Sybil

Dissociative Identity Disorder is termed as such, deviating from its former name of Multiple Personality Disorder, because rather than having several different identities inhabit one body, the disorder is understood to encompass one multi-faceted personality with parts that are not yet "functioning together in a smooth, coordinated and flexible way” (Boon et al, 2011)". In my opinion this was portrayed accurately by Sally Field as we see personalities ranging from the calm and collected Vicky to the infantile Ruthie surface in varying situations. Indeed, these "personalities" are autonomous and identify themselves as distinct from Sybil, sometimes in terms of age and even gender, which is consistent with real life accounts of this disorder. To the film's credit, they also managed to capture the cause of the disorder quite accurately as DID is almost exclusively caused by repeated childhood trauma, as seen by Sybil's mother's horrific abuse of her daughter. In the absence of appropriate parental support, much like the way Sybil's father refused to even acknowledge his wife's abusive behaviour, the dissociative identities arise as a method of coping with the trauma. As we saw in the film, this was not a lifestyle choice for Sybil, despite her singular attempt to convince Dr Wilbur that their sessions together were nothing more than a staged act. The contemporary explanation for DID is that the individual personality is "experienced in a disconnected way via separate 'parts' or 'alters'" due to an inability to reconcile the various aspects of personality, memory, identity, behaviour, and feelings (Spring, 2012). Going by this, one could postulate that the "identity" of Vicky is a projection of Sybil's ideal self, whereby she is sophisticated and dignified where Sybil is not. Mary, the identity that arose after the death of Sybil's grandmother, could be a way for Sybil to keep the memory of her grandmother alive, as the latter was possibly the only person who Sybil felt loved her. Even Dr Wilbur mentioned that Sybil's different "personalities" were there to protect her and take action when she herself could not.

According to the DSM-V, the criteria for an individual to be diagnosed with DID (Tracy, 2016) includes:
1. Two or more distinct identities or personality states are present, each with its own relatively enduring pattern of perceiving, relating to and thinking about the environment and self.
2. Amnesia must occur, defined as gaps in the recall of everyday events, important personal information and/or traumatic events.
3. The person must be distressed by the disorder or have trouble functioning in one or more major life areas because of the disorder.
4. The disturbance is not part of normal cultural or religious practices.
5. The symptoms are not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (such as blackouts or chaotic behavior during alcohol intoxication) or a general medical condition (such as complex partial seizures).

Based on the events that transpired in the film, it is safe to conclude that the portrayal of Sybil as a woman afflicted with DID as she clearly meets the first three criteria. It is also assumed that her condition was not a result of religious practices or a certain substance. Indeed, we see marked impairment in Sybil's daily functioning as her dissociative episodes caused her to lose her job, which understandably results in distress.

However, the movie also depicted several ethical violations in terms of the client-therapist relationship, which I believe no qualified mental health practitioner should ever commit in real life. Dr Wilbur adopted a psychodynamic approach in order to uncover the root of Sybil's disorder, although some recommend that therapy involve cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) instead (Gillig, 2009). In spite of this, the real issue lies with Dr Wilbur's conduct as a psychiatrist. Even though she is warned by her colleague not to become emotionally attached to Sybil, we can almost see a personal investment as she continues to treat Sybil. Additionally, we see her commit a breach of confidentiality by informing Richard about Sybil's disorder when Marcia attempted to kill herself. As a mental health professional, safeguarding a client's information is of utmost importance considering the level of trust established during sessions and the stigma surrounding mental health problems that still pervade society. Understandably, the situation warranted drastic measures in order to ensure Sybil's safety, but one cannot help but wonder if Richard and Sybil's relationship would have turned out differently had she found the right time to tell him about her disorder on her own terms. Other than that, a mental health professional should only provide services within the boundaries of their own competence (APA, n.d.), but we see Dr Wilbur struggle to decide on a course of action when Sybil regresses into Ruthie. She took a step in the right direction by contacting a colleague for help, but the problem resolved itself when Sybil resurfaced, but did nothing to address the problem of Dr Wilbur's professional capabilities in dealing with some of Sybil's more challenging alters.

Ultimately, I think the film did its best to portray DID in a realistic light whilst remaining within the realm of good story-telling. As a psychologist, however, some of Dr Wilbur's actions were questionable at best, and I would not condone them in a professional setting as it could impact a client's recovery.

References
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/
Boon, S., Steele, K., & van der Hart, O. (2011). Coping with Trauma-Related Dissociation: Skills Training for Patients and Therapists. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.my/books?id=raGhAQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Gillig, P. M. (2009). Dissociative Identity Disorder: A Controversial Diagnosis. Psychiatry (Edgmont), 6(3), 24–29.
Tracy, N. (2016). Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) DSM-V criteria. Retrieved from http://www.healthyplace.com/abuse/dissociative-identity-disorder/dissociative-identity-disorder-did-dsm-5-criteria/

Schindler's List

Schindler's List is the movie adaptation of the novel Schindler's Ark, revolving around the life of Oskar Schindler and the events in his life leading to his saving of over a thousand Polish-Jews by employing them in his factories.

One of the things that was intriguing to see in the film was the cognitive dissonance between Amon Goth's attraction for his maid Helen Hirsch and his prejudice against the Jews. While he believes that Jews are vermin and beneath him, he struggles with generalizing these beliefs onto Helen, hence why she has remained alive for so long. He tells her he wishes to reach out and touch her, but tells her she is not exactly a person in the same breath. His dilemma peaks when accuses her of seducing him, but berates himself and turns aggressive on her.

After the war ended and the Jews were liberated, many of them ended up experiencing survivor's guilt, whereby they struggled to find meaning with their continued existence while others were killed. In some instances this has been coupled with major depressive disorder, although this was not highlighted in the movie. Of course, some Jews were depicted as as saddened and down, but in my opinion this should have been something the filmmakers addressed, as it was indicative of the experience of the Jewish during the war.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and insomnia which continues for four or more weeks. Many of the survivors were diagnosed with PTSD due to their symptoms in broad categories such as Death Imprint, the image of death is constantly in their mind since they were confronted with death in such a vivid way. Many of the Jews dealt with these symptoms for forty to fifty years but felt too vulnerable to ask for help. The movie indirectly shows PTSD with many Jews not being able to sleep and remembering what happened to their friends who were killed before them. However, it does not show them having any social withdrawal, in fact when they are freed, they stay together and go to a nearby town for food.

One of the things I enjoyed about the movie was the rare instances that something would be show in colour in order to draw attention to it in a film that otherwise plays out in black and white. For instance, the little girl in the red coat was shown first during the liquidation of the ghetto and again alongside other corpses. It is interesting to consider the girl as symbolism for the innocence of the Jews, who were made scapegoats during the tenuous political climate in the war.

Furthermore, Schindler's motives are of interest for analysis because after the setup of his enamelware factory, he was successful enough that he would never want for anything again. However, he chose to help save the Jews from persecution, even at the cost of his wealth. Therefore, one would argue that his motives go beyond prosocial behaviour and are more akin to acts of altruism.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” -Edmund Burke