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lb_leeIt's Sneak! I wanted to write also about old plural groups before the Internet, so, here is what I've managed to figure out and find in my initial sweep through BBS data and Many Voices! I've only been able to go back until the 1980s, but it turns out that there were ways for plurals to meet and talk to each other back then! Just going quickly through Many Voices, I've seen that there's a sense of plural and survivor community that seems more centralized than now--Many Voices advertised groups, pen-pal programs, merch by and for multiples (books, jewelry, art exhibitions, submissions wanted), talked about political organizing... it's pretty impressive!
Newsletters
Many Voices, an MPD/DID newsletter that ran from 1989 to 2012, gave a space for multiples to speak to and about each other, during its long run! It also advertised other newsletters, including...
Support Groups
Before the Internet, multiples would sometimes meet together in therapy and abuse recovery groups. The first, February 1989 issue of Many Voices had a listing of such groups (page 7), including "a 12-step program formed under the umbrella organization, Survivors of Incest Anonymous" in NYC, which had been meeting since March, 1988. Many Voices also mentioned three groups in Ohio--"the Celeveland group was founded in 1980, and is still going strong. In Akron, a small group has been operating since July 1987 [...] In Cincinnati, a fee-based group was formed in 1988." So there was a pretty decent precedent for multis getting together in groups even back then!
In the June 1989 letter, Many Voices reprints the NYC multi group's "Twelve Goals for Multiple Personalities" (page 6). It reads:
There's also an interesting offhand mention in the December 1990 newsletter where a multiple describes being in a "support group for sexual assault survivors" where they disclose their multiplicity, and "it turned out that two members are dealing with what is being called SKIS (Several Kids Inside Syndrome), where they are not multiples, but they need to listen to and do therapy with child parts" (pg. 3). So even then, there was at least some fluidity in plural experience, even if this is trauma-induced median experience! The same issue also mentions (page 10): "So many people have written to MANY VOICES about providing 'pen-pal' services... we really can't do it," and recommends an incest-survivors group to write to instead. So there was a demand!
Some of the groups even diversified; in the June 1993 issue, there's a "therapists and couselors with MPD/DID Support Group, now forming in LA/SFV, CA. A safe place to let the 'secret' out and be yourselves. Confidentiality highly protected." (pg. 12) plus more general purpose ones in Tucson, AZ and Utah (the latter apparently also running a multi pen-pal service). There was also another made in Florida. (Many Voices, 1993 August, pg. 9)
Conferences/Conventions
The August 1989 newsletter notes a couple of conferences, though neither are for multiples only (page 7)--the "Understanding Ritual Abuse" conference in Littleton Colorado, which had two days for "survivors & therapists," and the "ISSMP&D 6th International Conference on Multiple Personality/Dissociative States" in Chicago. The 7th is also listed in the October 1990 edition (page 11), which also notes an organization, "MPD Dignity/Loves Ones of Multiples (LOOM)" which "offers a structure and guidelines to help establish peer support groups for survivors and their loved ones" (ibid). Cons get listed regularly in the letter, though there's not really any way to distinguish abuse survivor cons from MPD cons for professionals and MPD cons for multiples.
The February 1991 issue is the "conferences" issue, so there are a BUNCH listed, in Ohio, California, Maryland, New Mexico, Colorado, Virginia, and Illinois (pg 5), and folks share their experiences, advice on getting the most out of them, whether to disclose, and so on. Dorothy P. on page 6 actually advises multiples NOT "don't go to an MPD conference unless you are prepared to tune out the things you don't like. Therapists attending the conference aren't expecting clients and won't cater to our needs and vulnerabilities." Which I think is solid advice, but it does make it hard to tell which "MPD conferences" are for multiples, and which are for medical personnel.
On the whole, there are so many of these that I'm not going to list them all.
BBS Records (1991-1996)
The earliest quasi-multi BBS I have record of is the Mars Station BBS, referenced on page 6 of the December 1991 Many Voices newsletter. "MARS STATION BBS is an on-line computer bulletin board for sexual abuse survivors. Operating at 2400 baud, the specialty board hopes to offer any survivor in the U.S. listing and descriptions of treatment facilities within their area." It apparently ran until 2004!
