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Analysis Of My Life As A Multiple, By Dr. Cameron West

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In My Life as a Multiple, Dr. Cameron West shares his journey to the acceptance of his diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder, DID, as result from childhood sexual abuse. Cameron, or Cam, lived a fairly normal life with his wife, Rikki, and son, Kyle in Massachusetts. He co-owned a company that sold advertising products with his brother Tom, and lived a quiet lifestyle. Aside from a sinus problem, Cam and Rikki were just like any other family, and there would be no guessing that Cam suffered from childhood sexual abuse. Cam’s mental troubles weren’t revealed until after he physically healed from his sinus surgery. After Cam healed physically, his mind was able to take more control and the alters, “his guys” as Cam refers to them, were …show more content…

Rikki has a degree in psychology and 10 years of experience working with emotionally disturbed children, so she recognized that he needed help. He looked in the yellow pages for a therapist, and under the psychologist section he found Arly Morelli, Ph.D. After getting to know each other on the phone, he went to her office and began to see her regularly. He was feeling worse and worse after each session and one day he experienced dissociation. We meet some of his alters, including Davy, a 4 years old who was molested by his Grandma Lynn. Then we meet Per, an alter who is described as tranquil, and after, Arly and Rikki meet Clay, an alter who was molested by Cam’s mother. It was after Clay that Arly diagnosed Cam with dissociative identity disorder, DID. Dissociative identity disorder is a dissociative disorder in which a person has two or more separate personalities and Cam has three distinct alters before he is officially diagnosed. “His conscious mind essentially removes itself from the present while another part of his mind comes forward to hold the memory or the pain or the feelings about the abuse. That way he isn’t crushed under the weight of what happened to him and can actually go about his life,” West Ph.D., Cameron (2013-12-19). First Person Plural: My Life as a Multiple. Kindle Edition. Cam was so young and …show more content…

He began to see a therapist as soon as a problem arose. Dr. Arly Morelli helped him learn about his past as well as communicate with his alters by writing in a journal. Arly and the journal helped him accept and heal from his child abuse as well as create a habit of seeing a therapist. Cam also went to a multiples’ support group meeting at the Sedona House, which helped somewhat, but ultimately wasn’t beneficial to Cam’s journey to a peaceful life. He attempted to get psychiatric care but his insurance company wouldn’t support him, and when he was finally able to receive care, it was a negative experience. He tried a few centers, including the Ross Institute for Psychological Trauma at Charter Hospital in Dallas, where he did receive drugs like Ambien. The treatments he received there helped Cam and his alters finally accept each other. He was videotaped changing between personalities and he was finally able to end his denial. This treatment was monumental in Cam healing and recovering from his childhood trauma as well as finding a peaceful life. After publishing his book, Cam continued therapy, traveling twice a week to see his doctor, Marilyn Rice, a specialist in treating people with dissociative disorders and post-traumatic stress. He uses a treatment, called Eye Movement Desensitization and Retraining (EMDR). EMDR involves continually taking Cam, and his alter personalities, back

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