Academic Perspective on the Effects of Childhood Traumas on Dissociative Identity Disorder

It has been proven many times before that there are various connections between childhood and mental illnesses. There are also important connections between childhood and dissociative identity disorder (DID). When we look from the perspective of psychology or human mental health and when it comes to the human factor, that is, holistic health in terms of quality of life, we understand that childhood traumas have a special importance. As a child, a person passes through a tunnel from which he can never return, and in this tunnel, he experiences many things, meets many people, that is, he grows up. While this tunnel is beautiful, fun and colorful for some, it is full of nightmares and trauma for others. In this study, DKB was approached from a broad perspective with different and various topics. There is a gradual process in the treatment of DID and the treatment is focused on psychotherapy. Communication with alters during the DID treatment process is a process that requires sensitivity and professionalism. Sand tray therapy can also be used in communication with alters, especially with child alters. A sand tray on its own is not enough; but it facilitates communication between alters. Sand tray therapy provides non-verbal communication and relaxation with sand (Çınar, Sand Tray Therapy, 2023). Considering dissociative identity disorder only in the presence of sexual abuse and severe physical violence in childhood may cause patients with dissociative identity disorder, which progresses in a milder course, to be overlooked. Sometimes, although the person has a high dissociation capacity, dissociative identity disorder may occur in seemingly minor life events, and a severe DID patient may show low-level symptoms. The important thing is emotional division, which is when the child experiences unwanted experiences and a negative emotion strongly, and the mind responds to this strong emotion with division.