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Multiple Personality Disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

August Piper Jr
August Piper Jr*
Affiliation:
Providence Hospital, Seattle, Washington, USA; Overlake Hospital, Bellevue, Washington, USA
*
Cabrini Medical Tower, 901 Boren Avenue, Suite 701, Seattle, Washington 98104, USA
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Abstract

Five aspects of the diagnosis and treatment of multiple personality disorder (MPD) were examined. The following five conclusions were made: the contemporary diagnostic criteria are vague and overinclusive; the recent alleged increase in prevalence of the disorder is almost certainly artefactual; legal proceedings involving MPD patients raise disturbing questions about personal responsibility; there is little literature support for the theory that MPD results from childhood trauma; and many of the techniques used to diagnose and treat the condition reinforce its symptoms. A careful revision of diagnostic criteria for the disorder is recommended.

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Type
Review Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 164 , Issue 5 , May 1994 , pp. 600 - 612
Copyright
Copyright © 1994 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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