Dissociative Identity Disorder Research Paper

Dissociative Identity Disorder, or better known as Multiple Personality disorder, is an extreme kind of dissociation where the affected individual creates distinct and different personalities in response to severe trauma or violently stressful situations. They remove themselves from any behaviors, memories, feelings and/or actions that would identify with the main personality, from the person that experienced the events. Each identity has its own name, gender, manner of speech and behavior as well as its own personal history.
Causes
Dissociation occurs due to an individual’s attempt at coping with a difficult situation, usually trauma. It is more commonly seen among young children whose sense of personality is still impressionable and can

• One or more separate personalities.
• Frequent gaps in memories of personal history.
• For children – behavioral problems with difficulty paying attention in school.
Treatment
Psychotherapy – long term psychotherapy is the foremost treatment for this disorder. It is time consuming because it takes a long time to deconstruct each personality and bringing them together to form one solid identity.
Cognitive therapy – to discuss with a licensed therapist underlying issues that have contributed to the disorder and work towards learning new coping methods to prevent forming future identities. For these people, learning how to cope with anxiety and stress is important for recovery.
Art/Music therapy – so the client can express emotions in a nonjudgmental and safe environment.
Medications – there is no specific medication to treat this condition.
• Antidepressants – Remeron (Mirtazapine), Cymbalta (Duloxetine), Nardil (Phenelzine), Prozac (Fluoxetine), Paxil (Paroxetine) and Anafranil (Clomipramine).
• Anti-Anxiety – Valium (Diazepam), Xanax (Alprazolam), Atarax (Hydroxyzine), BuSpar (Buspirone), Librium (Chlordiazepoxide).
• Depressants – Atropen (Atropine), Flexeril (Cyclobenzaprine), Soma

Treatment Goals The goal of treatment is to reduce the individual’s need to rely on transitioning to other personalities as a coping method and to learn new methods, as well as learn to deal with the underlying stressors.
Nursing Interventions
1. Work to establish a therapeutic relationship. Rationale: client has difficulty trusting others, and establishing such a relationship may take time but will help in the overall care.
2. Discuss each separate personality with the client. Rationale: knowing about each personality and its traits will make it easier to work towards personality integration.
3. Help the client talk about the needs that these different personalities meet. Rationale: each personality is a defense mechanism against painful experiences/memories.
4. Administer Flexeril (Cyclobenzaprine) as ordered by the