Living and working with dissociative identity

This paper explores how Australian psychotherapists and lay-persons view dissociation and dissociative identity (DI) from the perspectives of working with and living with these experiences. Qualitative data were collected via questionnaires and in-depth interviews from psychotherapists working with clients affected by DI, individuals living with DI and the partners of individuals experiencing DI. Analysis of these data reveal how the ideas concerning dissociation and DI that are dominant in Australian society impact on those living with DI. The data will be discussed in relation to: 1) the therapeutic modalities adopted by therapists working with DI clients; 2) the evaluations of DI individuals of the usefulness, or otherwise, of various therapeutic approaches; and 3) how alternative discourses concerning dissociation and DI are possible in the Australian lay and therapeutic societies.