parenting Skills
  • Long Term Disability
  • Loss of Education
  • Mental Health Problems
  • Mental Torment
  • Mistrust
  • Numbness or lack of feeling in the body
  • Ongoing Violence and Abuse
  • Poor Coping Skills
  • Poor Medical Assistance
  • Poor Self Care
  • Poor Therapeutic Relationships
  • Poverty / Financial Devastation
  • Self Destruction and Self Mutilation
  • Self Esteem Issues
  • Sexual Deviations
  • Sexual Problems
  • Sleep Complications
  • Suicidal Ideation and Behavior
  • Suicide / Death

Do you relate to any of these areas of impact?

Has your childhood sexual abuse complicated your life in any of these ways?

How severely has your abuse affected your life?

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If only someone had been able to prevent the abuse from happening in your life…..
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__________

By:

Kathy Broady LCSW

www.AbuseConsultants.com

www.SurvivorForum.com

February 16, 2009

Do’s and Don’ts for Singleton Friends of Multiples

Posted in DID Education, DID/MPD, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Friends of Multiples, Supportive Spouses tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , at 10:02 am by Kathy Broady


I am not sure who wrote the following list of “Do’s and Don’ts for Singleton Friends of Multiples”.  This list was e-mailed to me years ago by a person with Dissociative Identity Disorder, saying this list was comprised by an anonymous group of multiples.  I have had it posted on AbuseConsultants, in the survivor poetry section of that website.

I am sure that there could be many other suggestions added to the list, but for today, I will post it in exactly the same format as I received it.

For anyone wanting to offer friendship and support to a person with Dissociative Identity Disorder, a group of multiples have suggested the following helpful guidelines:

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Do’s and Don’ts for Singleton Friends of Multiples

  • Do NOT ever touch us from behind.
  • Do NOT ever touch our throat.
  • Do NOT ever touch the back of our head.
  • DO speak to our inner children like children.
  • Do NOT ask “Who’s here now?” If we wanted you to know we would tell you.
  • Do NOT tell an alter that you don’t know to “go get” the host…there could be several of the same name…different age groups.
  • Do NOT expect consistency of feeling, thought, or action on any subject.
  • Do NOT tell anyone to go inside because you do not like their views.
  • DO set healthy boundaries.
  • If you are uncomfortable with something said or done, say so, and do NOT avoid us in the future without an explanation.
  • Be HONEST.
  • Be understanding that we have many crisis situations in our lives of healing from our abuse, i.e.: flashbacks, panic attacks, body memories.
  • Laugh, make jokes with us, really, it’s OK!
  • Do NOT assume anything if you honestly want to know about our “disorder” please ask, we’ll tell you the truth.
  • Do NOT treat us like “the freak you happen to know” around your singleton friends.
  • Do NOT use our difficulties as a subject of conversation with your singleton friends.
  • Sometimes we are paralyzed with depression, and cannot call you, clean our house, or get out of bed. Don’t take it personally.
  • We will fight being hospitalized….. even though we actually show that we need it at the time. Hospitals are extremely frightening for us.
  • DO be supportive of our healthy behaviors no matter how small the accomplishment may seem to you.
  • DO be encouraging.
  • When we ask to talk to you, we aren’t asking you to come up with answers to our problems. We don’t expect you to FIX it. Sometimes we just need someone to LISTEN… that is the greatest gift of all!!
  • DON’T tell us that the abuse happened a long time ago and for us to “just get over it!” That is a HUGE insult!!

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For those of you that are multiple, what other suggestions would you add to this list?

Do you agree or disagree with the suggestions as listed?

What have you needed your husband or wife to do – or not do — specific to your needs as a trauma survivor?
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Your thoughts, comments, and suggestions are welcome.

__________

By:

Kathy Broady LCSW

www.AbuseConsultants.com

www.SurvivorForum.com

February 8, 2009

Dissociative Trauma Survivors – Must You Be Alone?

Posted in DID Education, DID/MPD, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Family Members of Trauma Survivors, Friends of Multiples, Online Therapy, Self Injury, Supportive Spouses, Therapy and Counseling, Therapy Homework Ideas tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , at 2:58 pm by Kathy Broady


Are you alone?

Oh, what a tough and painful topic this one is.

All too many dissociative survivors are alone.  Alone with their pain.  Alone with their memories.  Alone within their system.  Alone in relationships.   Alone in a crowded room.

Far too many dissociative survivors feel painfully alone.  Isolated.  Alienated.  Separated from others.

There are actually a few trauma survivors that genuinely prefer to be alone.  I still ask — is this a result of their trauma?  Would they have been such loners if they had not been so very deeply abused by so many different people?  I suppose it’s hard to say.  It’s not like they can undo the reality of what happened, so how can they take away the effects of the trauma to know what their personality would have been like otherwise?  I still wonder. I have to believe it’s very likely that a great deal of their need for aloneness is a direct effect of severe trauma.

