Advanced Integrative Therapy for Dissociative Identity Disorder 4/5: A Baby Part

Image credit: Gill Frost

One morning my DID client, Vivian, found a child’s picture on her bedroom floor. Although her six-year-old part, Little Vivvi, usually came out in the early hours and often drew pictures, it was obviously someone older than her who had done this drawing. The name Izzy was written at the top of the paper, so we guessed she was the artist. But who was Izzy? 

It was Little Vivvi who supplied the answer when we next met in the therapy room. 

“There’s another kid around called Izzy! She’s eight years old. She’s a bit bossy but I feel sorry for her.” 

Even though Izzy was apparently a lonely girl, she was reluctant to come out and meet me. It was Little Vivvi who eventually persuaded Izzy to join me face-to-face, reassuring her that I really could be trusted. Her lack of trust came from constantly being tricked into playing ‘games’ by family members. These so called games always resulted in terrifying sexual abuse, often at night. 

It took a few sessions with Izzy before she felt sufficiently confident to look at me. Talking to me was also a challenge, made more difficult because of her constant nail biting. But I soon realised what a wise and intelligent young girl she was. 

Unlike Little Vivvi, Izzy had knowledge and awareness of Vivian and the internal family. This internal family included someone called Baby. According to Izzy, her internal role was to take care of this very traumatised infant. “Being responsible for Baby is very tiring. Sometimes she gets so upset she cries and goes stiff and chokes.” 

Izzy also knew about Vivian’s Advanced Integrative Therapy (AIT) and Little Vivvi’s Wooshing, and realised they had both benefitted from this. However, when I asked Izzy if she would like to have some energy therapy herself, her response was a very clear “No”. It was then I understood how difficult it still was for her to trust me and AIT and that I needed to be patient. 

The breakthrough came weeks later, when I suggested to Izzy that she might consider doing AIT on behalf of Baby, to help calm her distress. I was delighted when Izzy said she’d “give it a go”, but she didn’t want to touch her own body as the others had done. This seemed like something of an obstacle, until I had a light-bulb moment. Why not use a baby doll as a surrogate Baby? 

Once I had purchased a suitable dolly that pleased Izzy, we were able to start the treatment that she called ‘Calming Therapy (CT)’. It didn’t take long for Izzy to find a very simple treatment phrase, ‘Baby’s crying’, and a distress rating of 10 out of 10. 

With the doll lying on her lap, Izzy began by placing her fingers on the crown of its head and together we said, “Baby’s crying”. Slowly but surely Izzy moved her hands down the different chakra positions of the doll’s body whilst we repeated the phrase.  

Izzy said, “I can see Baby having CT as I’m doing it on the doll. And she’s not as red in the face. She’s sobbing but not crying.” Finally, after five rounds of CT, Izzy remarked, “Baby’s gone quiet, she’s smiling! It must be a zero now!” 

Over the weeks, Izzy continued to do treatments on the dolly until Baby’s distress and crying stopped altogether. We felt certain that this had impacted powerfully on Vivian. Her cravings for comfort food and drink had diminished and her nail biting had stopped. Vivian and I felt optimistic. It seemed that if Baby was contented, so too were the rest of the internal family. 

In the final part of this series, we will get to know more about Izzy and how she enabled all parts of Vivian to find peace.