The Bifurcation of the Self: The History and Theory of Dissociation and Its DisordersFor more than a hundred years, dissociative states, sometimes referred to as multiple personality disorder, have fascinated the public as well as scientists. The precise nature of this disorder is a controversial one, dividing clinicians, theorists, and researchers. Challenging the conventional wisdom on all sides, Robert Rieber’s Bifurcation of the Self traces the clinical and social history of dissociation in a provocative examination of this widely debated phenomenon. At the core of this history is a trio of related evolutions—hypnosis, concepts of identity, and dissociation—beginning with nineteenth-century "hysterics" and culminating in the modern boom in Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) diagnoses and the parallel rise in childhood abuse/repressed memory cases. Rieber does not argue the non-existence of DID; rather he asserts that it is a rare disorder exaggerated by dissociation advocates and exploited by the media. In doing so, he takes on some of the most difficult questions in the field: - How crucial is memory to a person’s identity? - Can two or more autonomous personalities actually exist in the same body? - If trauma causes dissociation, why aren’t there more DID cases? - Why are DID cases prevalent in some eras but not in others? - Does dissociative disorder belong in the DSM? The book is rigorously illustrated with two centuries’ worth of famous cases including Christine Beauchamp, Ansel Bourne, Eve Black/Eve White, and most notably the woman known as "Sybil", whose story is covered in depth with newly revealed manuscripts. And Rieber reviews the current state of DID-related controversy, from the professionals who feel that the condition is underreported to those who consider it a form of malingering, so that readers may draw their own conclusions. |
Contents
1 | |
THE ROOTS OF MULTIPLE PERSONALITY | 11 |
The Neurophysiology of the InhibitionExcitation | 18 |
F W Myers | 24 |
NOTHING BUT GOD AND THE BRAIN | 31 |
THE ORIGINS OF HYPNOSIS | 43 |
LOOKING INSIDE THE BOX THINKING | 53 |
Repression | 59 |
THE PUBLICATION OF A PSYCHIATRIC MASTERPIECE 85 55555 05 | 85 |
THE MYTH EXPLODES | 105 |
SEMINAL CASES OF MULTIPLICITY A HISTORY | 132 |
RETROSPECTIVE | 183 |
REFERENCES | 197 |
Three Tape Excerpts | 207 |
Excerpt from the TV movie Sybil | 285 |
301 | |
Other editions - View all
The Bifurcation of the Self: The History and Theory of Dissociation and Its ... Robert W. Rieber No preview available - 2006 |
The Bifurcation of the Self: The History and Theory of Dissociation and Its ... Robert W. Rieber No preview available - 2010 |