Colin A. Ross Books

Since the publication of Colin A. Ross's influential work in 1989, the field of dissociative identity disorder (DID) has rapidly evolved, prompting a comprehensive revision in this Second Edition. This updated version offers a thorough grounding in the history, diagnosis, and treatment of DID, featuring three new chapters that address epidemiology, critiques of skeptics, and the complexities of attachment to perpetrators. It also revisits the pathways leading to DID, discusses the false memory controversy, and integrates the latest research alongside the author's extensive clinical and forensic experience. By delving into this complex illness, the text enhances understanding of individuals who have used dissociation to cope with severe childhood abuse and sheds light on other psychiatric disorders involving dissociation. This authoritative reference is essential for psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychiatric nurses, social workers, and researchers. Ross provides a compelling account of the history of multiple personality disorder, dispelling myths and offering new insights into treatment strategies, including communication with patients and maintaining professional boundaries. This volume is a valuable addition to the libraries of sexual abuse clinics, child abuse agencies, and correctional facilities, as well as for clinicians.

This account of multiple personality disorder (MPD) and related dissociative disorders presents the latest findings leading to a new model of MPD and a new therapeutic approach to its treatment. The book examines the large cluster of symptoms and dysfunctions associated with MPD, focusing on diagnosis, clinical features, and the relationship of MPD to other diagnoses. Data and clinical evidence are presented for a widely-accepted, but as yet unproven hypothesis that MPD arises as a dissociative strategy for coping with severe childhood trauma, usually involving physical or sexual abuse.