Seeing a new DID therapist

I have DID. I have at least 4 Alters I know about. Lately I have had severe dissociation and I just switched to an alter that hasn't been out for months. I reached out to a DID therapist to get help. I'm not sure how to go about talking to her about my system. Sometimes I wonder of it's real or not while other times I know it's real. I'm not sure how to explain it other than I have several people Inside me. Anyone have any suggestions?

Hi GoswellDivorce. If a therapist has any experience with DID, they'll likely understand however you approach telling them. From what I've seen here, and you may have noticed this already, it's absolutely normal to wonder whether DID and alters are real or not at first, even sometimes years after a diagnosis and treatment. It seems to be the very nature of DID to doubt, to block certainty about memory, thoughts, and awareness.

You could just say what you've said here. If you're able to jot down some details about your system -- descriptions of alters, names, etc. -- and hand them to your new therapist, it could help. It would take pressure off you to cover everything verbally.

At first I prepared a note to show my therapist, like "ask for Jack," when I sensed I might have trouble saying something out loud. Over time I was able to create a system map that my therapist and I still use during sessions.

In my experience, a therapist who has experience treating DID is light years different from one who has little or none. But sometimes you're the first confirmed DID client for a therapist and that can work too as long as they do some homework on their own.

I second Jack. If you are able to read about dissociation without dissociating too much - or at least while taking notes about the basics - it could be helpful to have a look at the Guidelines for treatment of dissociation. You'll find links to them in the ressources list (link in my signature). The most well known ones are by the ISSTD but the Blue Knot Fundation have some too.

You'll find other basic books and self-help things etc. in the ressources list, browsing through them can help figure out where the therapy usually starts and what informations about your system are needed to help doing said start.

DID specialists are like another species compared to not-DID-formed therapists. They are GOOD. Ain't easy or comfortable all the time but they are GOOD.