Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD)
a.k.a.
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
ALL SIDES TO THE DEBATE
Quotation:
"Down with skepticism, up
with awareness." Label on a button at a MPD
conference.
Topics discussed:
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Special Note | ||||||
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Overview | ||||||
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Nature of the controversy | ||||||
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History | ||||||
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Three conflicting views:
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Intentionally induced MPD | ||||||
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Related essays | ||||||
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References |
Special Note:
Some material in the following essay may seem to read like a really bad work of fantasy-fiction. You might suspect that the author has dissociated from reality. However, we assure you that sincere, intelligent and caring people really do hold these beliefs; they learn and teach them at seminars and conferences, and use them during therapy and exorcisms. One result is many patients/clients who enter therapy with minor problems become unable to function. A few have committed suicide.
This is a wild ride, so fasten your seat belts.
OVERVIEW OF MPD
As the name implies, Multiple Personality Disorder is a mental condition in which 2 or more personalities appear to inhabit a single body. Since the 1970s, it is believed to be caused by very severe abuse during childhood -so extreme that the child cannot absorb the trauma in its entirety. The child dissociates, and creates an alternative personality (a.k.a. "personality state," "alter," "part," "state of consciousness," "ego state," "fragment," "identity.") to handle the abuse. If the abuse continues, additional alters are created as needed. "Trying to escape overwhelming fear and pain by imagining you are somewhere else - or someone else -seems to lay the groundwork for separating off some parts of your identity." 1
Dissociation is a common experience. Most people have observed mild dissociative episodes in which they lose touch with their surroundings. Examples include daydreaming, highway hypnosis, or losing oneself in a movie or book. MPD is viewed by some as an extreme level of dissociation, "which may result in serious impairment or inability to function." 2
According to MPD therapists, the "host" (the victim/survivor's basic personality) is not necessarily aware of the existence of these alters. The abuse memories contained within the alters are not typically accessible to the dominant personality. Various "triggers" can cause one of the alters to take control of the mental processes of the victim for periods of time. This is called "switching." Control then passes back to the dominant personality or to another alter. This may be sensed by the survivor/victim as blocks of missing time. She/he may detect it as a result of the sudden appearance of new possessions that they cannot recall having purchased, or withdrawals from their bank account signed for in a strange handwriting.
Some alters create new alters as needed. Others perform a system regulatory function; they determine which alter will be in charge at a given time.
MPD was renamed Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) in 1994.
MPD specialists generally believe that people "with DID (MPD) may experience any of the following: depression, mood swings, suicidal tendencies, sleep disorders (insomnia, night terrors, and sleep walking), panic attacks and phobias (flashbacks, reactions to stimuli or "triggers"), alcohol and drug abuse, compulsions and rituals, psychotic-like symptoms (including auditory and visual hallucinations), and eating disorders...headaches, amnesia, time loss, trances, and 'out of body experiences.' Some people with DID(MPD)/DD have a tendency toward self-persecution, self-sabotage, and even violence (both self-inflicted and outwardly directed)." 2 They believe that the appropriate therapy to recover the childhood abuse memories, and to re-integrate the alters into the dominant personality.
Many professionals are skeptical about the widespread nature of true MPD. They view it as a non-existent or extremely rare phenomenon that affects perhaps a handful of persons in North America. At the same time, they are aware of the suffering of those diagnosed with MPD; they regard MPD survivors as victims of bad therapy. Their cure for MPD is to isolate the patient from the therapist.
Finally, there are some conservative Christians who believe that the symptoms of MPD are created by multiple, indwelling demons or "unclean spirits" as mentioned frequently in the New Testament. The appropriate method of treatment is to exorcise the demons. They would disagree with any therapy that involves actually talking to the demons/alters.
Judging by the increasing numbers of malpractice suits against MPD specialists and the recent drop in membership of their professional organization, the International Society for the Study of Dissociation (ISSD), the skeptics appear to be gaining in strength.
