As a therapist who specializes in treating Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), I often hear about how hard it is to find a therapist to work with DID. This becomes even more difficult when the person wants to use their insurance benefits. And if you have Medicaid, well, it’s even harder still. Just today someone referred to me as a “unicorn,” since I treat DID and I accept Kansas Medicaid.
So what do you if you are unable to find a therapist for your DID who meets your insurance requirements? If you can’t find someone who specifically works with DID, look for a therapist who uses IFS (Internal Family Systems). IFS is a parts-based theory and therapy. In IFS, all of us have parts, not just people with DID. IFS therapists are used to working with parts and shouldn’t find DID to be as unusual as other therapists might. In IFS, the main difference between most people and people with DID is that in people with DID the parts are more separated and independent than with everyone else. So it’s mostly a matter of degree more than anything else. I personally like the message this conveys. People with DID are so often viewed as something unusual and with IFS this isn’t the case. IFS therapists are much more common than therapists specializing in DID and you will be able to find IFS therapists who are providers for Medicaid or your commercial insurance.
If you have Dissociative Identity Disorder or some other dissociative disorder and are interested in working with me, contact me about setting up a free 15-minute consultation by telehealth. Call or text 816-226-4678.
