Re:bls/das

I am uncertain of your point in saying that you have never seen "alter egos" caused to appear in your clinical work with exposure therapy. Dr. Paulsen did not say emdr "caused" such ego states to appear, I believe her to be saying they exist, and barriers between them are lessened through the process of emdr. There is a vast difference between uncovering something and creating it... and this goes to the core of the debate (I thought thankfully abandoned in most circles) over whether severe dissociative phenomenon "exists".

Are you implying that such ego states are created by emdr or by some clinicians? Or are you saying you don't posses the discernment to "see" them? Or do you believe such discernment to not be discerning at all but projections or over interpretation by therapists?

If that last is your point, then I'd refer you back to Dr. Paulsen's question a few posts back: are you challenging the very existence of dissociation? That is a whole other discussion, and one quite separable, and appropiately so, from an examination of the effects and efficacy of emdr.

Additionally, I am confused by your reference to BPD. Dissocative Disorders may coexist with BPD and often do. There is, as well -- I am thinking of Kroll's excellent book -- much overlap between BPD and PTSD. But BPD is not equal to DID (or other disso. disorders) and the mere existence of multiple traumas does not indicate DID, either. So what connection between BPD, multiple trauma and "alter egos" are you implying?

It is, in my experience, a common stance of some to say "oh, yes, of course, dissociation exists" but to then clarify by saying extreme dissociation is a product of clinical expectation and fantasy. This is something like saying, well, yes, sometimes some people do drink a bit too much, but there's no such thing as an alcoholic.

Please explain.

Replies:

Re:bls/das, by Cahill, 10/29/02 No clinical observation of DID?, by Sandra Paulsen Inobe, PhD, 10/29/02 Re:No clinical observation of DID?, by Cahill, 10/29/02 Re:bls/das, by missusscarecrow@yahoo.com, 10/30/02

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