Collusion and entanglement in the therapy of a patient with multiple personalities

Abstract

Most therapists have only limited experience treating cases with multiple personalities. They are, hence, vulnerable to a number of countertransferential traps. Concentration on the personalities rather than underlying conflicts can be one of these. Although therapist fascination and inexperience may be partly to blame, the inordinate manipulation of personalities by the therapist can sometimes serve to mask an unconscious collusion with the patient's resistance to deal with focal issues in therapy. In this account of therapy, the authors illustrate how this led to sabotage of therapy.