Ministering Deliverance to Individuals with DID

Introduction
Either/Or Thinking
Discerning between Alternate Personalities and Demons
False Jesus's (alters, demons or childhood abuse)
Unusually Named Alternate Personalities
Ways Alters Can Know They are Not Demons, Angels, etc.
Demonization with DID
Interventions
Getting Rid of Demons
How long does it take to obtain complete freedom?

Introduction
This writer is not an expert in Dissociative Disorders, nor a mental health professional. This writer has, however, worked very closely with several people who have been diagnosed with DID (also known as MPD) and as of this writing one of those individuals has attained full, stable integration (i.e. they are no longer multiple) and others are in the process of integrating their personalities. Much of what is described here has been observed first hand. In all examples given, the writer either has the person's express permission to share the incidents described and they have read this and approved it prior to it being placed on the web or all identifying details of any kind have been avoided.

It is important to keep in mind that the primary healing work with DID is dealing with the memories and feelings associated with the childhood traumatic experiences that led to the splitting off of alternate personalities. Deliverance may be an important part of the healing journey for some individuals with DID, but it is definitely not the only work that needs to be done and indeed it is quite possible for a person to have DID and not be demonized at all.

Return to top

Either/Or Thinking

Very often, we miss out on truth because we lapse into what may be called "either / or" thinking. One example of this would be the theological debates around the correct interpretation of Romans 7. Some scholars argue that Paul writes of his pre-conversion experience. Others will argue that he writes of a post-conversion experience. Perhaps these problems with interpretation occur because there is a preconceived assumption that the passage must be speaking of one or the other. But what if the word "flesh" in this passage denotes any person attempting to fulfill the requirements of the Law in his own natural ability apart from the empowerment of the Holy Spirit? If that were the case, then this passage would be talking about any person, Christian or non-Christian, who relies on their own strength to live a life pleasing to God. It would, of course, apply to all non-Christians but it would also apply to those Christians who attempt to attain their sanctification "in the flesh." This then becomes a "both-and" understanding of the passage.

For some time now the debate has raged as to whether or not a Christian can be demonized. The thinking has often been that a Christian can only be indwelt by either the Holy Spirit or a demon, not both. One of the arguments has been that God cannot tolerate being in the presence of evil. But quite the contrary, as Satan appears before the throne of God to accuse us (Job 1, Rev. 12:10). For more on this debate, see controversy corner.

Likewise, until very recently the psychological community and the religious community have found themselves at odds in an argument where they have been trapped into "either/or" thinking with regards to DID (MPD). The assumption has erroneously been made that either people could have demons or they were multiple, but never both as the other must not even exist. Dr. James Friesen, but even before him, Rev. Ernest Rockstad, have made the excellent observation that these conditions can co-exist (Friesen, 1991, Rockstad cited in Murphy, 1992, 1996). Several other writers in the area of deliverance have also acknowledged this (Anderson, 1995, Larson, 1996, Olson, 1992, White, 1990).

This writer believes that both exist, and can exist in the same individual. The rest of this web page will discuss a few practical aspects of ministering to individuals who have DID and are also demonized.

Return to top

Discerning Between Alternate Personalities and Demons

Sometimes the best way to discern between alternate personalities and demons is not to even try.

Does that sound radical, cavalier and reckless?

The point is that when dealing with someone with DID it can be very difficult to discern between alters and demons. And in many cases it is not necessary to do so — at least not for the deliverance minister to do so. It is often best and more advisable to leave that responsibility up to God and the individual with DID

But what if you are the one with DID reading this? What can you do when you aren't sure yourself which of those voices you hear or people you see in your inside world are parts of the whole person and which are demons?

There are interventions that can be used to help clarify the picture for you, but in the long run the best approach is to trust God to sort them out for you. And yet trusting God can be extremely difficult for individuals who have been severely abused and only rarely will a person develop DID apart from abuse (there have been a very small number of cases where DID has developed in response to a lot of life threatening surgeries or similar experiences early in life).

