The hit television series premiered its second season with a show dealing with a multiple personality (known now as dissociative identity disorder). She comes to the clinic because the police do not believe she witnessed a murder and wants someone to investigate. As the plot unfolds, it becomes apparent that the young woman switches (goes from one alter to another one)between two primary personalities, though a two additional ones reveal themselves at the end.
For the most part, the writer deals with the controversial mental health health issue of multiple personality in an informative and respectful manner. The different personalities are shown to be distinct from the other ones and the male personality is introduced as “the protector”, which indeed is his function. The writer comments that the alter is “one dimensional”, but never explained what that meant. The control in which the main personality handles a particularly frightening and extremely threatening situation without switching to an alter that was created to handle such fear and anxiety was totally unrealistic. However the positive information given about dissociative identity disorder overall was not sensationalized and gave viewers a good grasp on the issues multiple personalities deal with. It is hoped that other shows will follow this trend and continue to represent this very distressing disorder with respect.
Tags: alters, dissociative identity disorder, multiple personality, multiple personality disorder