Nature of the MPD/DID Controversy
MPD/DID is extremely controversial. As in the case of Recovered Memory Therapy (RMT) Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA), beliefs about destructive and mind control cults, abuse during UFO abductions, etc., experts in the field are deeply polarized into two groups, which we call:
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"Skeptics." - those who believe that MPD is a psychological fad. It is either non-existent or phenomenally rare in nature. It is a disorder that is iatrogenic - unknowingly created by the therapist-patient combination. Thousands of victims have been generated by bad therapy. | ||||
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"Believers"
- those who see MPD as a very serious public mental health problem
affecting perhaps 1% of the population. These are further divided
into:
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As in so many other therapeutic controversies, it is imperative that we reach a consensus on MPD quickly in order to minimize continuing harm to the public:
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If MPD is an iatrogenic (therapist caused) disorder which does not appear in society naturally, then it is important that exorcisms and MPD therapy be discontinued, to avoid creating additional victims. |
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If MPD is real, if alters exist, and if the disorder is caused by severe child abuse, then attempted exorcisms by religious believers could exacerbate the victims' suffering. Activities by skeptics could prevent victims from receiving proper therapy. |
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If MPD is real and is caused by indwelling demonic spirits, then psychotherapy to integrate the alters could cause great harm. Attacks by skeptics could prevent victims from seeking exorcisms. |
HISTORY OF MPD
There have been stories throughout history of people who have behaved strangely, and later were unable to recall their actions. But the first medical studies of what we now call MPD/DID did not appear until the 1800s. It was regarded as a very rare medical curiosity until the mid 1950's. Dr. Bennett Braun reports that a 1944 "review of the literature by Taylor and Martin found only 76 documented cases of MPD" worldwide prior to that time. 3 Ofshe & Watters refer to a 1979 study which found "only two hundred cases of MPD in all recorded medical history." 11 The appearance of Recovered Memory Therapy (RMT) in the 1980s gave therapists a method to recover images, both true and false, of early childhood abuse. Patients often develop these images into memories which the therapist and patient believe are the root cause of MPD. Beliefs in Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) became popular about the same time. This gave a rationale for therapists to expect high levels of MPD in the general population.
A fictional novel, presented as a documentary, The Three Faces of Eve (1956), described a woman who was believed to have three personalities. This was the first multiple personality book to catch the attention of the public. It was later into a movie which various sources date as being released in 1956 or 1957. It had a profound effect on the public, convincing many that multiple personalities were both possible and common.
In 1968, MPD was defined in the American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-11) as a hysterical neuroses. It was redefined in DSM-111 (1980), as one of four dissociative disorders. These disorders have in common "a sudden, temporary alteration in the normally integrative functions of consciousness, identity, or motor behavior." MPD is differentiated from other dissociative disorders by the following symptoms:
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the individual switches between two or more distinct personalities |
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control of the individual is held by whichever personality is in control at a given time |
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"each individual personality is complex and integrated with its own unique behavior patterns and social relationships." 3 |
A second book, also presented as a documentary, described a woman who was believed to be possessed by 16 personalities. This was Sybil (1973). It also came out in a movie version, and made a major contribution to the public's perception and acceptance of MPD.
Dr. Herbert Spiegel was Sybil's backup therapist when her main psychiatrist, Dr. Cornelia Wilbur, was out of town. He concluded that Sybil's "personalities" were artificially generated during therapy when Dr. Wilbur gave names to Sybil's various emotional states. He said that Sybil told him that Dr. Wilbur wanted her "to be Helen" when she discussed a specific past occurrence. Dr. Spiegel suggested that she talk about the event simply as Sybil."Then she discovered she didn't have to act like Helen in order to talk about it."
Audio tapes of Sybil's original therapeutic sessions have emerged; they confirm that the personalities were artificially generated by the therapist. Dr. Robert Rieber of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice obtained a set of audio tapes of conversation between Sybil, her psychiatrist and the author of the book. In a paper delivered to the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in 1998-AUG, he said that the tapes show that the three were "not totally unaware" that the story that they told was wrong. "Yet at the same time they wished to believe it, no matter what. I would prefer to believe that there was as much self-deception as deception of others. They were not malicious people." 17
This novel/movie first introduced the concept that abuse during early childhood was a cause of MPD. This belief has since gained near universal acceptance among MPD therapists.
