An Introductory Clinical Guide to Dissociative Identity Disorder

If you are skilled in working with complex trauma, you can effectively treat DID.

Media portrayals of dissociative identity disorder (DID), formerly known as multiple personality disorder, are often misleading and sensationalized at best, or harmful and inaccurate at worst. As a result, outdated myths about the disorder persist, including the belief that it is rare, scary, or not a “real” condition. With so much stigma and disinformation floating around, clinicians often feel ill-equipped to treat DID, or are skeptical of it altogether, leaving clients without the therapeutic support they need.

This book offers a solution to that problem. Based on Greg Nooney’s 30-plus years of working with DID, this introductory how-to guide provides you with foundational, yet easy-to-follow, best practices for identifying and working with multiplicity. With the various case vignettes, sample dialogues, and concrete tools inside, you’ll learn how to:

• Recognize identity fragmentation when it shows up in session
• Get to know each alter and their role in the client’s internal system
• Use effective resourcing techniques to quiet dysregulation among alters
• Facilitate communication and cooperation between alters
• Dissolve dissociative barriers slowly and safely
• Process trauma memories that underlie dissociation

As a therapist, you will never be able to directly experience the inner world of a client with DID, but you can help them navigate that world with greater flexibility and ease.

 

Author Biography

Greg Nooney, MSW, ACSW, LISW, LCSW, has worked with clients with serious mental illness and dissociative disorders for over 35 years. He’s received specialized training in treating severely dissociated clients and is the author of Diagnosing and Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder: A Guide for Social Workers and All Frontline Staff (National Association of Social Workers Press, 2021).

A highly respected trainer on trauma-related dissociation, dissociative identity disorder, ethics, narrative therapy practices, treating severe trauma, and burnout, Greg shares his years of knowledge and clinical experience with professionals at seminars and conferences throughout the country.

He has worked in mental health centers, psychiatric hospitals, private practice and most recently at Burgess Health Center where he was the director of the mental health section for a decade. He is an adjunct instructor at the University of Iowa School of Social Work and has served as a field instructor for Master of Social Work Students at the University of Iowa, University of Nebraska, and the University of North Carolina. Greg earned his master’s in social work from Loyola University in Chicago and is available to provide workshops and trainings as well as supervision to social workers, and consultations for therapists working with clients with DID. He can be contacted through his website at www.gregnooney.com.