Thanks for the first-hand information.
Just to reiterate, of course views shared here are those of the person.
MPD was replaced as you say, with DID which certainly some people have.
And as you say, just because there was a flurry of media-hype false-diagnosis, doesn't mean every case was false.

That being said, unfortunately there have been some people (I know two) who were "lead" into imagining they had MPD, through the use of suggestion, hypnosis, etc. That false-diagnosis can create serious problems. [www.skepdic.com]

Of course, actual mental health situations have to be dealt by people and experts on the ground.


The problem with the Oprahfication of all these things, is she only shows one side of the issue.
Why not have on experts from all sides, and debate the issue?
But again, like James Ray, Oprah only shows her side of the issue.

It just that Oprah irresponsibly throws around MPD terms like "alters" on her show, without showing the other side of the issue, and that is the same technique she used to promote James Ray.
That is an "embedded presupposition".
Only one side (Oprah's side) of the issue is allowed, and its assumed to be true, without contrary analysis from other experts.

The big O does NOT have a clinical license. And real therapy is done in private, to maintain confidentiality and protect the client's best interests.

Being a celebrity runs counter to what a therapist must do in order to be a healer.

A therapist works from his or her true self, using skills learned via professional training and in consultation with fellow professionals.

A celebrity such as Oprah operates from behind a mask, in public, using a public persona that is not real at all, but a performance.

The audience members experience themselves as being in a personal relationship with Oprah, but it isnt intimate or personal at all. It may feel that way, but is not.

A therapist is trained to hold and contain not just the positive projections given by clients but also negative projections. A suffering client may tell a therapist 'I hate your effing guts' and mean it. The therapist helps to hold and contain both the negative and postive projections from a client to assist the client to learn to do the same thing and then take back all that energy and integrate it.

Celebrities and commerical gurus like Oprah and the folks she brings on her show..they accept only the positive projections from the audience.

If you refuse to cooperate or you throw anger at them, they run and hide and let security or their attorneys deal with you and your negative stuff.

Oprah and her celebrity gurus accept only admiration and offer only smily public masks. Oprah and the people she sponsors only want admiration and only want audience members who make them look good.

Real, licensed therapists work in private, struggle with insurance and HMO forms.

Another couple of points:

It can take months, and if a client is traumatized, sometimes a year or more to develop a therapeutic alliance. This is not an insta intimacy situation, it has to be developed slowly.

Real therapy can be boring as hell, it is not the instant dramtic stuff one sees on TV. Many articles have been written about impasse and frustration in the therapeutic situation. And therapeutic alliance cannot be formed instantly or through love bombing. THe therapist has to provide a boundaried space, free of his or her own needs, so the client has the autonomy to begin trusting at his or her own pace. This is good therapy but so slow and subtle that it makes for bad TV.

And it is no simple matter to arrive at a diagnosis. A person may have more than one issue, it can take months, sometimes more than a year for a therapist to have enough information from the client to arrive at a diagnosis.

And there is a complex process known as differential diagnosis--one has to know all the conditions that might produce the kind of symptoms a client is presenting with and then one must know how to rule out conditions by a process of limitation.

A person may have co-existing conditions, such as depression co existing with a pattern of anxiety attacks.

And for a very complex condition such as one of the dissociative disorders, a great deal of time is needed and one may even have to refer the client to another professional.

Finally, it is a therapists responsiblity to recognize whether he or she may be biased or emotionally triggered in such a way that it is desirable to refer the client to a different
practitioner.

Anyone who struts around on TV making it seem it is a simple matter to arrive at a psych diagnosis, especially so complex a condition as MPD is doing the public a disservice.

'The effects of severe child abuse never really go completely away. (You can get better, but there's always some residual) People who tell you otherwise, either don't know or lie.'

Jeannika,
I don't think that you were venting, I think that you were saying something that it is very necessary to say.
Some medical professionals, as well as scammers and celebrities, get carried away with the glory and fantasy of their 'healing abilities' when the very best of them simply create an encouraging space for the suffering person to begin the process of learning to help themselves.

Something else you said that is of benefit to all readers here: "I am so much more than a diagnosis, and/or the symptoms and stigma that goes with it."

To return to James Ray and his unfortunate ability to 'unconsciously attract this' and other less sensational and newsworthy tragedies, it is worth pointing out again that he very consciously and deliberately sought out and bought sophisticated knowledge of manipulation which he then developed into skills that he used indiscriminately on others for his own enrichment and fame.

He consciously and deliberately did this. He is still trying to keep that ball in the air by consciously and deliberately denying any responsibility for the results of his manipulative experiments on his unwitting customers.

In his own words: 'The allure of increasing wealth and fame is always a seductive reality, slithering around your ankles, ready to strike in the blink of an eye. It’s even seductive for me, and I know what to watch out for'

In his own words he admits to awareness of the enormity of what he is playing with, but such is his arrogance and self-induced belief that he, alone of all humans, is somehow exempt from the perils of hubris, that he continued to up the ante in the ensuing Spiritual Warrior programmes.

October 9th, a full year now since three people died in a sweat tent. James Ray is still putting out 'teaching' videos and trying to drum up business with feel-good quotes on twitter.

Cassandra Yorgey at the examiner.com, on the anniversary:

[www.examiner.com]

'Let's hear it for the trouble makers.'

Cosmic Connie has a considered and thoughtful review of the book "Tragedy in Sedona" on her Whirled Musings blog. Its quite a long article but well worth the reading, particularly if you are wary of exposing yourself to the author's (of the book--Connie Joy) continuing sympathy for New Age nostrums:

[cosmicconnie.blogspot.com]


'Imperfect as it is in parts, the sum of Tragedy in Sedona works not only as a testimony to the arrogance and recklessness of one self-help guru, but also as another cautionary tale about the dangers of putting too much trust in any type of guru. I think it is also an accurate depiction of the kind of stuff that goes on at many if not most personal-growth LGAT trainings that draw upon the worst traditions of hoary old est by using what can only be described as brainwashing techniques: ridiculously long days and nights, sleep deprivation, tightly controlled meal and bathroom breaks, and the like. While the topic of LGAT techniques and their effects on participants has been discussed endlessly on critical forums, I have a feeling that there are still many people who are unaware of what really goes on in those hotel conference rooms.'

An interesting development, Mr Ross will be called upon to give his expertise on group behaviour at James Ray's trial in February.

[apps.supremecourt.az.gov]

I note this as information only, not to promote any in depth discussion. In the UK it isn't considered right to discuss such involvements prior to the judicial hearing so I assume the same applies in the US.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/16/2010 10:45AM by Stoic.

Thanks to all who have posted in this thread......Especially The Anticult and corboy....has anyone here read the book MIND PROGRAMMING: from persuasion and brainwashing to self-help and metaphysics by ELDON TAYLOR?....I ask because some of the few negative reviews discuss how Mr.Taylor "hawks" his books and CDs within the book...This is sort of thing that JAR has done in his books.....I am interested in this book due to interest in brainwashing...Any other book recommendations is appreciated and hope everyone here on RR is doing well....Thanks