The American Psychiatric Association renamed MPD as Dissociative
Identity Disorder (DID) in DSM-IV (1994).
As increasing
numbers of therapists became active in the MPD field, new concepts were
introduced. Patients were no longer limited to only a few alters.
Therapists uncovered dozens of alters - even hundreds, and eventually as
many as 4,500 within some individuals. Alters "may present themselves
as differing from the body in age, appearance, sex, language and even
species. Some therapists claim to have uncovered vegetable and even
inanimate personalities." 12 Some alters
are animals; others are inanimate objects, like clouds.
11 Different personalities exhibit different
speech patterns, mannerisms, attitudes, thoughts, and gender. Alters may
differ in allergies, handedness, eyeglass prescription or even the
presence/absence of diabetes.
According to the DSM, the client is under the control of one personality or alter at a time; she/he usually cannot recall events that happened when the other alters were in control.
During the 1980s and early 1990s, the number of people diagnosed with MPD increased enormously. As of 1998, there were about 24 clinics in North America which specialize in this disorder. This number is in decline as many MPD/DID clinics have been shut down.
In recent years, belief in MPD has become less common in North America. Some causes are:
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A growing belief that recovered memory therapy is extremely unreliable and often creates images of abuse that are unrelated to real childhood events |
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A growing belief that no abusive religious cults exist, which engage in ritual abuse or murder |
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Some persons accused of criminal acts have attempted to escape responsibility for their actions, and blame it on MPD. They claimed that their dominant personalities were not responsible for the crimes - their alters did it. This has contributed to public suspicion about the reality of MPD |
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Alleged victim-survivors of MPD have appeared on many TV talk shows. Some have given unconvincing, artificial, often comic performances. |
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Observation by some skeptics that MPD symptoms only appear after the beginning of therapy. These symptoms tend to rapidly disappear after the patient terminates treatment and is isolated from their therapist. |
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Some insurance companies have become alarmed at the extremely high cost of treating patients in MPD clinics. Costs sometimes run to over a million dollars per patient. |
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Malpractice lawsuits against MPD therapists, their clinics and affiliated hospitals have been launched in recent years. Some settlements have run into millions of dollars. |
It is our prediction as of 1998-MAY, that by the year 2010 CE, MPD/DID will be relegated to the trashbucket of psychological fads, along with frontal lobotomy, recovered memory therapy, abuse in former lifetimes, and abuse onboard UFOs. Still remaining will be thousands or tens of thousands of victims of MPD therapy who will continue to suffer, slash themselves, attempt suicide and sometimes die.
MPD/DID SEEN AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDER:
Those therapists who accept MPD as a valid, common diagnosis believe that it is induced by extreme, repeated, physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse during early childhood.
Many MPD specialists consider MPD is the same class as "schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety, as one of the four major mental health problems today." 3 Although it is diagnosed almost entirely among women, therapists speculate that it may be equally common among men. However, men are less likely to seek treatment. They often end up in jail because of the behavior induced by MPD. Research shows that the average person who is just diagnosed with MPD has spent 7 years in the mental health system, and has usually been previously misdiagnosed with other many disorders.
Treatment for MPD takes many years of painful, intensive therapy as childhood memories of vicious abuse are recovered. The condition of the patient invariable degenerates during therapy. But therapists believe that they can be restored to health after all of the abusive memories are uncovered and the many alters are reintegrated into a single personality.
Therapists developed the concept of a hierarchy of alters, in which each fragmented personality had a different degree of power and different function within the whole system.
Dr. Bennett Braun, one of the leaders in the field, recommends that the therapist study each alter in depth in order to learn:
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its name, so that it can be directly addressed in the future |
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when and where the patient was at the time that it was created |
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what events caused the creation of the alter |
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"the duration of time that it has executive control of the body" |
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how it fits into the hierarchy of alters |
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its function; how it contributes to the system of alters |
One alter that is frequently found has the specific responsibility of harming the patient by slashing, engaging in other forms of mutilation and committing suicide. Those proponents of MPD who believe in Satanic or government conspiracy theories generally feel that this alter is programmed to trigger in the event that the patient is about to reveal secrets about the cult or agency.
