New but long overdue

[Ripley2010]

Hi. My name is Ripley. I've had DID since I was a child. In recent years I've managed to get through college and am now a forensic psychologist in my home town. Lately I have struggled with social circumstances. Because I isolated for so long, I have no real support system outside of my current therapist and that's not healthy. Being back close to my family has proven to be a real mental challenge for me.

I'm very pleased to have found this site, as it was mentioned in the back of the Dissociative Identity Disorder Sourcebook I just finished reading.

I look forward to meeting you all and supporting you all as I can.
-Ripley

[nats]

welcome Ripley! your job sounds interesting.

[Reilly]

Welcome to Mosaic Minds Ripley.
Glad you found your way here. The support here is terrific. See you on the boards.

[Cammy]

Hi Ripley. Nice to meet you. I too have very little social support due to the universal DID tendency to isolate. It is a very big issue for most of us. Worse yet is that we want to reach out, but seem to lack the appropriate skills to really connect. Over the past few years by really focusing on this aspect of my life I have been able to make a few solid connections aside from my therapist, so it is not impossible once we set our minds to it. I very much look forward to your posts. Forensic psychology: don't you find it difficult working with perpetrators. Other therapists on this site have expressed that they find the work triggering and not wholly satisfying. I'm interested on how you cope with this aspect of your profession.

Okay, I've nattered enough. I don't want to scare you off. You are under absolutely no obligation or pressure to discuss anything here that makes you uncomfortable. This is a place where you can be what you are and be accepted and understood.

Take care, and again, it was very nice to meet you.

[Ripley2010]

Thank you for the welcome everyone! I'm grateful to be here and have a chance to talk with you.
Igraine, the work I currently do involves released inmates who were wrongfully convicted. These individuals' cases were taken up by the state's Innocence Project and found to have been wrongfully convicted of various crimes. I help the individual make the transition back to freedom. Often times when an individual is arrested, charged, and wrongfully convicted of a crime the family members, friends, and community turn their backs on that individual believing that a conviction must mean guilt. After they are exonerated and released, it is important to counsel them on various issues and help reestablish the family they had before this travesty if possible.

I cannot see me being an effective counselor to an admitted sexual abuser of children but I have worked with rapists without it having any ill effects on me.

As a young child I was kept locked in the basement away from my family and others for five years and in that time, I realized what a true travesty it is to convict someone who is innocent, so I had a soft spot for anyone finding themselves in such a situation. Helping to restore a person's true sense of freedom and regain the trust he was stripped of is very satisfying for me. No amount of compensation can make up for a wrongful imprisonment but it is important that we never allow ourselves to believe that being free now is "good enough".

Thanks for your interest. Usually when I say I'm a forensic psychologist, the first thing people think is that I'm a profiler thanks to TV. <grin>

[Cammy]

Ripley: Thank you for explaining. The work you do is incredible, and considering your personal experiences, you must have tremendous empathy and passion for it. I can't think of a more suitable match between job and provider. That's wonderful. Thanks for your response and trusting us with your personal experiences. We appreciate that very much.

[MakersDozn]

Hi, Ripley, and welcome. We're glad that you've joined us.

Your job sounds interesting. We weren't sure exactly what it was, but we had a feeling that it had something to do with the justice system. It doesn't sound like work that we could do, so we're glad that there are people like you who can.

MakersDozn (MDs)

[nats]

thanks for explaining more Ripley. sounds like a very worthwhile job!