System Speak: Dissociative Identity Disorder ( Multiple Personality Disorder ), Complex Trauma , and Dissociation Emma Sunshaw

We interview Dr. Laura Brown about her journey treating complex trauma. She shares about the history of believing women’s stories when others did not. She also explains why she does not use “disorder” with dissociative identities. She also shares her experience with keeping a therapy dog in her office. Trigger warning for mention of trauma cases and a variety of abuses, but no in depth discussion of specifics and no details disclosed.

Our guest is Joyanna Silberg, Past President of ISSTD, and expert on dissociation in children and adolescents. She shares with us about her work with children and trauma. She talks about the capacity of dissociation as a gift to yourself! She speaks to the impact of screen time on families, and she also shares about her work with trafficking victims. Trigger warning for short and simple examples of abuse and trafficking in passing (not in depth).

Our guest this week is Mary-Anne Kate, PhD, from Australia. She shares her research into Dissociation. She explains how she educates about and advocates for a broader understanding of Dissociation. She explains her research comparing the fantasy and trauma models. Trigger warning for reference to different types of abuse, but only in context of categorizing for research - no case studies, disclosures, or examples are discussed.

David Archer is our guest, and he shares about prejudice, privilege, racism, racial trauma, white supremacy, and how healing comes when we love ourselves. Trigger warning for references to racial violence, foster care and adoption, and politics.

Dr. John O’Neil, author of “the brick”, shares with us his story of how he began learning about dissociative disorders. He explains the significance of the phenomenological model of dissociation, and how this is different from structural dissociation. He explains about faculty dissociation, depersonalization and derealization, and how these are different from multiplicity.

We visit with Jillian Hosey, a therapist in Toronto. We explore presence in therapy, ruptures and repair, and the importance of our own work in caring for our clients. This is a two-part conversation.