One source quotes an unspecified article in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, which found that "Persons with MPD are highly suicidal with 72% attempting and 2.1% successful." 4
E.B. Carlson and F. W. Putnam, developed a simple screening test to detect dissociation levels in people. It is called the Dissociative Experiences Scale. 5 Two of the 28 questions are:
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"Some people have the experience of finding new things among their belongings that they do not remember buying. Mark the line to show what percentage of the time this happens to you." |
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"Some people find evidence that they have done things that they do not remember doing. Mark the line to show what percentage of the time this happens to you." |
We must admit that we are at a total loss to know how to answer these questions. If they had asked how many times a year each experience happens, we could answer immediately: perhaps 2. But we don't have the foggiest idea how to convert that number into a percentage. Percentage of what? we would ask.
Other people seem to have no difficulty coming up with percentages. Various researchers who have used test have predicted that perhaps 1% of the general population and 5 to 20% of patients in psychiatric hospitals suffer from this disorder. 5
MPD/DID, SEEN AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL FAD:
Many memory researchers and a growing majority of therapists in North America have reached a consensus that:
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the recent epidemic of MPD is a psychological fad |
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MPD does not occur naturally |
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MPD is an iatrogenic disorder, unknowingly created by the interaction of a therapist and patient |
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belief in MPD is in decline. |
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persons who have been diagnosed with MPD are victims of bad therapy, but not of MPD itself. |
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if true MPD exists, it is an extremely rare phenomenon, affecting perhaps fewer than a dozen people in North America. |
MPD/DID is closely linked to two other fads, namely Recovered Memory Therapy (RMT) and beliefs about Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA). Since 1980, all three panics have appeared suddenly on the scene, risen quickly to prominence, been popularized on TV talk shows, been supported by little or no valid research, and are now in decline in North America.
Some of the reasons for skepticism include:
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A parallel hoax from
the 1880's: Dr. P.R. McHugh of Johns Hopkins described an event
which occurred in France during the 1880's.
13 He feels that it closely parallels
today's MPD hoax. Jean-Martin Charcot was the chief physician of Salpetriere Hospital in Paris. He announced the discovery of a new disease. He called it "hystero-epilepsy" because it appeared to combine symptoms of both hysteria and epilepsy. Symptoms included "convulsions, contortions, fainting, and transient impairment of consciousness." A student, Joseph Babinski, suspected that hystero-epilepsy did not occur naturally, but was unintentionally created by Charot and the hospital environment. He noted that the patients had presented vague concerns when they were admitted; Charcot believed that he detected symptoms of this new disease, and housed them in a single ward, together with patients suffering from epilepsy. The patients became convinced that they were all victims of this new disease and started to exhibit symptoms. The "cure" was simple: The hystero-epileptic patients were distributed throughout the hospital and isolated from one another. The physicians and staff intentionally ignored the patients' behavior and concentrated on helping them tackle the stressors and conflicts that had had originally brought them to the hospital. The symptoms gradually disappeared due to lack of reinforcement. Dr. McHugh draws a close parallel between hystero-epilepsy and MPD. He considers both to be "an iatrogenic [physician created] behavioral syndrome, promoted by suggestion, social consequences, and group loyalties. It rests on ideas about the self that obscure reality, and it responds to standard treatments." He proposes a 4 part cure:
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The misdiagnosis
problem: MPD practitioners often note that the average
person who has just been diagnosed with MPD has had a long history
of involvement with the psychiatric system and had received many
incorrect diagnoses in the past: e.g. schizophrenia, depression,
anxiety, panic disorders, borderline personality disorder. Skeptics
speculate that perhaps the MPD diagnosis is incorrect and that one
of the earlier evaluations was correct. Some persons diagnosed with
MPD may in fact be victims of schizophrenia who have been taught
that their auditory hallucinations are different alters. Patients
with borderline personality disorder might have been taught to look
upon their mood swings as switches between
alters. | ||||||||
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The lack of early
symptoms: Skeptics point out that symptoms had never been
observed by the friends, spouse or family of a person who has just
been diagnosed with MPD. They only are detected
only after therapy has begun. Clients who are
diagnosed with MPD never seem to claim that they are suffering from
MPD symptoms at their initial visit. Alters appear later in therapy,
as the therapist trains the client to identify normal mood swings as
individual personalities. Dr. P.R. McHugh has concluded that
