Psychologist Mary Watkins’ 1986 book says “imaginal dialogues” with “invisible guests” are normal and creative, but doesn’t know it is multiple personality.

Watkins took the title of her book, “Invisible Guests” (1) from the poem quoted in yesterday’s post, and has other interesting quotations like one from the autobiography of Anthony Trollope:

“…and [the author] can never know [his characters] well unless he can live with them in the full reality of established intimacy. They must be with him as he lies down to sleep, and as he wakes from his dreams. He must learn to hate them and to love them. He must argue with them, quarrel with them, forgive them, and even submit to them. He must know of them whether they be cold-blooded or passionate, whether true or false, and how far true, and how far false. The depth and the breadth, and the narrowness and the shallowness of each should be clear to him. And as, here in our outer world, we know that men and women change,—become worse or better as temptation or conscience may guide them,—so should these creations of his change, and every change should be noted by him…It is so that I have lived with my characters, and thence has come whatever success I have obtained…” (1, pp. 111-112).

Watkins then adds: “The development of depth of characterization corresponds to the development of the character’s autonomy. As the character becomes more autonomous, we know about its world not just from external observation or supposition but from the character directly. The author or narrator becomes less omniscient and can be surprised by the other. Observation of the character’s actions can be supplemented by the character’s own account of thoughts, feelings and wishes through which the imaginal other gains interiority and depth” (1, p. 112).

However, Watkins thinks that “this multiplicity of characters in an individual’s experience would not resemble a pathological state of ‘multiple personality.’ In the latter there is no imaginal dialogue, only sequential monologue…the illness of multiple personality is problematic precisely because of its singleness of voice at any one moment” (1, pp. 104-105).

However, the fact is: “Interpersonality communication is probably going on in every multiple [person with multiple personality] most of the time. The therapeutic concern is more with the…quality of communication. Most host personalities hear voices [of alternate personalities]…Other alters [alternate personalities] report being able to see and talk with one another while they are not ‘out’…” (2, p. 152).

Watkins makes some good points, but doesn’t realize she is talking about a normal version multiple personality.

1. Mary Watkins, Ph.D. Invisible Guests: The Development of Imaginal Dialogues. Hillsdale NJ, The Analytic Press/Lawrence Erlbaum, 1986.

2. Frank W. Putnam, MD. Diagnosis and Treatment of Multiple Personality Disorder. New York, The Guilford Press. 1989.