Primary Identity Approach

Just curious if anyone has done any work with the "Primary Identity Approach" to healing DID?

I Googled primary identity approach so I'm going to assume you mean these people because I'd never heard of it before.

https://www.rcm-usa.org/index.html

I think it's a scam praying on people's trauma and religious beliefs and telling them God will magically fix them. I think this because it's very hard to find out any information about what they actually do without paying them and because part of one of the things you can pay them for is help "Working with Blocking Identities." I also don't believe that any one part is less valid then any other so the name bothers me as well.

I would advise looking at sites more like pods which is a charity for trauma and DID and who provide information without charge to the best of there abilities as well as training you can pay for.

https://information.pods-online.org.uk/ ... order-did/

NyxX wrote:I Googled primary identity approach so I'm going to assume you mean these people because I'd never heard of it before.

https://www.rcm-usa.org/index.html

I would advise looking at sites more like pods which is a charity for trauma and DID and who provide information without charge to the best of there abilities as well as training you can pay for.

https://information.pods-online.org.uk/ ... order-did/

That RCM website gave me the weebees

I am not familiar with the RCM group and really only have experience with Sunflower and second hand through research.

My thoughts:

*** TW religious ***

Some find religious associations triggering. Others find solace in it. My wife's alters can create the spaces they need now with help from the T (meeting room and communal outside world view room etc). Others might pray them into existence." I'm a whatever works for you kind of guy.

*** End trigger warning ***

It looks like a decent first step for someone training "first responder" type figures that are probably operating as volunteers. It talks about discovery and initial memory processing, but does not address developing communication between alters which I believe to be essential.

In it's defense, it talks about "handing off" a person to a DID professional.

*** TW religious ***

I wholeheartedly disagree with their "Distinguishing Demons and Alters" FAQ sheet.

Most every one of their indicators have been present in some or many of my wife's insiders. Very few in her system identify with a specific age. Several made threats and avoided connecting with me. (Initially or still) Change takes time. Months. Years. Resistance to change is a poor judge.

If I were going into this with what I know now, I would frankly say this document will be ignored and maybe burn a copy of it just to be clear.

I hate to think over the years how many people with DID churches have tried to exorcise for "demons". They may not have known better, but it still makes me angry.

*** End trigger warning ***

My opinion: If the group itself isn't triggering, then it looks to be a first step towards healing, especially if $ is an issue. (If they aren't triggering, then be sure to read my WHOLE post.) Developing the communication can be done on your own if necessary, but having a partner helps. Maybe the volunteers could get some further "on the job training" in inter alter communication.

If they believe in blocking Identities they may teach against communication.

3rd bullet point under subject matter
https://www.rcm-usa.org/CDT-Week-1.html

I just found the overview of what they believe and no defiantly don't like them. I don't have an original self to be the most important and I don't have primary Identities representing the true self and alter identities. We are all our true self thank you very much.

Yoga opens the body to false gods. Seriously that's what they claim.

https://www.rcm-usa.org/articles.html

I'm gonna stop looking at there site now because the more I do the more I think they are dangerous.

I know this is an old thread, but this stuff from that site is alive and well... we had a church "friend" (I use that word VERY loosely given the Jan events)... they have a "two-part seminar" STILL TEACHING this stuff...
I just found this thread cuz I was looking at that theory to try and explain to a friend (a GOOD friend) why this is bad thinking and this thread was like super high up in the DuckDuckGo results.

And that link about the Primary ID approach, that FIRST point being "blocking identities"?! How toxic. How barbaric and toxic. This stuff IS dangerous.

We have many spiritual ppl in our system - and ALL OF US are alarmed this 1980's "Satanic Panic" based thinking is still happening.

PLEASE stay far far away from this. We've talked with doc about this like tons since "the shattering" in Apr 2018 and learning how we exist- he said it relies entirely on long forsaken ideas (the primary self/identity model) and "moral panic" mania.

{\Pixie/}

We recently had experience with someone who was 'blocking' their other alters to the point only one was coming to the front often, and this person was quite toxic. We're also pretty certain they weren't admitting to the others coming forward even though they were. They talked about being told they shouldn't be allowed to have the other alters come forward. They also talked very negatively about the only other alter who could come out. This made us very uncomfortable given that we've been making space to allow the others in our system to come forward and making space for them to have what they like. It's made for an easier life for us.

Ultimately, we had to block ever talking to them again as they were triggering Lilith a lot.

Vi

ViTheta wrote:We recently had experience with someone who was 'blocking' their other alters to the point only one was coming to the front often, and this person was quite toxic. We're also pretty certain they weren't admitting to the others coming forward even though they were. They talked about being told they shouldn't be allowed to have the other alters come forward. They also talked very negatively about the only other alter who could come out. This made us very uncomfortable given that we've been making space to allow the others in our system to come forward and making space for them to have what they like. It's made for an easier life for us.

Ultimately, we had to block ever talking to them again as they were triggering Lilith a lot.

Vi

THIS would make US very uncomfortable, too- originally Doc didn't know different and tried this approach with us, too and it created TONS of problems for us.
And once he read and learned more and we changed our approach and it's been game changing... LIFE changing.

This entire "primary" and "subvert/dismiss the others" crap... it's not good. It's dangerous. It denies a HUGE part of the whole self... the COMPLETE system self. Without each and all of us being respected, having space, having a place b/c we ALL exist. It's critical and it's NEEDED.

Zor

And yet this approach is published in books still sold today such as Irvin Yalom's "Love's Executionner" where the therapist explains how he decided that the sexual alter of a system would be the main one and made the system repress all the others. And why did he pick the sexual alter? Becaue of his own maladapted fantasies.

The guy has a Wikipedia page for himself in many languages and published tons of books - most of them are super nasty, displaying so many bad behaviors on his part upon his patients that I am surprized he stayed in activity after publishing them.

I'm not surprised that this is a toxic idea because, honestly, working with an alter who doesn't have a lot of experience in the world means they are very easily manipulated. We've run into this a couple times already with people trying to manipulate specific alters in our system as if we're completely separate these days.

Repressing the others parts of a system seems unhealthy. Yes, we have blocks in place for specific alters so they can't get out, but that's a safety issue for the whole not choosing a specific alter to run the whole show. Honestly, if I didn't have backup from the system, I suspect that I would be pretty non-functional.

It just sickens me how toxic and abusive this theory is and how many people still push it because it is beneficial to them and not the system who needs help.

Vi