Minds in many pieces: The making of a very special doctor

This book encompasses so much information, and it is such an enjoyable read. It is not your typical mpd discourse, but it should be required reading, especially if you tend toward more spiritual thinking. Thanks to the review by Katie "book worm" we know that the latest edition is simply the original 1980 publication with an added chapter. 26 years later, the book isn't "dated" at all, it is still groundbreaking and fresh. I'm sure the author's statements about the closed-mindedness of his peers is still accurate in 2006. The author took serious chances with his career and standing by publishing a book so honest. It states what certainly has been accepted by this time, that dissociation and splitting off creates other personalities for coping. However, the author takes this a step further and fearlessly admits that sometimes, entities (spirits) attach themselves to people and must be "exorcised" before all of the personalities can fuse, thus allowing the patient to become whole. It's an appropriate read for everyone interested in the subject of DID/MPD. I would recommend it to sufferers of the disorder, especially if you are just realizing your other identities. Rigid "professionals" with a genuine lack of interest in their patients' well being will label this as quackery, thus denying those patients the information and openness required for their ultimate integration. This is unfortunate. I'm sure Dr. Allison is used to such accusations of quackery by now, but at least this book is published, and therefore he can reach sufferers who have an open mind and a desire to get better.

I recently became quite interested in the topic of consciousness & the mind, and have found several great books on the topic - this being one of them. "Minds in Many Pieces" is written by a psychiatrist who describes his experiences with those suffering from "multiple personality disorder". He also shines a light on how difficult it is for a professional psychiatrist to use unorthodox means as a way of curing those in pain - even when those methods have proven to be amazingly successful. While reading this book, one can't help but ponder how much we still don't know about the mind. Quite frankly, it's scarey to realize just how little knowledge we've gained to date. However, I believe, as does the author, that we can learn much about both the health & illnesses of this "organ" through the research of MPD patients. There are a few instances where Dr. Allison had to use such unorthodox means as exorcism to rid the patient of harmful personalities - it seems as though some personalities were constructed by the patient for specific purposes, whereas others may actually be the spirits of deceased persons who somehow became attached to the patient so that they can continue to "live" on earth. Even though the dr. does perform these tasks when necessary, he wasn't sure that it was truly spirit possession that he was encountering - but whatever the issue was, it did respond quite quickly to the process of exorcism. It seems as if the patients who receive the best treatment have doctors who are willing to keep an open mind, and treat each instance (even if they don't believe what is happening, or aren't sure) as if it was REAL - as opposed to fighting with the patient, trying to tell them that it's all a figment of their imagination. It's high time that more psychiatrists & psychologists realize this... Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in psychology/psychiatry in general, and MPD in particular, as well as those who have an interest in possible spirit possession.

You don't have to be interested in learning about Multiple Personality Disorder to find this book fascinating. When writing a book about a person who was a multiple, I realized MPD offers a unique window into the human mind (including the soul). It offers an exploded view of the mind where one can look in and around the pieces before reassembly. Each multiple provides startling revelations of how the mind works and what it means to be a person.Allison uses his case studies to examine individual fragments in just this way. He has what many doctors lack--humility. He shares his mistakes as well as his successes, and because he's willing to face ridicule by his colleagues, he ventures into territory others avoid. His stories offer glints of the human soul, insights into the workings of a spiritual realm that do not neatly fit in any of our scientific of theological boxes and hints of our connection to our Creator. Particularly interesting is his discovery of an entity common to all mulptiples. (Allison chooses the word "entity" over "personality" in this case.) He calls this entity the Internal Self Helper and shows how this aspect of the person has remarkable knowledge of all the events in the person's life as well as what it will take to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. The Internal Self Helper often displays knowledge of a connection with God that goes beyond this present life. One gets the feeling that in this unique personality or entity we are seeing a glimpse of that part of the person we call the soul or perhaps the spirit, broken off from the rest of the being so that the counselor can speak to it directly.Some facets of personality shimmer with the light of heaven while others are opaque with the darkness of hell. In his book, Allison candidly describes reintigration of the personalities as well as exorcism of opportunistic spirits that have worked their way between the cracks.The one drawback I saw to the book was the final chapter, which was appended fifteen years after first publication of the book. Unlike all of the other chapters which are short on conclusions and ample with examples, the last chapter is all conclusions without any examples to support his sweeping claims. He steps off his own pyschological turf to offer a number of enormous theological assertions, but offers no support from his own case studies or from religious writings. For example, he states that reincarnation is taught in the Old and New Testaments and acknowledges that the church disputes this, but then he doesn't say where or how the Bible supports the idea of reincarnation. There is, of course, the possiblity that John the Baptist was the reincarnation of the prophet Elijah predicted in the Old Testament, but he doesn't even mention this. And, so, I think he opens himself up to a lot of legitimate criticism in this final chapter because sweeping revolutions in religious understanding require careful argument, not mere assertions. Thus, four stars, instead

Dr.Allison brings years of clinical experience forward in a paradigm challenging view of Multiple Personality Disorder (he differentiates this from DID).Bringing spirituality into the arena of the psyche he finds answers that help guide his patients to wholeness, and challenge the world view of his peers. A must read for psychotherapists and those interested in Multiple Personality Disorder.

MIMP, the first true story of MPD written by professional psychiatrist is now also available in Japanese. And spread its distinguished knowledge about MPD/DID to Japanese Psychiatrists. Worth to read the sincere attitudes of author when he first met this marvelous disease of the mind. He never writes false or not-true things, but he only describes facts and things he observed. So many authors wrote over-decorated literature and even decorated experiences may cause misunderstanding to readers, but Dr. Allison's book is rare one to worth to trust. You can tell from the sincere sentenses. Sometimes you feel the story isn't under the scientific writing attitudes, but remember Dr. Allison wrote his TRUE experience and his concept without any deceiving. Don't be cheated by word "scientific". What we thought "Scientific" is only pretence. The truth is in this book. The book opened a new world to treat those patients who have MPD/DID and imaginary companions. On the other hand, the story is worth to read as literature. Your curiousity would be satisfied with amazing true stories of true lives of MPD patients.