A word of caution: this writer has seen several times now where people with DID have had personalities who were called "demon" or similar names and/or thought they were, themselves, demons. Friesen (1992) also reports this. In one instance an alternate personality was created on the spot at a deliverance session because the deliverance team was trying to call a demon into manifestation and the host personality was terrified of letting a demon manifest. The personality was not willfully created, but split off unconsciously almost as a knee-jerk reaction to the fear, possibly by one of the protector personalities out of love to protect the host. God was gracious and delivered the person with DID of many demons that night, but further work needed to be done to sort out who was what and finish the deliverance work. That alternate personality was able to fool an experienced deliverance team into thinking he was a demon. That team included a Spirit-filled Christian psychologists and all present were experienced with DID. At a later date, the person admitted to the person in charge of that deliverance session what had happened and introduced him to a very subdued and somewhat chagrined "demon" who had since chosen to follow Christ as Lord as a result of being loved and accepted by the other personalities. That personality has successfully integrated with the others. That individual has now attained full, stable integration.

The opposite will also occur. Friesen (1991) describes instances of demons posing as personalities and proposes some criteria for discerning between alters and demons (click here for details).

Deliverance ministers who have little to no experience with DID are especially likely to mistake what this writer prefers to call "misguided protectors" (known in the psychological literature as "persecutors") for demons. These are the parts of the person who often carry the emotions that some Christians have trouble dealing with, such as anger and hatred. If a minister has had no training in counseling and DID in particular, he or she should not attempt to minister deliverance to someone with DID Click here to learn more about what to look for in a deliverance minister when DID is present or suspected. In particular it is important to note that not all self-mutilation or suicidal thinking is demonic.

One way to rule out that an alternate personality is a demon is if they are able to make a confession of faith. By doing this, it is not meant that each alter needs to be "saved" separately, but it can be a way to "test the spirits" (1 John 4). If an alternate personality can state that Jesus Christ came to earth in a real, physical body, died for his or her sins, rose from the grave, and is not only fully God but also his or her personal Lord and Savior, then you can be assured you are not talking to a demon (but be on the watch for switching, a demon may later sneak out and claim to be this personality). Be careful, though, inability to confess Christ as Lord does not necessarily mean that you are talking with a demon -- the alter may simply be angry at or unable to believe in Him at the moment and unwilling to take that step yet.

This writer's preference in ministering is to speak with the host or alternate personalities and have them address the grounds of demonization rather than deal directly with demons. (For one thing, they are a whole lot more pleasant to talk to, no matter how angry, bitter or hateful they may be feeling at the moment.) Some find Neil Anderson's "seven steps to freedom" materials very helpful for dealing with grounds (note that you may have to take each teen and adult personality through those steps individually). This writer has had better results incorporating Theophostic ministry. Some report using both together as particularly effective. Other effective tools for dealing with grounds include: participating in a twelve step recovery group (with a sponsor and taking all twelve steps thoroughly) and psychotherapy with an emphasis on honest self-examination. See also the sample renunciation under general spiritual warfare.

There are times when the grounds are not easy to identify, in those instances there are other interventions that can be done. (Note that the most effective of all interventions are those the Holy Spirit directs the minister to use, but no one can tell you what those are because they are usually uniquely provided, one-time-only measures for a specific need. They tend to be provided by the Lord on what seems to us to be the spur of the moment, although no doubt He knew what He was going to do for some time.)

Return to top

False Jesus's (alters, demons or childhood abuse)

It is quite possible for someone to have an alternate personality or demon named "Jesus." For this reason, it is a good idea when ministering deliverance to address this possibility. To begin with one can pray that God would set up some kind of broadcast system within the person so that as many alternate personalities as possible and those God knows are ready to hear these things will hear and see the ministry team as they talk to them. Since every person with DID this writer has met with has had an "inside world" this often means they see a bunch of televisions appear in their internal landscape (house, castle, etc.). As a precaution against demonic meddling with these, I ask that God provide some protection, such as the TVs be only have this one channel (i.e. closed circuit TV) or that angels would guard them.

