Dissociative Multiplicity and Psychoanalysis.
Journal of trauma & dissociation : the official journal of the International Society for the Study of Dissociation (ISSD) November 21, 2025 John A O'Neil 14 citations
Dissociative multiplicity—the presence of more than one center of consciousness or 'I,' as seen in Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and subthreshold DID (OSDD-1)—poses a fundamental challenge for classical psychoanalysis. Classic constructs such as splitting, repression, triadic models (oedipal, topographic, structural, Fairbairnian, Kohutian), object relations, and attachment theory cannot fully account for this phenomenon, though they remain partially applicable. The paper explains why these frameworks fall short and reflects on what is needed to reintegrate dissociation into mainstream psychoanalytic theory and practice.