"MPD is an iatrogenic behavior syndrome, promoted by suggestion
and maintained by clinical attention, social consequences and group
loyalties." 14 The implication is
that if there were no therapists looking for MPD then the disorder
would almost completely vanish, and we would quickly return to the
pre-1980 environment in which MPD was seen as an extremely rare
phenomenon. | ||||||||
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Observations by Hot
Line Volunteers: Many listeners at crisis centers/ suicide
prevention lines in North America are well aware that MPD is an
artificial phenomenon. All hot lines have repeat, regular callers,
and the volunteer listeners frequently build up a close emotional
bond with many of them. If a caller starts to go to a MPD clinic,
they begin calling up, presenting themselves as different alters,
with different names. When they break contact with the clinic, often
because their insurance runs out, the alters quickly disappear, and
they become a single personality again, calling the hot line under a
single name | ||||||||
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Results of Literature
Search: Dr. H. Merskey scanned 110 years of medical
literature which predated the recent sudden rise in MPD diagnoses.
None of the cases "excluded possibility of artificial production
" of MPD symptoms. "No case has been found here in which
MPD, as now conceived, is proven to have emerged through unconscious
processes without any shaping or preparation by external
factors...it is likely that MPD never occurs as a spontaneous
persistent natural event in adults."
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Deterioration during
Therapy: Persons diagnosed with MPD/DID tend to start to
deteriorate as soon as they are diagnosed. One leading MPD therapist
commented that therapy "causes significant disruption in a
patient's life outside the treatment setting".
9 He also notes that suicide attempts
are common after diagnosis. It is an unusual mental health therapy
that actually makes its clients worse. | ||||||||
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Lack of MPD among the
Child Population: If MPD is created by intolerable levels
of child abuse during childhood, then one would expect to find MPD
symptoms among many children. But MPD seems to be found almost
exclusively among adults. In the years prior to 1979, only one case
of MPD in a child was reported. By 1988, only 8 new cases had been
found. By 1990, 9 additional cases were reported. This represents a
minuscule percentage of the total MPD diagnoses.
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Lack of MPD among
Seriously Abused Children: One would expect that adults who
are known to have experienced truly horrific treatment during
childhood would be found to be suffering from MPD. These would
include people who survived terrible treatment in concentration
camps, extermination camps, and Jewish ghettoes during World War II;
those who have seen their parents murdered; those who have been
kidnapped during childhood, etc. A variety of studies has revealed
that "victims neither repressed the traumatic events, forgot
about them, nor developed MPD."
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Lack of support for
MPD Diagnoses: If 1% of the population suffers from MPD, as
many proponents claim, then MPD is about as common as schizophrenia.
One would expect that the number of MPD specialists would gradually
increase to handle the approximately 3 million individuals in North
America who are suffering from the disorder. But in fact, the number
of therapists specializing in MPD is in decline. The
International Society for the Study of Dissociation (ISSD) is
currently losing membership. Psychological fads tend to have a
lifetime of about 15 to 20 years. MPD diagnoses were essentially
unknown prior to 1980, numbers of new cases per year rose quickly
and reached a peak, probably in the early 1990's. They have been in
decline since. | ||||||||
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Evidence of the
Creation of Alters during Therapy: Many skeptics believe
that patients are actually coached in how to exhibit multiple
personalities. For example, S.E. Buie, director of the
Dissociative Disorders Treatment Program at a hospital in
North Carolina hospital offers the following advice for therapists
who are digging for evidence of alters:
"It may happen that an alter personality will reveal itself to you during this [assessment] process, but more likely it will not. So you may have to elicit an alter... You can begin by indirect questioning such as, 'Have you ever felt like another part of you does things that you can't control?' If she gives positive or ambiguous responses ask for specific examples. You are trying to develop a picture of what the alter personality is like...At this point you may ask the host personality, "Does this set of feelings have a name?"... Often the host personality will not know. You can then focus upon a particular event or set of behaviors. 'Can I talk to the part of you that is taking those long drives in the country?'" 11 |
MPD/DID ATTRIBUTED TO DEMON POSSESSION:
Conservative Protestants generally believe in the inerrancy of the Bible: that Biblical writings are free of error and are all useful for personal guidance. Although the Old Testament is almost silent on the concept of Satan as an evil supernatural being, that belief is well developed within the Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament. Jesus is frequently described as curing many mental disorders by performing exorcisms. He is recorded as driving indwelling demons or "unclean spirits" out of the person. The Gospel of Matthew has 4 references to demons or unclean spirits; Mark has 9; Luke 10, and John 7.