Since people with DID can sometimes 'see' demons in their inside world, they often also see angels or the Lord Jesus. Perhaps this internal Jesus is a way that the Holy Spirit makes the truths of God's word understandable to the alters, especially the children. (And since God is omnipresent, there are instances where Jesus has appeared simultaneously to many different alters at the same time ministering differently to each, just as God, through the Holy Spirit, can minister to all of us singulars simultaneously.) While this can be a very beautiful, healing experience for Christians with DID, there is also the potential for great deception if a demon or misguided protector tries to play the role of Jesus in the inside world. So it is important that all such encounters be tested against what the Bible reveals about the nature of God, especially His love for us. Generally, when the Holy Spirit corrects He asks tough questions or gently redirects, rather than scold or rebuke.

With people who have suffered ritual abuse, occasionally someone will have abuse memories which include someone masquerading as Jesus. For this reason, it's important to have the person read aloud something like Acts 1:7-11, which describes Christ's ascension into heaven and emphasize that the next time Jesus will be seen with a physical body, He will be seen by the entire earth. Then one can tell the person something along the lines of the following trying to keep in mind that young children with small vocabularies may be listening. (Note: with children who are co-conscious, they may have the same vocabulary as an adult, but it is best to not assume this.)

When I talk about Jesus I mean the real Jesus who came to earth with a physical body, died on the Cross and and rose again. He did this because of His great love for us so that He could take our punishment for sin. Then after He rose again He went up into the clouds into Heaven to sit at God the Father's right hand. That means that the next time we see Jesus in the outside world with a physical body He will be coming to Earth in the clouds with glory. This real Jesus is the Son of God, King of Kings, Savior, Perfect Man. One of the reasons I say the long Name of Jesus this way, 'The true Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High God' is to remind everyone here that anyone they have seen with their physical eyes having a physical body was NOT Him but a trick.

God is someone who loves everyone the right way. He is everywhere at once. He knows everything and He can do anything. He has always been and He will always be. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are all three separate persons, but one God. It's sort of like God is multiple only all three persons are whole, healthy and complete.

In particular, whenever we say Jesus we will mean the real Lord Jesus Christ who came in the flesh about 2000 years ago and lived in Nazareth. He was born to the virgin Mary in what is now Israel in the town of Bethlehem and usually spoke Hebrew and Aramaic, not English or any other modern language. He lived, was crucified, rose again and ascended to heaven, all in the same part of the world. He has never been to America or Europe (or ____ as needed, anywhere except what is now Israel and Egypt) in human form. You may have been taught about a false Jesus or seen bad things happen involving a human being posing as Jesus, but this is not the same Jesus. The real Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth who came in the flesh about 2000 years ago is someone who is only does good things, full of love, grace, mercy and tenderness. If these are words that do not feel good to you because you have been taught lies or are confused about what they really mean, think of someone like someone on this deliverance team or your therapist only much, much better. The same applies to God the Holy Spirit and God the Father.

Also, be aware that some child personalities may think the word "holy" means to be "full of holes".

Return to top

Unusually Named Alternate Personalities

In order to help identify whether or not a person with DID might have some alternate personalities who are confused about their true identities, the deliverance minister may with to give the person a list of unusually named alternate personalities and ask them to circle those names which they think might be the names of some of their alternate personalities. It's probably best to use an alphabetized list in order to avoid the opportunity for tone of voice or body language to lead the person or suggest any expected answers. See also the section on avoiding leading questions. Following is a sample list with instructions.

List of Some Names & Types of Alternate Personalities of Interest

This list is derived from books about MPD and experience with people with multiple personalities. This list consists of names and types of personalities which are specifically of interest during a deliverance. This is not to imply that we are not interested in all of your personalities and all types of personalities, but these are the names we find people sometimes have trouble telling a ministry team about. You may have some, none or even all of these names in your system. The presence or absence of alternate personalities named something like "Satan" or "Demon" does not necessarily mean that you have or have not been ritually abused. Please circle the ones you know or suspect may be among your alternate personalities. Try to not be embarrassed to reveal any of these names.

