[UA] Feedback on UA-ish convention scenario concept

[Mark Fender]

ua at lists.uchicago.edu wrote:
> As this is in regards to a UA-style scenario that I may be writing for 
Necronomicon 2001, Doug Stalker (and anyone else likely to go to that con)
may wish to avoid reading it.
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Now that we're spoiler spaced...

>My experience with MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder) was tangential. 
 Specifically, I worked as a secretary for a group of social workers, one 
of whom had several patients with those symptoms.  The book she recommended 
(but which I never read) was "When Rabbit Howls."

I'm sort of in the same boat. I'm in charge of medical records at a mental 
health center. While I do not have direct person-to-person contact with the 
clients, I do see their charts (and confidentiality laws would prevent me 
from discussing anyway). "When Rabbit Howls" is a good book for this sort 
of thing, though. I'd recommend you read it (or at least glance at it) 
before devising this sort of scenario.

>A few random impressions I got were...

>* Personalities may be more formed or less.  Captains are usually pretty 
well rounded, but other personae are task-oriented.  There might be one 
personality whose sole function is to feel pain -- so any time the body 
gets hurt, that personality gets switched in.

This one depends more on the individual trauma, the amount of repetition of 
the trauma, and other intangibles. There are at least a few cases here 
where the person has more than one 'complete' personality. And at least in 
every case that I've come across, there is always a child personality (Of 
course, in every case I've come across, the trauma was sexual assault at a 
young age, so that might not exactly be conclusive).

>* Therapists may want to reunify the personalities into a coherent whole, 
but that's often considered an ideal outcome.  More often, it's just a 
matter of taking things as they are and helping the personae recognize, 
respect and adapt to one another.

I don't believe, from my limited experience, that there is a successful 
reintegration of all the personalities. At least a few always survive, if 
not more in the background. In many cases, the client actually likes all 
those extra personalities.

>Caveat though: I'm NO EXPERT.

Me neither. I will say that the most frightening, horrible thing I've ever 
seen was a normal girl suddenly fall to the floor and begin speaking in a 
childlike voice, begging her father to stop. I feel ill even mentioning it.

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