December 2012 R A I N B O W’ S Volume 13 END Issue 3 Support & Information Newsletter of First Person Plural the national survivor-led association for dissociative identity disorder and similar complex dissociative conditions Registered Charity No: 1109464 CONTENTS Editorial statement........................2 Making Contact .............................2 Chair’s letter..................................3 We Went to FPP Today………..........4 Thank You…………..…………………......4 Understanding Misunderstandings……………………..5 An Interview with a Therapist………..……………………….….6 Play Centre....................................8 Atonement..……………………………....10 A Healing Journey…..………….……… 12 A Response to ‘Twitter, Blogging And Forums..………………………………14 2012 (poem)……………..……….……….15 Tiger Tiger (Poem)..…….….............15 Campaign Meeting…..………………….16 FPP Training Days………………………..16 We know that Christmas and New Year can be a hard time and we wish all Rainbow’s End readers as safe a time as possible, and hopefully some nice times too . And lots of good wishes for 2013
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December 2012
R A I N B O W’ S
Volume 13 E N D Issue 3
Support & Information Newsletter of First Person Plural
the national survivor-led association for dissociative identity disorder
and similar complex dissociative conditions
Registered Charity No: 1109464
Edito
Maki
Chair
We W
Thank
Unde
Misun
An In
Thera
Play C
Atone
A Hea
A Res
And F
2012
Tiger
Camp
FPP T
CONTENTS
rial statement........................2
ng Contact .............................2
’s letter..................................3
ent to FPP Today………..........4
You…………..…………………......4
rstanding
derstandings……………………..5
terview with a
pist………..……………………….….6
entre....................................8
ment..……………………………....10
ling Journey…..………….……… 12
ponse to ‘Twitter, Blogging
orums..………………………………14
(poem)……………..……….……….15
Tiger (Poem)..…….….............15
aign Meeting…..………………….16
raining Days………………………..16
We know that
Christmas and New
Year can be a hard time
and we wish all
Rainbow’s End readers
as safe a time as
possible, and hopefully
some nice times too.
And lots of good wishes
for 2013
2
MAK
One re
The ne
sugges
FPP m
memb
have n
offer n
non-m
but we
contac
such a
and ho
to set
friend
to give
Editorial Statement:-
Thank you so much for all the contributions we have received! It is great to hear from so many
people, and we have tried to include as many as possible
While every effort will be made to keep contributions complete and unedited we reserve the right to make
amendments. Decisions about the inclusion and amendment of contributions are made by the editors and
are final. Contributions do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of First Person Plural, members
of the executive committee or the editors. Inclusion of any reference to an individual or organisational
resource is not a recommendation. The contents of this newsletter are for information and support
purposes only.
The newsletter is not a substitute for individual therapy or professional supervision. It is an addition to, not
a replacement for, other networks of support.
Contributions can be sent in at anytime stories; resources; book reviews; tips;
Personal experiences; articles and poems; brief snippets and black & white artwork are desperately
needed It would really help if you can send your contribution as an email attachment. This saves times
and resources. Please send to our editorial email address [email protected]. If you
can’t send by email, handwritten and typed material sent by post will continue to be accepted.
The next issue of the newsletter is due in March 2013; any contributions for
consideration for inclusion in that issue must be with us by 23rd February 2013
Originals returned only if a suitable stamped addressed envelope is enclosed
IMPORTANT:- When sending material for publication please clearly mark “FOR
PUBLICATION” and say what name or pseudonym you wish to use.
