Briefly describe Sybil’s early relationships with significant others and discuss/analyze how this interaction met (and failed to meet) her basic need for safety and significance. b. Sybil had several central and peripheral alter personalities in her multiple personality complex. Discuss the structure and roles of her major “alter” personalities and discuss how some of the concepts developed in this course can make sense of what this constellation of alters was designed to achieve for the original personality. Dissociative Identity Disorder

Dissociative Identity Disorder

Sybil was a dissociative identity disorder patient (DID) who had suffered a turbulent childhood, which included physical and sexual abuse from her mother (Merskey 2018, 2018). The trauma she experienced likely contributed to her development of multiple personalities. She was able to separate herself from past pain and trauma through the use of alter personalities (Putnam 2019, 2019). Sybil had several alter identities. There was a “helper”, an “executor”, and “little girl,” who were responsible for Sybil as the vulnerable and innocent child (Merskey 2018). The concept of ego defense mechanisms can help the mind cope with challenging emotions and experience (Foster 2018). Sybil had the ability to cope with the traumas of her past by having alter personalities. Sybil’s story is particularly interesting from a socio-psychological perspective. Sybil suffered abuse and was unable to form and maintain a coherent sense of herself.