Figure A

Figure B

COUNTER-TRANSFERENCE: DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER

BY JACK

M. FREEDMAN

**TRAINING IN ART THERAPY 2** NCAT 3101A** PROF. CHRISTINE ALESSANDRO**

THE REASON WHY THE WORLD LACKS UNITY, AND LIES BROKEN AND IN HEAPS,
IS, BECAUSE MAN IS DISUNITED WITH HIMSELF.

-RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Carl G. Jung and Isabel Briggs Myers were responsible for developing the eight characteristics that comprise a personality type. hese character types include four dichotomies. hese include the

general attitude !introverted v. e"troverted#$ mental functioning !sensing v. intuitive% feeling v. thin&ing#$ and a fourth dichotomy introduced by Briggs Myers !'udging v. perceiving#. In addition$ these characteristics are ran&ed via percentages as to the level at which one possesses the characteristic. hese four parado"es comprise si"teen different permutations which comprise the dynamic of one(s personality. )hile the Myers*Briggs ypology Inde" !MB I# measured these eight characteristics$ the Jung ypology est !J # measured the levels of these +ualities. hese tests are often used to assess the hese si"teen

personalities of potential employees and different versions can be found on the Internet. combinations of traits have their benefits$ as well as their deficits.

Imagine that at any given moment$ your personality type ma&es a complete reversal. In my case$ I would transform from an I,F- to an ./ J. In layman(s terms$ my typically creative and abstract self would become more analytical and concrete. his is the essence of 0issociative Identity

0isorder !0I0#. According to the boo& Telling Without Talking$ dissociation is 1a comple" process of change in a person(s consciousness that causes a disturbance or alteration in the normally integrative functions of identity$ memory$ thought$ feeling$ and e"perience.2

As a result of a personality split$ many or all of these types can be e"hibited in 'ust one human being. his paper will serve as a case study and an e"ercise in counter*transference. his is the

emotional reaction that the analyst has to the testimony of the sub'ects. 3n the cover$ Figure A was painted by the sub'ect of the study. 4er face is in the middle and her three additional identities surround her as she tries to stifle their voices. Figure B is artwor& I created to illustrate my interpretation of the disorder. According to the 0/M*5$ 0issociative Identity 0isorder can be characteri6ed by several traits. hese characteristics include a minimum of two alters and no set ma"imum. An alter is simply another term for an additional personality. -ersonalities e"hibit distinct changes in cognitive abilities$ behavior$ and affect. hey have a range of functions$ emotional responses$ and significant life histories.

Amnesia is also e"perienced$ as personality switches often are followed by gaps in memory and recall of everyday occurrences. hese symptoms can cause a high degree of strain on the sufferer. 0iagnosis

of 0I0 e"cludes religious occurrences$ a child(s imagination$ and substance abuse issues. 7isainne$ 89$ is a woman from Alabama who was afflicted with three different personalities. .ventually$ she sought help and her personalities became integrated. his case study illustrates her

triumphant battle with 0I0 and the hope one can get when suffering from a mental illness such as this one. his is her story. Before the age of three$ 7isainne was molested by her grandmother. At the age of si"$ she tried to tell her mother and she received a beating for lying. /he lived with the truth for many years$ but bloc&ed the trauma out of her memory. 7isainne was always a creative prodigy. At the age of three$ she was able to draw on a fifth grade level. his was often a refuge for her$ as she was socially aw&ward and had self*esteem issues.

0uring her adolescence$ she lived in the shadows of her sister$ who was a cheerleader and a beauty +ueen. 4owever$ her art always helped her cope. After high school$ she started becoming promiscuous and lost her virginity to an older man$ a sailor.

