Clinical Assessment of Dissociative Identity Disorder Among College Counseling Clients

Abstract

College counseling professionals address a wide range of complex student mental health concerns. Among these, accurately identifying client presentations of dissociative identity disorder (DID) can be especially challenging because students with DID sometimes present as if they are experiencing another problem, such as a mood, anxiety, or psychotic disorder. This article reviews DID diagnostic criteria, introduces assessment strategies for use during intake and subsequent counseling sessions, and presents case illustrations.

Lived Experiences of Men With Dissociative Identity Disorder

“…This impact on the safety of others makes it critical to understand the treatment needs of men with DID. However, within the DID community—and the existent research literature—men with DID are a minority (Loewenstein & Putnam, ; Gentile et al, ), as women are diagnosed up to nine times more often (Levy & Swanson, ). Except for one phenomenological study of 21 men diagnosed with DID (Loewenstein & Putnam, ), the existing research regarding men with DID has been focused primarily on case studies with sexual offenders (i.e., Keyes, ; Ross, ).…”