Many conservative Christians believe that demons sometimes act as spirit guides during Shamanism and New Age channeling, and are the driving energy behind Ouiji boards, Tarot cards, Runes, crystal gazing, etc., and are the communicating spirits at seances. Other times, they are manifested as the Gods of other religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.) Conservative Christians also believe that persons can be possessed by demons.When a person is possessed, they exhibit a unique personality - that of the indwelling evil spirit. They can speak through that individual's vocal chords, often in a language unknown to the person. They can sometimes cause schizophrenia, depression, mental instabilities, suicidal thoughts, or MPD/DID. The standard treatment for a demonically possessed person is to drive out the demon(s) by an exorcism ritual.
Often, the person is believed to be possessed by a single demon. However, Mark 5:9 relates how a person was controlled by many demons:
"Then He [Jesus} asked him, 'What is your name?' And he answered, saying, 'My name is Legion; for we are many.'" (NKJ)
A legion in the army of ancient Rome held 6,000 men. Multiple possession is seen by many conservative Protestants as a cause of MPD/DID; to some it is the main or only cause. They often believe that if a person engages in occult experiences, then "points of contact or entanglement with demonic entities" will occur, and "malevolent spiritual entities" (demons) can infiltrate their mind and body. Rex W. Rosenberg, a conservative Christian clinical psychologist who has specialized in MPD believes that such infiltration can lead to what he calls "demonically - mediated dissociation" (DMD). He asserts that therapists will detect in their clients both the presence of alters, (some of whom will have demonic attachments) and of demons (some of whom will be disguised as alters.) Much harm can be done to the patient if the exact nature of the entities is not precisely determined and matching treatment applied. 7 He has created an experimental "Occult Activities and Manifestations Survey" 8 that an individual can use to detect their degree of involvement with the occult. He lists 96 experiences or manifestations of occult activity e.g. seeing monsters, seeing fairies, being unable to read or understand the Bible, having demonic sexual intercourse with a woman. He lists 79 occultic activities and organizations e.g. tarot cards, Ouija board, I Ching, palm or tea-leaf reading, biorhythm charts, casting runes, numerology; Christian Science, Eckankar, Hare Krishna, Santeria, Scientology, Unification Church, Witchcraft/Wicca.
Many conservative Christian faith groups believe that a "born-again" believer cannot be possessed by a demon. The rationale most often given is that when a person is "saved", they are filled with Holy Spirit. Thus Satan or a demon cannot also enter their body. However, those who are born again represent a very small percentage of the total human population. Demons are thus seen as free to posses many billions of individuals.
The Roman Catholic church has similar beliefs and also uses exorcism rituals. However, the practice is strictly controlled. Church law requires a direct order "of the bishop, after two careful investigations, based on positive indications that possession is in fact present." 6 Among conservative Protestantism, there are a number of ministries which specialize in exorcisms. Other rituals are done informally by clergy and laity. 20
Safety Concerns: There are at least two serious concerns about the use of exorcisms:
- Exorcisms can be extremely dangerous to the survivor's physical health. The procedure sometimes involves severe physical, emotional and mental abuse. Approximately one person per year dies accidentally from the physical trauma inflicted during an exorcism in North America.
