(Ridgeview Institute and the International Society for the Study of Dissociation, 1994-09) Benjamin, Lynn R.; Benjamin, Robert
This article examines the marital dynamics between MPD clients and their partners. It attempts to classify types of partners, describing seven categories: New Abusers, Caretakers, "Damaged Goods," Obsessives, Paranoids, Schizotypal Roommates, and Closet Dissociatives. Such a typology helps to broaden the therapist's awareness of the client's marital context, heightens understanding of homeostatic patterns in the marital relationship, and sensitizes the therapist to the potential for the undermining of the therapy by the partner or by the MPD mate. This sensitization facilitates the therapist's efforts to provide interventions that enhance the couple relationship, promote the growth of each individual, and prevent the sabotaging of the therapy by either partner.
