The causes of dissociative disorders are not well understood but often seem related to the tendency to escape psychologically from memories of traumatic events.

Treatment of dissociative disorders involves helping the patient re-experience the traumatic events in a controlled therapeutic manner to develop better coping skills. In the case of DID, therapy is often long term and may include antidepressant drugs. Particularly essential with this disorder is a sense of trust between therapist and patient.

Watch the 3 videos from Cengage labeled as follows:

Body Dysmorphic Disorder http://college.cengage.com/coursemate/psychology/barlow_9781111357207/unprotected/video/player.html?video=ch6_body_dysmorphic

Rachel 1 http://college.cengage.com/coursemate/psychology/barlow_9781111357207/unprotected/video/rachel1.html

Rachel 2 http://college.cengage.com/coursemate/psychology/barlow_9781111357207/unprotected/video/player.html?video=Rachel2

Discuss your answers to the following:

What type of experiences does Rachel report in terms of her sense of "self" in relation to her various alternate personalities?

Why might an alter identity develop in an individual? Give examples of ways that an alter identity might be adaptive.

Describe why you feel Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is might  be found in movies and TV shows.