An occupational therapy perspective in the treatment of multiple personality disorder.

Adult persons with multiple personality disorder have survived a traumatic past. After diagnosis and the initiation of psychotherapy, they frequently face a long and arduous treatment process. During this time, intense emotions and memories are retrieved that can disrupt functional life skills in an already disjointed life. The stresses of life combine with therapeutic issues to perpetuate the dissociation that interrupts functional performance. The original traumas occurred when the child was functioning primarily at a sensorimotor level. Occupational therapy can identify sensorimotor activities that provide a focal point of control to reduce stress during the therapeutic process and to develop new life skills.