Describe how cognitive-behavioral therapy might help a person with dissociative identity disorder.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

As a specific technique, cognitive-behavioral therapy is well- suited to helping clients with dissociative identity disorder to develop a coherent sense of themselves and their experiences. To help clients view themselves more favorably, clinicians can stimulate them to question long-held core assumptions about themselves that are contributing to their symptoms. For example, they may believe they are responsible for their abuse, or that it is wrong for them to show anger toward their abusers, or that they can't cope with their painful memories. By confronting and then changing these cognitions, clients can gain a sense of control that will allow them to incorporate those memories into their sense of self.