ATTENTION : -Material in this newsletter may trigger painful memories and
feelings. Read with caution and appropriate support if necessary
First Person Plural, PO Box 2537, WOLVERHAMPTON, WV4 4ZLhttp://www.firstpersonplural.org.uk - email: [email protected]
ING CONTACT WITH EACH OTHER? - - - - REMEMBER SAFETY FIRST
ason people join First Person Plural is in the hope of connecting with other members.
wsletter and occasional members open meetings provide opportunities to do so but we
t you use caution. Do not lose sight of the fact that, initially at least; other members of
ay be strangers to you, as you are to them. FPP does not check applicants for
ership. Anyone can become a member by completing a form and making payment. We
o reason to believe that any of our members are unsafe persons but conversely we can
o assurances that someone is trustworthy just because they are an FPP member. Also
embers may have access to the newsletter. Clearly we are not saying never make contact
do advise that you use common sense precautions as you would when meeting or
ting any stranger. Develop your friendship slowly before exchanging personal details
s telephone, mobile or postal address. Set clear boundaries for yourself about what kind
w much contact you wish to have with each other. Listen to & respect each other’s need
and change boundaries. Do not let desperation for understanding, support and
ship cloud your judgement or lead you to try to get more from each other than each wish
3
First Person Plural, PO Box 2537, WOLVERHAMPTON, WV4 4ZLhttp://www.firstpersonplural.org.uk - email: [email protected]
Dear All
The last few weeks have been very tough for many if not all of us with the high exposure on the subject of
childhood abuse in the press. I only hope that from this it will help to address the needs of survivors and with
constant pushing when and where we all are able may bring about a slow change. For me it feels like it can never
return to how it was but the way forward remains unclear.
The work of FPP continues with many more enquiries for awareness raising sessions and full days’
training. The audience seeking this is definitely widening to include organisations like Family Action, local MIND
groups, local Action for the Blind to name just a few. Working in a library has allowed me to talk to many
organisations that I would probably never have considered and the genuine interest is growing. I hope to develop
this aspect of FPP’s work when I retire from paid employment in the New Year.
With that in mind we are going to ask all our members and a much wider audience to take part in an
online survey that will be on our webpage, hopefully by the end of January. We hope that small research projects
will gradually begin to address some of the gaps: one of the gaps we think we are able to address is nobody has
any idea of how many people have an official diagnosis, how this came about, did it result in getting the
specialised therapy required etc. We will aim to ensure that the data we collect is factual so is respected and
useful. I am sure that some of us will feel frustrated by what we are not asking but hopefully from this first piece
of work we can build on what we learn and maybe use a similar forum to gather further information in the future.
You will find another; very brief survey enclosed with your newsletter, and for those who receive it by
post an enclosed SAE for returning it. We are the planning stage for the next DVD and looking to submit funding
bids that will possibly ask for objective data alongside anecdotal evidence. We would really appreciate you filling
in the survey. If anyone has contacts that they can tap for donations please do. I am going to write to some of our
local, larger companies, I appreciate this will have to come from a more personal approach and will not be suitable
for many of you but I am determined to find this money and expect to do it through securing many small
amounts. Also any ideas of sources of funding do please e-mail them directly to me [email protected] I
have quite a list but all ideas would be appreciated. We have learnt so much through making the first DVD and one
thing we addressing is supporters were not represented. Through this important feedback we are including
someone who supports his wife, otherwise the team remains unchanged. This is for many reasons but primarily
the trust we all built up and that proved to be the vital element that allowed us to achieve what have.
We appreciate the frustration that many people have when they discover FPP and in some ways what we
are able to offer as support is limited in what they were hoping for. We took the decision in the early days that
with the complexities of living with DID/DDNOS alongside the lack of knowledge about it we could use our
resources to the greatest advantage by educating those who work with us and this hopefully will change things for
all of us and consequently positively affect many more people. If anyone would like to consider starting a local
support group or holding a local gathering along the lines of our Open Meetings do please get in touch. I was part
of two groups that ran in Norwich and learnt an enormous amount about the positive aspects as well as some of
the more challenging dynamics that occurred. Through our training days we are meeting many more survivors
who are well on in their personal journey. I would suggest that you do need to be in therapy and at a certain stage
where you feel this would be beneficial rather than an endurance test. In both the groups I was involved with it
was very much about how we manage our everyday lives, not about what had happened to us. It worked really
well for some of us and not for others.
I appreciate when many of you receive this newsletter you will be in a time of year that is distressing and
causes so much pain. Please try and hold onto you are not alone out there and being held in many other members
thoughts during this time. I wish you all as peaceful and enjoyable Christmas as is possible for you and look