Stage 1:
Stability
- reducing or erasing the symptoms causing distress – headaches, anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicide attempts, time loss, etc.;
- building trust with a therapist – when a person has been abused it is very difficult for them to trust anyone. This is an important step in the healing process and one that can continue throughout therapy;
- diagnosing and accepting the diagnosis – this is not as straightforward as it sounds. As I have already pointed out, diagnosing the MPD/DID can be quite difficult especially if the therapist is not familiar with the symptoms and signs. For the person, it may be extremely difficult to accept the diagnosis of MPD/DID and could actually take years before finally accepting it;
- learning about the different personalities inside;
-
beginning or increasing communication among
the personalities – finding out all of the personalities who exist within and
learning how to communicate and negotiate with each other is a big first step
in managing the multiplexity. Again this step can take years.
