kymbra Clayton

This paper explores two main relationships which are significant to the individual with dissociative identity disorder (DID): the client –therapist relationship and the individual’s relationship with significant others. By examining recent research on DID and analysing transcripts of interviews, discourses are identified that challenge the traditional assumptions concerning the therapist/client relationship and the capacity of those with multiple selves to establish meaningful relationships. They offer new ways of looking at the role and significance of relationships in the life of the individual with DI.

In the health professions there is widespread agreement that dissociative identity is dysfunctional and needs to be cured. This position is based on the assumption that the healthy self is unitary and therefore multiplicity must be disordered. The cure, a requirement of oneness, is integration: the multiple selves must be unified into a single, integrated personality. To uncover themes and assumptions of this dominant approach to dissociative identity, five main texts were examined. From the many discourses identified, two central discourses were selected for further exploration. This paper explores how the identified discourses construct individuals with dissociative identity and how they inform and limit psychological theory and practice. Being exploratory, this paper offers a platform for further in-depth deconstruction and critical evaluation of the underlying assumptions and implications.

Epidemiological studies have consistently reported prevalence rates ranging between 0.9 and 23.5% for problem gambling among young people. With such a large range reported in the literature, it is clear that more research in this area would be of value. The current study investigated the prevalence rate of adolescent gambling and problem gambling and explored types of harm-related and help-seeking behaviours associated with gambling specific to this population in an Australian setting. A self-administered battery of questionnaires was distributed to 252 students aged 12–18 years, attending four private schools in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney, Australia. The battery included a self-administered socio-gambling demographic questionnaire, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Fourth Edition Multiple Response Juvenile (DSM-IV-MR-J) diagnostic instrument to assess problem gambling status, the Gambling Attitudes Scale, and questionnaires using a Likert scale to measure gambling-related harms and help-seeking behaviours. The prevalence rate among this group was found to be 6.7%. The study found further support for previous findings suggesting that a significant proportion of young people meet criteria for problem gambling, that males are at-risk and that few adolescents are able to recognise when gambling is problematic or access mental health professionals for assistance.