About this episode

Sally Maslansky shares her journey of recovery from Dissociative Identity Disorder and the importance of therapeutic relationships in healing.

Dissociative Identity Disorder is one of the more controversial diagnoses in the mental health world. Many therapists and psychiatrists were taught that it doesn't exist, or is so uncommon that we will never see a client with this "disorder" in our careers. However, those of us who specialize in trauma are aware of just how common dissociation is, and clients with dissociative disorders walk through our doors more often than we may expect. So we need to talk about it! This topic is one that we've discussed previously on Therapy Chat, and the perspective shared by this week's guest may be surprising for some to hear. Sally Maslansky, LMFT, is a therapist who was diagnosed with "Multiple Personality Disorder," (now known as DID), by her therapist, Dr. Dan Siegel, decades ago. Sally now no longer meets criteria for DID, and she describes herself as healed, or recovered. Sally Maslansky authored the book, A Brilliant Adaptation: How Dissociative Identity & the Power of the Therapeutic Bond Saved Me about her experiences, and Dr. Siegel wrote the forward. They presented together about healing DID at Psychotherapy Networker in 2026. In our conversation, Sally shares how she…

People in this episode

Host: Laura Reagan

Guest: Sally Maslansky

Topics covered

• Dissociative Identity Disorder
• trauma
• healing
• mental health
• therapeutic relationship

Keywords

• Dissociative Identity Disorder
• trauma
• healing

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: A Brilliant Adaptation: How Dissociative Identity & the Power of the Therapeutic Bond Saved Me

More episodes of Therapy Chat

• 541: How To Raise Conscious Daughters + Sons with Dr. Shefali · September 7, 2026 · 36 min
• 540: Self-Abandonment + Intergenerational Trauma with Alexandra Stevens · August 31, 2026 · 51 min
• 539: Brainspotting + Creative Expression – With Kristy Sneddon + Colleen Klym · August 28, 2026 · 50 min
• 538: How To Help The Helper: Caring For The Self with Vanessa Bear · August 20, 2026 · 51 min
• 536: Ancestral Healing: The Regeneration Process with Dr. Ame Cutler · July 30, 2026 · 43 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Therapy Chat podcast page.