Boxes, Labels & Checklists; the pro's & con's of seeking a DID diagnosis
On YouTube: https://youtu.be/rFwMenFztQQ
Sunday, May 21, 2023
When pieces start to come together and we suspect that we might be a part of a plural system it can be confusing to try to make sense of it. This is particularly challenging when we’re also managing the impacts of PTSD symptoms that don’t seem to make sense. Finding something that might be a direction towards feeling more in control can be exciting, even if it’s also a little scary.
It can be hard to know if what we suspect is true and the desire for confirmation through a diagnosis can feel like a compass in a sea of chaos. There can be a sense of pride in having outside confirmation that what we suspect is happening inside ourselves is, in fact, happening.
It can also be challenging to connect with providers. Aside from financial barriers, it can be difficult to find someone who understands how to assess you, and there are different clinical personalities and styles which may not mesh well with you.
In this workshop we will look at stories of what drove different DID and OSDD systems to receive a diagnosis for themselves, what it meant to them, what things it took for them to get to that, and if there were periods where they dropped the search for a provider entirely. We will fold in some statistics around access and lack of access to supportive and informed services.
Bio Katie Keech
Katie Keech, MFT (They/Them) has over twenty years of professional experience in both community mental health and private practice. They have managed emerging adult community mental health programs and forensic programs.
In the late 1990’s they were diagnosed with DDNOS. After much clinical and personal work, they identify as part of a plural system. In private practice they currently specialize in severe dissociative disorders and complex PTSD as well a neurodivergence from a neurodiversity affirmative framework.
Katie is also the visionair and co founder of The Refractory, a recently started think tank for clinicians with lived experience DID/OSDD/Plurality, which aims to transform the mental health landscape and has already 75 members! They are a beacon of hope for many in the community who felt hurt, shamed or scared after recent events by certain clinical establishments.
Katie is also a Fully Professed Member of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Inc., a 43-year-old global order of queer drag nuns. As Sister Freda they support queer and other communities through fundraising and activism. In their free time they play bass guitar, paint expressionist portraits, and attempt to write graphic novels.