Case Study Of Dissociative Identity Disorder

The patient, “Kathy” is a 26 year old female who had experience many traumas growing up such as witnessing molestation while later being molested herself by both parents and then being raped by a family friend at the age of 15. Kathy blocked out these memories by creating several different personalities whom she calls Kathy, Pat, Vera, and Debbie. Pat first appeared when she was four years old. Vera became a personality at the age of 9 after being sexually assaulted by her father. Lastly, Debbie was Kathy’s last personality and was brought on by her rape from a family friend. She has also made a previous attempt of suicide when she was 18. Kathy was sent to a mental facility where she met her current husband. Finally, while seeking medical …show more content…
The textbook, Abnormal Psychology, describes DID as having “two or more distinct personalities” (Comer 209). Spring, the author of an article called, A guide to...working with dissociative identity disorder, mentions that dissociative disorders “are characterized by 'a disruption in the usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory, identity or perception of the environment” (Spring, 2011). Symptoms of multiple personality disorder can include “amnesia, anxiety, auditory hallucinations, depression, fugue episodes, insomnia, low self-esteem, lost time, mood swings, numbness, self-harm, somatoform symptoms, and lastly, suicide attempts” (Ringrose, 2012). Kathy does not have all of these symptoms but has the majority. Her symptoms include depression, self-harm, suicide attempts, low self-esteem, and mood swings. Not only does she have DID but she suffers from a major depression disorder from the horrific activities of her past. Her symptoms of depression include being unable to sleep, suicidal thoughts, feelings of being lost (like with everyday struggles), and angry …show more content…
With time Kathy can recover if she continues her therapies and treatments. As for her environment, I think it would benefit Kathy to remain in an institute until her treatments and outlook starts to improve. Unfortunately, it takes time so she might be in the institution for a while. I recommend the institution because not only is she a threat to herself but she could eventually escalate in temper to harm other people. After she passes all the tests to be released from the institution, I would recommend her to A) move in with a trusted friend or B) possibly move back in with her husband. Of course these options all depend on how she feels about her husband after her release. It is my opinion, that if everything goes accordingly she can continue to live happily with her