I met with another multi earlier this week and exchanged notes, and they recommended checking out textfiles.com to try and find old multi BBS records! (Since right now, all we have are local copies on our hard drive, given to us by Astraea and edited... and thus less than completely trustworthy.) According to the Astraea BBS records, there were multiples talking together about it on the Love Galaxy, a health/spirituality BBS, back in July 1992. But I haven't been able to find public record of any of that.
Here's the alt.support.dissociation knowledge I put together! It has a link to the GoogleGroups archive. Looks like it was created 8/28/1994; before that, a lot of multiples hung out on alt.support.abuse-recovery, but it wasn't explicitly for multiples.
I'm looking to see if the BBS records were uploaded and saved anywhere (since I know the local copies we were given by Astraea have been edited, and I'd rather have the raw data, you know?) but I haven't been having much luck so far. I know that the Love Galaxy BBS apparently had some multiples on it, and looks to have been run by a multiple, but the records we have start in 1992, and textfiles.com only has the barest bones record for it, and only for 1994. So that's not really good sources.
The BBS records are really abstruse and nonintuitive, which is why I haven't really dug into them. It's on my to-do list. But it'll take a while for sure.
--Sneak
EDIT: okay, grubbing around in the archives of textfiles.com, I found a couple on this 1996 list. The page is huge, you'll have to Ctrl+F for it.) Namely:
M_P_D
!!! DELETE WARNING !!!
Multiple Personality Disorder Support
Conference for support & discussion of MPD/DID. This conference is
for individuals with MPD & for families of patients with MPD.
No Flaming, Aliases permitted and strongly suggested.
Anyone interested in the discussion of MPD is welcome.
Barb Murphy, 1:130/911 has updated this entry to maintain its backbone
status pending clarification of the moderators intentions. As of this
update, the previous moderators have been removed. If they should
decide to come back and actively moderate this echo, then I'll move
aside as moderator.
Origin:
Distribution: Z1 Backbone
Gateways:
# Nodes: 100 Volume:
Flags:
Moderators: Barb Murphy, 1:130/911
Moderators: Katie ., 1:124/1208
Last changed: 02 May 96 by Barb Murphy, 1:130/911
There was also...
SIP_MPD
Singleness in Purpose - Multiple Personality Disorder
SIP_MPD is a support echo for anyone for whom multiple
personality/disassocitive disorders is an issue.
Origin: 153/840
Distribution:
Gateways:
# Nodes: 7 Volume: 30/week Rules:
Flags:
Moderators: Christopher, 1:153/840
Last changed: 14 Jul 96 by Christopher di Armani, 1:153/840
These two echos also existed in September and June 1995.
I also found a "Dissociation Network" in 1995 which was networked into a Health Care Network... so that might be a DID BBS. It looks like it ran from 1993-1996, which at least helps nudge it before a.s.d, if that metadata is accurate--and yup, it is, the start date anyway! Many Voices advertises it on August 1993: "an on-line computer service for people with dissociative disorders and mental health professionals. To better facilitate confidentiality, survivors and professionals are given access to different file and messaging areas, use of an alias is encouraged, and no 'membership lists' can be accessed. Sponsored by the Capital District Center for Dissociative Disorders, Albany, NY" (pg. 15).
Miscellaneous
In June 1993, Many Voices advertised "The MPD Consortium, a consumer (multiple) run nonprofit corp, provides rehab services and housing for MPD/DD clients. It is presently leasing a house to provide independent living quarters for up to eight multiples. The Consortium is seeking grant monies, leads to possible funding sources, and donations to make treatment accessible to all people with Dissociative Disorders." That was in Asheville, NC! (pg. 18)
Newsletters
Many Voices, an MPD/DID newsletter that ran from 1989 to 2012, gave a space for multiples to speak to and about each other, during its long run! It also advertised other newsletters, including...