7isainne had a typical adult life. /he got married$ had a daughter$ and a successful career as a teacher. It wasn(t until after she +uit teaching$ in her fifties that her personality gradually splintered into three separate entities: 0ee 0ee$ 7aura$ and he /ecret ;eeper. 0ee 0ee was a little girl$ 7aura was an older woman$ and the /ecret ;eeper served to bloc& out the e"act details of her molestation. he act of

changing from one alter to another is also &nown as switching. /witching can occur as a result of varying degrees of internal and e"ternal triggers. -hysiological and psychological changes can also occur during the process of switching from one alter to another. /he often e"perienced amnesia as one personality morphed into another. 7isainne(s original personality ceased to e"ist. )hen her mother passed away$ 0ee 0ee became the dominant personality as a result of the shoc&. 7aura too& over when 0ee 0ee began to recover from her mother(s death. It wasn(t until she went to therapy for treatment of Bipolar Affective 0isorder that 7isainne learned she had 0I0$ then &nown as Multiple -ersonality 0isorder !M-0#. )ith help from a psychoanalyst$ she was able to e"plore the roles of these personalities as each one made an appearance. 0uring the integration process$ the psychoanalyst met with each of these personalities and helped them recover their lost memories. Integration is not possible until all the personalities understand the process and the cause of splitting. 3nce these memories are recovered$ healing can begin. 7isainne continues to receive treatment for Bipolar Affective 0isorder and is gainfully employed as an activities director at a psychosocial clubhouse. My fascination with 0I0 has been longstanding. My first e"posure to the disorder came when I watched a television*movie called Voices Within: The Lives of Truddi Chase. /helley 7ong played the title role in this movie$ which was based on a true story. As a result of severe se"ual and physical assault by her stepfather$ she splintered into ninety*two personalities. /he referred to them as 1 he roops2 and refused to integrate them. /he and 1 he roops2 stayed together until <=>=$ the year she passed away.

he purpose of my painting was to show the intricacies of what 0I0 loo& li&e to me. 7isainne(s painting showed her personal torture$ set to the bac&drop of splashes of multicolored acrylics. I too& a similar approach with watercolor paint and a white pencil. Initially$ I was uncertain of what would come out of this painting. After the watercolors set$ I began to draw a figure that loo&ed li&e an anthropomorphic owl. From there$ imagination ran wild and other elements were added with the white pencil. I wanted to convey the psyche of a person with 0I0 metaphorically. In this case$ physical characteristics were used as symbols for psychological roles. possesses both a halo and horns. he owl represents good and evil$ as it

he owl has masculine and feminine +ualities$ as it is pregnant with a

human fetus and has a muscular arm. In addition$ I incorporated a crab(s claw$ a striped flipper$ a dog collar$ a penguin(s chest$ and a mermaid(s tail to illustrate the more primal aspects of the disorder. 3ne can wear a number of mas&s and play a number of roles in life. It is necessary to multitas&$ whether it involves being a student$ raising a family$ and?or being successful in a career. In the case of a person with 0I0$ these roles can become blurred and identities can become confused. he patient(s artwor& can serve different purposes. As an art therapist$ I would encourage each individual alter to confront their innermost trauma and painful memories by using both words and art as forms of e"pression. /elf*discovery and identification would be the goals and the the positive results of the artwor&. I feel that wor&ing with this population would be a challenge$ as it is important to meet the patient in their multiple realities. It would be detrimental to simply tell the patient that their alternate identities do not truly e"ist. heir artwor& serves to not only bring clarity to the patient$ but

insight to the therapist as well. Both parties involved learn the significance behind each identity. @egardless of whether integration occurs$ the goal of art therapy in this instance was to use a person(s creativity to overcome the painful memories of the past. In the case of 7isainne$ her identities had different levels of artistic talent. he fact that she could e"orcise her demons through art helped

her overcome the trauma of her early life. 4er case shows that with artistic e"pression$ recovery is

possible.

ORKS CITED

American -sychiatric Association Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth .dition. <=>A

Cohen$ Barry M. and Carol hayer Co" Telling Without Talking: Art as a Window into the World of Multiple ersonalit! ).). ,orton B Company$ ,ew Cor& >DD9

4umanmetrics http:??www.humanmetrics.com$ >DDE*<=>A

he Myers B Briggs Foundation http:??www.myersbriggs.org