How long does treatment for Dissociative Identity Disorder take?

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Treatment for DID? Why? Most therapist, psychiatrists, counselors, peer support etc etc etc do not even believe there is such a thing. My first experience was the "intake evaluation". Then the evaluator recommends to your "case manager" just what kind of treatment that you need. She/he recommends you be evaluated by a psychiatrist. So you are all set for the "big day" that you are finally going to get someone to listen to you that doesn't judge you or laugh at you because your voice suddenly changes from feminine to masculine, or southern to canadian, and you go to your car to get your baseball cap that you forgot, or you take same said baseball cap off and brush your hair because you are "simply a mess". So the big day comes and you walk into this office with big overstuffed chairs, your caseworker is with you, and someone else you have never seen before holding a steno pad. Oh yeah, and over there in the corner is "the couch".
There is a big desk there and a huge 60" flat screen tv hanging on the wall behind the desk. You are curious why the stranger with the steno pad sits down behind the desk and you and your case manager sit on the other side facing the desk and the big tv. I felt like we were at the bank applying for a loan or opening an account. All of us, me and my six known fragments of me known as alters wanted to just get the hell out of there--FAST!!
The steno pad lady picks up a remote control and turns to turn on the tv.
And I sat there in shock as a man appeared on the tv and introduced himself as DR. whatever. It was a closed circuit tv and my "visit" to the psychiatrist was on tv!! I sat there in total shock while he rambled on and on forever and steno lady took notes. I guess my case manager sensed my shock and disbelief and reached over to pat my arm. He didn't ask me one question. He just rambled on and on for his 50 minutes and recommended therapy.
I have been to the therapist now 5 times and she is totally not into helping me at all. She doesn't even believe half of what I tell her. There have been 5 of the 6 alters come forward in her office and talked to her. Men, women, 1 child . All 5 of them came and spoke to her and she just sat there and smiled. No matter what came out of their mouths, she smiled. Being co conscience with them, I heard and seen them talking to her, flipping her off, one of them even shot her the moon. She still just smiled.
At the end of the session, while Cliff was still there, she looked at him and said. Well, (my name), I think you really know who you are, and that was a very entertaining and amusing hour, but, I don't think you are DID or MPD, or whatever they are calling it nowadays. I think you should think about channeling your talent for stand up comedy into something more profitable.
Therapy? I think emotional and mental abuse is the category that belongs in, and that woman should have her degree and title revoked.
I was in tears when I got back home. I told my partner what took place and she called the clinic and told them what I had told her. They defended the therapist saying that was just the way she operates to get people to "tell the truth".
So that was the last visit there. I had them send me papers to withdraw from the program, and am working on myself. I don't really think I want my peeps to go away, and I know they don't want to. After all, I have grown up with them, and sometimes they are my only friends and allies.
Acceptance is the key. Let them have their way as long as it isn't illegal or immoral. They all love my partner, and she loves all but one of them. The mean defensive self destructive one that she and I both would be better off without. As long as their are no people, environmental, or word triggers, she stays away.
Do it yourself. Don't let someone else take away what your mind and soul have created. They are yours and yours alone for all time. Don't just make a life-create one because if you don't do it, someone else will.


With respect to the answers below, it is not necessary to find a therapist or psychiatrist who "believes" in DID. Although DID is a controversial diagnosis, any psychologist or psychiatrist should be equipped to handle treatment of this disorder. Those who disagree that this is a separate clinical diagnosis (and I am among them) do not doubt the presence of the phenomenon -- we just believe that it is a manifestation of a personality disorder (not a "social disorder") and can be treated successfully from this perspective. The treatment will not vary, regardless of the clinician's perspective. What will matter is finding a therapist you trust and like, and consistently following through with treatment recommendations.
I will also add that it is not always necessary to unbury every skeleton in the closet in order to get better. Often that kind of therapy is counterproductive and can lead to further fragmentation or even to frank psychosis. The idea is to consolidate the "personalities" -- which are just splintered off embodiments of your coping mechanisms -- so that you end up as one viable, integrated person who can cope with life's stresses.  