- Multiple Care Unit, "a new humor newsletter about MPD for those currently, considering, or not in therapy." (1992 August, pg. 10)
- Multiple Choices, "the resource guide which current [Many Voices] subscribers should find this month in their envelope." (1992 December, pg. 1)
Support Groups
Before the Internet, multiples would sometimes meet together in therapy and abuse recovery groups. The first, February 1989 issue of Many Voices had a listing of such groups (page 7), including "a 12-step program formed under the umbrella organization, Survivors of Incest Anonymous" in NYC, which had been meeting since March, 1988. Many Voices also mentioned three groups in Ohio--"the Celeveland group was founded in 1980, and is still going strong. In Akron, a small group has been operating since July 1987 [...] In Cincinnati, a fee-based group was formed in 1988." So there was a pretty decent precedent for multis getting together in groups even back then!
In the June 1989 letter, Many Voices reprints the NYC multi group's "Twelve Goals for Multiple Personalities" (page 6). It reads:
- To know that we were powerless over the abuse which created our multiplicity.
- To realize that multiple consciousness was the best possible defense we could create against abuse -- that it was a healthy response to a sick situation.
- To acknowledge and discover our personalities.
- To accept our personalities as part of ourselves, whether good or bad.
- To understand and work with our personalities instead of fighting with them.
- To stop abusing our personalities.
- To contract with our personalities not to abuse us, themselves, or others.
- To find alternatives to denying, suppressing, or banishing our personalities.
- To encourage communication, cooperation, and assistance among our personalities.
- To encourage our personalities to change, grow, and come into the present, rather than have them continue behaving in ways inappropriate to current cituations.
- To stop creating new personalities.
- To help stop the cycle to abuse.
There's also an interesting offhand mention in the December 1990 newsletter where a multiple describes being in a "support group for sexual assault survivors" where they disclose their multiplicity, and "it turned out that two members are dealing with what is being called SKIS (Several Kids Inside Syndrome), where they are not multiples, but they need to listen to and do therapy with child parts" (pg. 3). So even then, there was at least some fluidity in plural experience, even if this is trauma-induced median experience! The same issue also mentions (page 10): "So many people have written to MANY VOICES about providing 'pen-pal' services... we really can't do it," and recommends an incest-survivors group to write to instead. So there was a demand!
Some of the groups even diversified; in the June 1993 issue, there's a "therapists and couselors with MPD/DID Support Group, now forming in LA/SFV, CA. A safe place to let the 'secret' out and be yourselves. Confidentiality highly protected." (pg. 12) plus more general purpose ones in Tucson, AZ and Utah (the latter apparently also running a multi pen-pal service). There was also another made in Florida. (Many Voices, 1993 August, pg. 9)
Conferences/Conventions
The August 1989 newsletter notes a couple of conferences, though neither are for multiples only (page 7)--the "Understanding Ritual Abuse" conference in Littleton Colorado, which had two days for "survivors & therapists," and the "ISSMP&D 6th International Conference on Multiple Personality/Dissociative States" in Chicago. The 7th is also listed in the October 1990 edition (page 11), which also notes an organization, "MPD Dignity/Loves Ones of Multiples (LOOM)" which "offers a structure and guidelines to help establish peer support groups for survivors and their loved ones" (ibid). Cons get listed regularly in the letter, though there's not really any way to distinguish abuse survivor cons from MPD cons for professionals and MPD cons for multiples.
The February 1991 issue is the "conferences" issue, so there are a BUNCH listed, in Ohio, California, Maryland, New Mexico, Colorado, Virginia, and Illinois (pg 5), and folks share their experiences, advice on getting the most out of them, whether to disclose, and so on. Dorothy P. on page 6 actually advises multiples NOT "don't go to an MPD conference unless you are prepared to tune out the things you don't like. Therapists attending the conference aren't expecting clients and won't cater to our needs and vulnerabilities." Which I think is solid advice, but it does make it hard to tell which "MPD conferences" are for multiples, and which are for medical personnel.
On the whole, there are so many of these that I'm not going to list them all.
