| Abstract: | The complex symptomatology of patients who have survived profound childhood abuse, particularly the severe dissociative and posttraumatic symptoms of patients with multiple personality disorder (MPD), may predispose therapists to engage in poorly considered psychotherapeutic practices. Therapists should be careful to keep a rational clinical perspective and not to be distracted by patients' unusual and dramatic clinical presentation. This article discusses the particular problematic areas often encountered in the treatment of MPD patients, including the necessity for pacing the therapy, keeping the focus on the patient as a whole, and avoiding preoccupation with individual personalities or with MPD phenomenology. Clinical vignettes illustrate these areas of difficulty. Good clinical judgment and sound therapeutic principles permit rational and productive treatment even for challenging MPD patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