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Treatment for DID, or MPD as it is commonly known, usually occurs over a long period of time and analysis. In order to integrate and sucessfully control one's many personalities, one must accept their own self. Depending on what skeletons are in the closet, using a very poor metaphor, I believe determines the amount of time it takes before one's treatment is completed.
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I apologize but I can't figure out just now how to post a separate answer here, so I am just going to type my reply here.
I have heard a lot about getting hooked up with a therapist who believes in DID, Dissociative Identity Disorder. There has been a lot of debate among therapists and psychiatrists, some taking the stance that it exists as defined in the DSM IV and some that disagree that it is anything more than a social disorder.
So finding a therapist or psychiatrist who agrees with the information contained in the DSM IV is important.
I have also heard that depending on how experienced the therapist or psychiatrist is in dealing with DID is also a factor in the timeframe for recovery.
There are also schools of thought in regards to DID that a lot will depend on the patients ability to access alters and handle the stress of recalling painful or tramatic memories and working through them. It should not be rushed because the patient can become overwhelmed and at risk.
Recovery involves, getting in touch with the alters, opening lines of communication between the host and the alters and then, working through the painful mermories. There is only so much that a person can handle at a time. Once the memories have been processed, then the goal is to integrate all alters into the host, or this can occur as the memories are recovered, managed, and resolved.
So with that said, some are able to move ahead faster than others, and it just depends on the person's makeup.
Personally I believe the speed at which a person can move forward depends on the extent of abuse, or trauma that has occurred and the length of time this occurred and the age that the abuse or trauma occurred and when it stopped. Sometimes it is still continuing.
Now all doctors are required to report child abuse, whereas before in years past, they had the option to do so or not. And then if the person is a minor, child protective services will be alerted to make sure the child is placed in a safe environment, and any medical or mental help is obtained.
As a standard timeframe for recovery, it can be as short as a year to more than 5 years. Again, there are many variables that cannot be predicted going in. And some chose not to make the journey.
But if a person is haviing intrusive or suggestive thoughts inserted that could affect the safety of themselves or others, SEEK HELP IMMEDIATELY!  

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You also have to be able to accept that you may never recover those moments in time that you don't remember, that occured when you were not "present". Sometimes, after you've learned how to control the disassociation, moments will come back to you - they may be good moments in your life, or they may be icky moments. There may be nothing identifiable to you at the moment that you have a memory come back to you. Don't try to analyse everything that comes back to you, all that does is continue to keep you stuck back to where you were. Realize that it was a moment in your life, and learn from it, but continue to move forward with your life. Moving forward, with the knowledge that you've learned (good & bad), will enable you to move further away from disassociation.
Sometimes just realizing that you've disassociative, helps to break the chain to any further disassociative occurances.  