BBS Records (1991-1996)
The earliest quasi-multi BBS I have record of is the Mars Station BBS, referenced on page 6 of the December 1991 Many Voices newsletter. "MARS STATION BBS is an on-line computer bulletin board for sexual abuse survivors. Operating at 2400 baud, the specialty board hopes to offer any survivor in the U.S. listing and descriptions of treatment facilities within their area." It apparently ran until 2004!
I met with another multi earlier this week and exchanged notes, and they recommended checking out textfiles.com to try and find old multi BBS records! (Since right now, all we have are local copies on our hard drive, given to us by Astraea and edited... and thus less than completely trustworthy.) According to the Astraea BBS records, there were multiples talking together about it on the Love Galaxy, a health/spirituality BBS, back in July 1992. But I haven't been able to find public record of any of that.
Here's the alt.support.dissociation knowledge I put together! It has a link to the GoogleGroups archive. Looks like it was created 8/28/1994; before that, a lot of multiples hung out on alt.support.abuse-recovery, but it wasn't explicitly for multiples.
I'm looking to see if the BBS records were uploaded and saved anywhere (since I know the local copies we were given by Astraea have been edited, and I'd rather have the raw data, you know?) but I haven't been having much luck so far. I know that the Love Galaxy BBS apparently had some multiples on it, and looks to have been run by a multiple, but the records we have start in 1992, and textfiles.com only has the barest bones record for it, and only for 1994. So that's not really good sources.
The BBS records are really abstruse and nonintuitive, which is why I haven't really dug into them. It's on my to-do list. But it'll take a while for sure.
--Sneak
EDIT: okay, grubbing around in the archives of textfiles.com, I found a couple on this 1996 list. The page is huge, you'll have to Ctrl+F for it.) Namely:
M_P_D
!!! DELETE WARNING !!!
Multiple Personality Disorder Support
Conference for support & discussion of MPD/DID. This conference is
for individuals with MPD & for families of patients with MPD.
No Flaming, Aliases permitted and strongly suggested.
Anyone interested in the discussion of MPD is welcome.
Barb Murphy, 1:130/911 has updated this entry to maintain its backbone
status pending clarification of the moderators intentions. As of this
update, the previous moderators have been removed. If they should
decide to come back and actively moderate this echo, then I'll move
aside as moderator.
Origin:
Distribution: Z1 Backbone
Gateways:
# Nodes: 100 Volume:
Flags:
Moderators: Barb Murphy, 1:130/911
Moderators: Katie ., 1:124/1208
Last changed: 02 May 96 by Barb Murphy, 1:130/911
There was also...
SIP_MPD
Singleness in Purpose - Multiple Personality Disorder
SIP_MPD is a support echo for anyone for whom multiple
personality/disassocitive disorders is an issue.
Origin: 153/840
Distribution:
Gateways:
# Nodes: 7 Volume: 30/week Rules:
Flags:
Moderators: Christopher, 1:153/840
Last changed: 14 Jul 96 by Christopher di Armani, 1:153/840
These two echos also existed in September and June 1995.
I also found a "Dissociation Network" in 1995 which was networked into a Health Care Network... so that might be a DID BBS. It looks like it ran from 1993-1996, which at least helps nudge it before a.s.d, if that metadata is accurate--and yup, it is, the start date anyway! Many Voices advertises it on August 1993: "an on-line computer service for people with dissociative disorders and mental health professionals. To better facilitate confidentiality, survivors and professionals are given access to different file and messaging areas, use of an alias is encouraged, and no 'membership lists' can be accessed. Sponsored by the Capital District Center for Dissociative Disorders, Albany, NY" (pg. 15).
Miscellaneous
In June 1993, Many Voices advertised "The MPD Consortium, a consumer (multiple) run nonprofit corp, provides rehab services and housing for MPD/DD clients. It is presently leasing a house to provide independent living quarters for up to eight multiples. The Consortium is seeking grant monies, leads to possible funding sources, and donations to make treatment accessible to all people with Dissociative Disorders." That was in Asheville, NC! (pg. 18)