All too often, the being alone isn’t preferable, it’s just how it is.   It’s hard not to feel alone if no one else understands what you are going through.  Of course survivors are going to feel alone if they are carrying the burden – the knowledge and pain – of their abuse on their own.  It’s hard to fathom that other people went through similar enough tortures.  Is it possible that anyone else could really understand?

For many, it is just safer to be alone.  If there’s no one there, there is no one there to cause the hurt, abuse, torment, torture…

And yet, for many, the actual experience of the abuse happened when they were purposefully separated away from their loved ones.  The aloneness was part of the trauma experience itself.  And the abusers controlled and insisted on this kind of aloneness staying in place so the abuse could continue undetected and uninterrupted.  The parent that cared for them didn’t know and couldn’t be told because the abusers threatened to harm them if they ever found out.  Or the siblings would be off playing in a different room, and they would be next if you didn’t cooperate.

Most abuser / perpetrators demand that their victims remain isolated and separate from all other people who could provide support and help.  For example, no-talk rules and deprivation traumas are intended to keep survivors separated from others.  Current-day isolation and alienation make survivors more vulnerable for ongoing abuse as well.

Alone back then.

And that carries over into being alone now.

Are you alone due to…

  • Your level of unrelenting emotional pain?
  • Your horrifying shame and overwhelming guilt feelings about the types of abuses you’ve experienced?
  • The fear that other people would hate you if they really knew what had happened in your life?
  • The utter embarrassment of being related to family members so deeply ingrained in dysfunction or organized crime and sexual perpetration?
  • The self-hatred you feel after being forced to actively participate in degrading and humiliating abuse situations?
  • The years and years of secrets that have created immense emotional walls in all your potential relationships?
  • The purposeful emotional separation from others in your family that could have  (or still might) genuinely care for you?
  • The dissociative separation from others in your internal system?
  • Your denial – which separates you from your own self and your own history and your own system?
  • Not knowing anyone in your local neighborhood who has also suffered from severe trauma and abuse?

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And do you have to stay this alone?

There is good news.  You really do not have to stay as alone as you have been in the past.

Working on that sense of isolation is important in your healing process.  It is also important for your safety.

The less alone you are, the less susceptible you are getting your needs met in dangerous ways, with dangerous people.  Survivors that are isolated with their pain are particularly vulnerable to predators of all kinds.

What can you do?

  • Continue to read and participate online.  In the current day, there are hundreds of web sites and blogs created by or for dissociative trauma survivors.  You can know you are not alone because others are speaking out and telling their stories.
  • Join safe online support forums.  While there are many good forums, I recommend www.SurvivorForum.  Be absolutely sure the forum you join is safe.
  • Participate actively in getting to know your internal system – let your own insiders become a sense of social support for you.
  • Join a local support group led by a competent therapist.
  • Get deeply involved with your therapy and your healing process.  The more you connect to yourself, the more you will be able to connect with others.
  • Address your emotional pain, find healing for your shame, etc.  The more healing you have, the less you will have to hide from other people.
  • Challenge yourself on a regular basis to get more involved socially, even if that is very difficult for you.  Explore your fears about it, and problem-solve with creative solutions for how to not let those fears keep you stuck in isolation.
  • Join safe but fun social activities that have nothing to do with trauma topics – ie: exercise classes, yoga classes, needlepoint / stitching groups, softball leagues, bowling leagues, group music lessons, scrapbooking groups, etc.
  • Start gradually, but slowly talk with your friends, your family members, your pastor, your AA sponsor, your real-life support people.  Don’t overwhelm them with too much personal information at once, but bit by bit, begin to share more about who you are and what you’ve overcome in your life.  Your story is worth telling!
  • Write supportive comments to other survivors.  The more you support others, the more kindness you will receive in return.  You might have to be a friend in order to make a friend, so as you reach out to support other survivors, you can begin building that bond.  Too many survivors look to others to support them without offering the same in return.  Try turning that around and be a friendly source of support for others.  They’ll remember that.
  • If it is too frightening or frustrating to think of connecting with people at this point in time, start with getting a pet of your very own.  Dogs, cats, bunnies, gerbils, even fish can be another source of life in your home and can make you feel less alone.  Your pets will love the attention and interaction you give them, and as you build a bond with them, you will enjoy their companionship as well.

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What are you going to do to overcome your feelings of alienation and separation?
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How will you resolve your struggles of being alone?

__________

By:

Kathy Broady LCSW

www.AbuseConsultants.com

www.SurvivorForum.com

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