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I don't know if ANY of these posters HAS D.I.D. so I doubt they are EXPERTS in authority to answer this question. Most "therapists" will tell you that you are DOOMED to live your life in a perpetual state of MENTAL ILLNESS. This is A LIE! Being a multiple for ME was a gift, not a disease or an illness like terminal cancer. It is a COPING SKILL and the only thing you and your alters MUST DESIRE is TRUE CHANGE to come into your life. And LIFE is what they must WANT to live again as a whole, well rounded, multi-faceted person with gifts, talents and a testimony on how you OVERCAME your abuse.
For me, life's journey has been the BEST THERAPY I could ever have hoped for. No longer playing the "victim" as I had to as a child without power or authority to change my situation, I NOW HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO NOT BE ABUSED OR DOMINATED!
My journey started in 1992. It has taken me 20 years WITHOUT THERAPY to learn to move past the coping skill and learn to handle the stress and pressure life puts on me as an adult. I had a WONDERFUL support system in my church. Various women took my alters under their wing and PARENTED THEM with love, acceptance and forgiveness. Including my occult alters AND my self-harmers.
It took 6 months for 50 alters to integrate and most of them had to merely come to terms with the abuse, forgive and let GOD do the judging of the person. When they integrated I had my OWN healing to do with each individual issue that came up daily on how I react to LIFE. It's learning to reprogram your mind to believe RIGHT and GOOD things about yourself rather than taking in all the negative things people say about you.
After my alters integrated I just lived life and let GOD do the healing of memories, feelings and such that would come up from time to time.
How many YEARS must we talk about the same memories and abuses by the same people? It really is UP TO YOU!
Forgiveness is the KEY to unlocking your pain and coming to a place of acceptance and healing. If you are unwilling to forgive you will stay locked in bondage to your abusers.
I don't HAVE to disassociate. It was needed during the HELL of my childhood but as an adult I came to realize that I WASN'T at anyone's mercy anymore.
I think the 1st thing that had to take place is getting rid of the VICTIM'S MENTALITY and take back the control from others that "trigger" me. I refused to let what took place 30 years ago control my life and the lives of my alter selves. Each one of THEM was an extension of the surpressed ME. When I came to understand that all the ME's were to PLEASE PEOPLE or to hold my extreme emotions away from myself so I didn't have to deal with the TRUTH of what took place, I began to embrace MYSELVES and then learn to pour good things into MYSELF.
THERE IS LIFE AFTER ABUSE! Therapists are out to make MONEY off your pain. They don't care if you EVER recover. They would love to drag on your suffering as if you have a "disease" that is incurrable. From personal experience it is a JOURNEY of growth, healing, restoration and peace and until the VICTIM WANTS TO BE A VICTOR they will continue to allow the past to govern their future. Each alter self, if resistant to change will thwart your overall progress. That is with EVERYONE. If a woman refuses to forgive her husband for having an affair then all there is left is divorce. It's just inevitable!
DID is NOT merely a "mental problem" it IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE A COPING SKILL. It's learning how to express yourself in a world that wants you silenced that is the KILLER OF THE HUMAN PERSONALITY! Now, you can learn NEW SKILLS in coping with life and then your alter selves no longer have a purpose and integration is the next course of action. It really depends on the person who is seeking help.
Support systems are MORE VALUABLE than therapy. A therapist cannot parent your child alters. That is NOT their agenda. It's not just about recovering memories it's about maturing each alter to see the bigger picture rather than maintain a self-centered world filled with THEIR PAIN.
While pain is real, it is NOT a dwelling place. Just like birthing, pain comes in waves and then subsides. If you are not pushing past the pain to find relief and fulfillment on the otherside then no amount of therapy is going to do you any good.
Every person's desire is to be LOVED, ACCEPTED, BELIEVED AND FORGIVEN!
Therapy does not provide such things!
I have found that my FRIENDS are the greatest contributors to my healing process. Even those who did not KNOW about MPD had a desire to love me regardless. This is the 2nd KEY to your healing. Having people around that LOVE YOU, ALL OF YOU! Even the negative sides of the human being (which everyone possess) can be taught new and better outlets than destruction to self or to others. I needed to be properly parented and that's the truth in a nutshell. My alter selves needed to know that life existed outside of the box of their looped memories and life had to move past my childhood into adult life. They needed something to LIVE FOR outside their own pain and perpectual suffering that just doesn't seem to end. If you really WANT to help your alters, LOVE is the biggest healer to abuse.
YES, I am STILL a multiple. I just no longer have to disassociate to be who I am.
LIFE IS GOOD!!  

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There is no set time period, but it isn't something which can be accomplished quickly, so think in terms of several months to several years. View section 17, on Dissociative Identity Disorder, at http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris which contains some useful weblinks, and information.



 

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I am a woman in my early fifties, and I learned about my DID in therapy around 5 months ago (I've been working with this therapist for a total of about 8 months).

I have come a long way. Less than a year ago, I was constantly being triggered and was shaking and crying all the time, couldn't process a thought/couldn't think/couldn't work, and had suicidal urges (I was so dissociative that I didn't think of it as dying - I just wanted to "see what would happen"). I am now functional, productive at work again and starting to enjoy life experiences. I do get stuck in flashbacks sometimes, but at least now I know that's what it is, and overall I am much, much better. I still have lots of work to do, but I am very happy with my progress.

How long does it take? No idea, all I know is that it's a process and some days really suck but sometimes, life is better than it's ever been.

For the first answerer, I am absolutely horrified at your experience with the tv. I cannot imagine how that must have felt, having that done without your consent.

For the second multiple that answered, I am so sorry you have not felt loved, believed, accepted and forgiven in your therapy experience(s). If you don't feel accepted and believed by your therapist, RUN out of there! I am here to tell you it IS possible. I have a wonderful therapist who believes and accepts me even when I don't.

I have learned that all my parts are parts of me, and they all took on a role in protecting me, even the "mean" one. We with DID did what we needed to do in order to survive, which may include identifying with our abusers. I don't want to "get rid" of any of my parts, because they are all parts of me, but as I learn their stories and process their traumas, I get better.

We can re-parent ourselves. I found that when I was not taking care of myself (not having my needs met), that I was getting triggered and baby me would cry. When I learned this, I tried holding her. The first time I did this, she was screaming and inconsolable. I kept trying and each time the crying was less intense, until finally she got quiet and happy.

The creativity we possess that enabled us to become multiple is still with us and we can use this creativity in our recovery.

Richard Schwartz has done extensive research on this and has a website with some great information. He calls it the "Internal Family System". He describes ways to interact with your parts to help them/you heal.
http://www.selfleadership.org/

Best to you in your healing.