Dr. Gharaibeh is a an attending psychiatrist on the inpatient unit at Danbury Hospital in Danbury, CT. He teaches psychiatric residents from New York Medical College during their rotation in Danbury Hospital and physician assistant students from Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT.
What is it about dissociative identity disorder (DID) that makes it a polarizing diagnosis? Why does it split professionals into believers and nonbelievers, stirring up heated debates, high emotions, and fervor similar to what we see in religion?
The DID controversy is likely to continue beyond the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), slated for publication in 2012. Proponents and opponents claim to have the upper hand in arguments about the validity of the DID diagnosis and benefits vs harm of treatment. This article examines the logic of previous and new arguments.
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