How is dissociative identity disorder diagnosed?
Making the diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder takes time. It’s estimated that individuals with dissociative disorders have spent seven years in the mental health system prior to accurate diagnosis. This is common, because the list of symptoms that cause a person with a dissociative disorder to seek treatment is very similar to those of many other psychiatric diagnoses. In fact, many people who have dissociative disorders also have secondary diagnoses of depression, anxiety, or panic disorders. The DSM-IV provides the following criteria to diagnose dissociative identity disorder: • Two or more distinct identities or personality states are present, each with its own relatively enduring pattern of perceiving, relating to and thinking about the environment and self. • At least two of these identities or personality states recurrently take control of the person’s behavior. • The person has an inability to recall important personal information that is too extensive to be explained b
