The Family Inside: Working With the Multiple

Rating:
Summary: a must read
Review: As a professional treating an MPD for the first time I equipped myself with just about every book available on this topic. This book by far has been the most informative, interesting and valuable of all the material I have read. Not only did it give me insight in to the structure of the "multiple" mind but has deepened my understanding of the effects of trauma on victims in general. The narrative is presented from the perspective of the clinicians and includes theory and practical applications and from the perspective of the patient which gives the reader an inside view of the experience of a "multiple". The material is extremely well written, well organized and structured in a way that it can easily be used as a referrence for specific issues and concerns that come up during treatment (must first be read from cover to cover). I do not ordinarily read professional texts as I do novels which I cannot put down. In the case of "The Family Inside", I toted it around and read it with great interest whenever I had a free moment. A must read for anyone with an interest in this subject.

Rating:
Summary: The Family Inside: Five Stars
Review: If I were to recommend only one book on mending Dissociative Identity Disorder, this would be it. Wonderfully, thoughtfully written and helpful to therapists, individuals who experience dissociative identity, supportive others who want to understand. A full treasure chest of healing techniques. Approaches mending from a developmental and inner family systems perspective (Virginia Satir). The authors share illustrative examples of healing and integration throughout the therapeutic work from both professional and client perspectives. Absolutely stellar: this book deserves the highest rating. Concurrently, there are many books on dissociative identity that really don't convey the complexity of either dissociation or of the therapeutic mending process. This one does. There are also some books on dissociative identity that tend to sensationalize the issue or focus on detailed or graphic descriptions of horrific abuse that may or may not be applicable to all cases of DID, perhaps giving readers a less whole and layered understanding than this book can, and in this sense evading one critical core issue of Dissociative Identity: severe developmental damage in the stages of child development. This book does not underestimate the consequences of severe emotional trauma and neglect in the development of Dissociative Identity Disorder. While sexual, emotional, physical, and ritualized trauma are covered in the book, the focus is on the way trauma is processed by the developing child, and on the ways to mend those developmental fissures. Trauma forever changes a child at the moments that it is experienced, and the changes in personality structure and developmental ability that result ripple through deep waters for years afterward. This book is a gem.

Rating:
Summary: a must read
Review: This is the only book I've read that talks about how a multiple's system may be structured. Now I understand why my insiders rarely come out, and when they do, mostly at night. The book also discusses and recommends co-therapy -- therapy with two therapists, which I've found therapists reluctant to do, even though I've suggested it. MPD is so bewildering. I feel for the first time, after reading this book, that I finally know where to place myself and my system in the galaxy, and what my work needs to be. It makes me feel connected, just a tiny bit, to the human race, which I've been outside of my whole life.

Rating:
Summary: This book is wonderful.
Review: This is the only book I've read that talks about how a multiple's system may be structured. Now I understand why my insiders rarely come out, and when they do, mostly at night. The book also discusses and recommends co-therapy -- therapy with two therapists, which I've found therapists reluctant to do, even though I've suggested it. MPD is so bewildering. I feel for the first time, after reading this book, that I finally know where to place myself and my system in the galaxy, and what my work needs to be. It makes me feel connected, just a tiny bit, to the human race, which I've been outside of my whole life.