Twelve cognitive errors about multiple personality disorder.

Abstract

Multiple personality disorder (MPD) is often responded to with extreme skepticism by mental health professionals. This skepticism is based in part on twelve cognitive errors about the disorder that can be corrected by argument and research evidence. The errors include the mistaken ideas that MPD patients have more than one personality; that the diagnosis means such patients are not responsible for their actions; that MPD patients are really just borderlines; that MPD is an iatrogenic artifact; that MPD can be created experimentally; that MPD must be rare; that MPD is a therapeutic metaphor; that everyone has different personalities; that MPD will go away if you ignore it; that patients pretend to have MPD in order to please the therapist; that the abuse histories of MPD patients are confabulated; and that one must be a hypnotist to treat MPD. It is important to correct these cognitive errors because MPD is not rare. It can be diagnosed with good reliability and its features are stable and consistent in a number of large published series. Although definitive treatment-outcome studies have not been conducted, clinical experience to date suggests that the disorder can often be cured with psychotherapy. After successful integration, MPD patients function much better than before, and can be released from the mental health system.