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The Allison Manifesto on MPD and DID by Ralph B. Allison,M.D. E-mail: ralfalison@charter.net Presented at The 7th European Congress of Hypnosis Budaest, Hungary on August 17-24, 1996 The Allison Manifesto on MPD and DID Copyright 1996 Ralph Allison Primary Principles 1. Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) is a real but rare dissociative disorder. Alter-Personalities control the body until integration. The Original Personality cannot have an "identity disorder" since she is never in charge. 2. Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is common but different in clinical manifestation from MPD. The Original Personality is in charge of the body except when Alter-Personalities take over. Hence, the Original Personality does have an "identity disorder." 3. Both MPD and DID patients will manifest Imaginary Playmates that are misidentified as Alter-Personalities. Also, people without dissociative tendencies can manifest Imaginary Playmates. Such persons do not have a dissociative disorder. Secondary Principles 1. Every human being has a bipartite mind, consisting of an Emotional Self and an Intellectual Self. Essence is the uncontaminated English term for the Intellectual Self. They separate by a process called dissociation. 2. Artificial Dissociation of the Essence from the Emotional Self can occur during hypnosis in highly hypnotizable experimental subjects. This is how Hilgard found the Hidden Observer (a synonym for Essence) in a few of his Stanford undergraduates. 3. Dissociation occurred naturally in patients with MPD before the age of seven, when they perceived a life threatening situation. The Essences primary duty is to preserve the life of the individual. Therefore it dissociates from the Emotional Self when such a situation occurs. This is the first dissociation to occur in a person who then develops MPD. Until age seven, the childs mind is not mature enough to cope with such a danger without needing to flee. Since physical flight is usually impossible, she flees inside her mind. 4. To be able to have MPD, a person must be a Stanford Grade V+ hypnotizable person. In the family of a child with MPD, the parents are polarized. From the childs point of view, the roles of the parents are being reversed constantly. The child is the sole target of abuse by the caretakers, and the other children are treated fairly. Family secrets are implanted in the child with MPD. This keeps the abuse ongoing. 5. In MPD, the first dissociation is the Essence separating from the Emotional Self. The Essence then takes on the assignment of Inner Self Helper (ISH), and the Emotional Self is sent into hiding. The ISH makes all Alter-Personalities, the first being one of many False Front Alter-Personalities. Then others are made in this order: Persecutors, Helpers, Identifiers, and Disabled. The ISH makes all Alter-Personalities from the potential characteristics of the Original Personality. Therefore, there is a limit to the number of Alter-Personalities which can be made. When a client with MPD claims to have hundreds of Alter-Personalities, most are Imaginary Playmates, as the ISH has a limited supply of personality traits available. The ISH cannot create more than 70 Alter-Personalities per person. 6. Therapy is done only with Persecutor Alter-Personalities to reform them into Helpers. 7. All of the reformed Persecutor Alter-Personalities are then layered onto the Emotional Self. That process is called Psychological Integration. Then the ISH reverts back to being the Essence. 8. After the Emotional Self has gone through the same experiences she did not handle while dissociated, the Essence will reintegrate into her, in a process called Spiritual Integration. This is the final healing step. 9. Dissociation also occurs naturally in DID patients, when they have a need for protection from a perceived assault after the age of seven. The personality is mature enough to stay in executive control of the body. However, she has not learned to protect herself from assault. The Essence makes Alter-Personalities to protect the body. 10. In a person with DID, the Essence has not dissociated. A small number of Alter-Personalities are created by dissociation to deal with specific stressful situations. Therapy consists of teaching the patient to handle these problems. This makes the Alter-Personalities obsolete. 11. The Emotional Self makes the Imaginary Playmates out of human feelings. Their behavior is unpredictable. They change over time and are either inside or outside the physical body. Imaginary Playmates do not have amnestic barriers as do Alter-Personalities. 12. Imaginary Playmates can be used to exact revenge. In contrast, Persecutor Alter-Personalities are angry at the actual abusers, and they will focus that anger at them or others who mimic their behavior. 13. Since Imaginary Playmates are made by the Emotional Self, they must be destroyed by the Emotional Self. 14. Imaginary Playmates can be made by anyone. To confuse imagination with dissociation causes understandable skepticism regarding the dissociative process. MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER MPD 1. Age of onset: Before seventh birthday 2. Setting: Parental home 3. Reason: Physical survival after sexual, physical, and/or emotional assault by primary caretaker(s) 4. First dissociated entity: Essence, in savior role of Inner Self Helper (ISH) 5. Second dissociated entity: False-front alter-personality designed by ISH to placate abuser(s) 6. Role of Original Personality: Abdicates executive control of body until allowed out by ISH in therapy during adulthood 7. Patient who comes for therapy: Latest false-front alter-personality 8. Types of alter-personalities: False-fronts, persecutors, rescuers, handicapped, identifiers 9. Number of alter-personalities: Many -- 10 to 60 frequently 10. Suicide risk: High, frequently hospitalized for suicide prevention 11. Therapy Plan: Outlined on page 205, Minds In Many Pieces (1980), Allison & Schwarz 12. Role of ISH in therapy: Co-therapist 13: Major elements in therapy: Hypnotic age regression with Abreaction, Reframing, Acceptance, & Discharge 14. Integration process: First Psychological Integration of all alter-personalities into the Original Personality, then Spiritual Integration of the Original Personality with the ISH 15. Likelihood of therapy being possible while incarcerated: None DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER DID 1. Age of onset: Age seven or older 2: Setting: Parental home, community, school 3. Reason: Need to protect self from an abuser; Birth Personality unable to defend self 4. First dissociated entity: Defensive alter-personality 5. Second dissociated entity: Often none. If any, another defensive alter-personality from another assault. 6. Role of Birth Personality: Stays in executive control of body 7. Patient who comes in for therapy: Birth Personality 8. Types of alter-personalities: Hostile protectors (from beatings); Sexually aggressive ones (from rapes) 9. Number of alter-personalities: Few, frequently only one 10. Suicide risk: Low, unless incarcerated and feeling hopeless & helpless 11. Therapy plan: Individualized, based on reason for creation of the alter-personality 12. Role of ISH in therapy: None; No ISH exists, only the patient's non-dissociated Essence 13. Major elements in therapy: Coping skill training to make the alter-personality unnecessary in today's world (assertiveness training, occupational training, supportive psychotherapy) 14. Integration process: As Birth Personality learns to do for himself what the alter-personality has done for him since childhood, alter-personality atrophies from disuse. 15. Likelihood of therapy being possible while incarcerated: Good 



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