Minds in Many Pieces: The Making of a Very Special Doctor

""Minds in Many Pieces" is written by a psychiatrist who describes his experiences with those suffering from "multiple personality disorder". He also shines a light on how difficult it is for a professional psychiatrist to use unorthodox means as a way of curing those in pain - even when those methods have proven to be amazingly successful.

While reading this book, one can't help but ponder how much we still don't know about the mind. Quite frankly, it's scary to realize just how little knowledge we've gained to date. However, I believe, as does the author, that we can learn much about both the health & illnesses of this "organ" through the research of MPD patients.

There are a few instances where Dr. Ralph Allison had to use such unorthodox means as exorcism to rid the patient of harmful personalities - it seems as though some personalities were constructed by the patient for specific purposes, whereas others may actually be the spirits of deceased persons who somehow became attached to the patient so that they can continue to "live" on earth. Even though the doctor does perform these tasks when necessary, he wasn't sure that it was truly spirit possession that he was encountering - but whatever the issue was, it did respond quite quickly to the process of exorcism.

It seems as if the patients who receive the best treatment have doctors who are willing to keep an open mind, and treat each instance (even if they don't believe what is happening, or aren't sure) as if it was REAL - as opposed to fighting with the patient, trying to tell them that it's all a figment of their imagination. It's high time that more psychiatrists & psychologists realize this..."

ISBN-10: 0892560975