- Fr. J. Mahoney refers to an unidentified study performed by a Dr. Fraser at the Royal Ottawa Hospital in Ottawa, ON, Canada. 6 The 7 patients that he reviewed had all undergone an earlier exorcism. The patients' religion, that of the exorcists and the exorcism rituals varied from case to case. He concluded:
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Some alters can be temporarily "banished" by an exorcism ritual. |
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New alters may be created by that same procedure. |
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Each exorcism was severely destructive to the individual. |
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Where MPD is suspected, exorcism is contraindicated. |
Intentionally Induced MPD
At first, MPD therapists regarded the disorder as a unexpected consequence of extreme abuse during childhood. But some went further and found what they believed to be evidence of deliberately induced MPD. They developed a theory that "mind-control cults" systematically used techniques of ritual abuse and/or Satanic ritual abuse (SRA) in order to create MPD in children. The Los Angeles County Task Force on Ritual Abuse describes programming as follows:
"Mind control is the cornerstone of ritual abuse, the key element in the subjugation and silencing of its victims. Victims of ritual abuse are subjected to a rigorously applied system of mind control designed to rob them of their sense of free will and to impose upon them the will of the cult and its leaders." 41
The Task Force lists techniques commonly used by the cult, which include:
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physical abuse: starvation, thirst, pain, drugs, exhaustion, physical isolation, sexual abuse, disorienting bright lights. |
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emotional abuse: the creation of moods of terror, guilt, shame, emotional isolation and rage. |
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cognitive abuse: being kept in a state of ignorance, confusion. |
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spiritual abuse: being taught that God has abandoned them and that Satan is in control |
It was believed that some women within Satanic cults became pregnant in order to maintain a supply of newborns to the cult for abusive purposes. Other infants were kidnapped. Some investigators believed that the cults maintained large, baby-breeding concentration camps. Teenage runaway women were repeatedly raped there; babies born were transported across North America to satisfy the continuous need of the cults. These children were tested at an early age for dissociative ability. Those who passed were systematically abused and carefully programmed in order to generate MPD.
D.W. Neswald, et al, has listed some common programs, which materialize as alters:
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Self-injury: self-cutting, burning, poisoning, breaking one's own bones | ||||||||||||||||
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Lethal: suicide, assassination of others on command | ||||||||||||||||
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Cult control: programs that force the victim to report back to the cult; programs that recall vows given to the cult | ||||||||||||||||
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Therapy Interference:
programs to:
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A common belief is that the cults create at least one alter which would become a Satanist in adulthood. That alter would have the responsibility of continuing the cult into the next generation through intentionally induced MPD. In this way, the cult would continue inter-generationally forever. Those children found with a low level of dissociative ability were not programmed; they were ritually murdered and their bodies disposed of. |
The list of organized perpetrators grew to include cults associated with criminal gangs, twelve-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, other self-help mutual support groups, religious groups, the Masonic Order, illegal mind-control experimentation by secret government agencies, etc.
These beliefs appear to be fading in North America. In spite of almost two decades of active searching, law enforcement has been unable to uncover any hard evidence that such practices have ever existed. The only supporting evidence are the recovered memories of persons who have undergone Recovered Memory Therapy, either by therapists, within self-help groups or by personal self-hypnosis. Without tangible evidence, it is difficult to sustain such a belief system for more than a decade.
Related essays on this Website:
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Mind control / programming by Satanic cults |
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Demon possession and exorcism |
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Recovered memory therapy |
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Satanic ritual abuse |
References:
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RESOURCES THAT VIEW
MPD/DID AS A REAL DISORDER:
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RESOURCES WHICH VIEW
MPD/DID AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL
FAD:
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RESOURCES THAT
ATTRIBUTE MPD/DID TO DEMONIC
POSSESSION:
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RESOURCE THAT TREATS
MPD/DID AS A NATURALLY OCCURRING BRAIN STRUCTURE
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RESOURCES FOR MPD
SURVIVOR/VICTIMS:
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INTENTIONAL MPD
PROGRAMMING BY MIND-CONTROL CULTS
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Originally written: 1998-JAN-11
Last
updated on 1999-MAY-15
Author: B.A.
Robinson
