Dissociation : Vol. 8, No. 1, p. 053-060 : A mutual story-telling technique as an aid to integration after abreaction in the treatment of MPD

Abstract

Traumatic memory differs from ordinary memory in being vividly pictorial, unintegrated with the temporal flow of events, and lacking a narrative subtext. The controlled therapeutic abreaction of such memories and their integration into the life story is a central task in the treatment of MPD. In this article, I propose a variation of a technique adapted from the child psychotherapy literature, Gardner's Mutual Story Telling Technique, as an aid to providing the missing narrative after abreactive work. In addition, the technique may be said to provide a healing function, introducing a therapeutic witness to the trauma scenes. Reconstructing a coherent narrative is claimed to have further effects on ongoing identity formation, central to the recovery process in MPD.