Angel
Anti-Christ
Archangel
Archangel Michael
Archangel Gabriel
Batman
Beelzebub
Chewbacca
Christ
Darth Vader
Demon
Devil or The Devil
Elvis
E. T.
God
God the Father
Head angel
Head demon
Holy Ghost
Holy Spirit
Jesus
Lucifer
Luke Skywalker
Madonna (the singer)
Mother Mary
Spirit Guide
Spirit Helper
Spock (from Star Trek)
Rambo
Satan
Superman
Your fatherís name
Your motherís name
Other names taken from relatives: __________________________________
Other names taken from cartoon characters: __________________________
Other names taken from novels, movies and TV: ________________________
Other names taken from the Bible or other religions: ___________________
Personalities who are animals: _____________________________________
Personalities who are inanimate objects: _____________________________

Return to top

Ways Alters Can Know they are Not Demons, Angels, etc.

This writer has seen one case in particular where there was an alternate personality who thought she was a demon. She was quite shocked to learn otherwise and immediately chose to follow Christ as Lord. In this case, there were many personalities already following Christ co-conscious with her during the session who welcomed her with love and acceptance. This is, of course, is one way to help a personality understand he or she is not a demon. Because of the abuse, it is not always possible to convince an alter to choose to follow Christ as Lord right away.

Another approach is to ask the personality to ask him or her self these questions. If the answer to any of these is "no" then the personality can be assured that he or she is not a demon.

"Do you remember anything prior to the conception of the body you now live in?" (Remember that the Bible clearly tells us that there is no such thing as re-incarnation. See Hebrews 9:27.)

"Can you remember living in any physical body other than the one you are now in?"
"Can you remember living anywhere before there was electricity or cars?" (not suitable for individuals from remote tribal areas)
"Can you speak any angelic tongues or demonic tongues — and translate them into English apart from the help of the Holy Spirit or other spirit?"

If you answered "no" to any of these questions, then you are not an angel nor a demon, nor Satan, nor Jesus nor the Holy Spirit nor God the Father.

Return to top

Demonization with DID

When an individual has DID the demons will either appear as separate beings in the inside world, often trying to masquerade as someone or something they are not, or they will be attached to an alternate personality. One alternate personality has described them as being like leeches sucking away his strength. This alter wanted to be able to tell them to leave in Jesus' Name, but he was physically unable to utter the words. The person ministering deliverance to him was able to figure out what was happening and issued the command on his behalf. That alter was then able to remember the incident that led to his demonization and renounce the grounds himself. The host personality and a great many alters and children had already submitted to Christ as Lord and Savior at this point. Note that this writer believes that if any one alternate personality is saved, every alternate personality is saved, but it is a matter of following James 4:7 and submitting to God prior to resisting the Devil. For this reason, and also to reassure the alter of their relationship to God and to confirm that the ministry team is not dealing with a demon, people will often lead alternate personalities in a prayer of faith.

Return to top

Interventions

Direct Inquiry. One somewhat aggressive technique that this writer has seen used in the past when intuition (or perhaps a gift of discerning of spirits) is telling the ministry team that we are dealing with a demon in manifestation has been to command whoever was out (in control of the body) to tell the team, in the Name of the true Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High God, whether they are a demon or human. You can't be certain that demons won't lie about this, and you may find you have to ask the Father to have an angel threaten them with harm prior to getting a meaningful answer to the question. There was one occasion where this writer has seen what was thought to be an alternate personality where he said he was a demon even after the questions regarding how to know whether or not one is a demon were presented and this command was rather firmly issued. Suspecting this was not a demon, this writer requested a specific verse of Scripture be quoted in the original language. Whoever it was immediately went back inside and the host reported that they too doubted it was a demon.

"Covering" with the Blood of Jesus. If you are unfamiliar with this idea, please also see the references in the glossary to "the blood of Jesus" and "Covering with the Blood" and the relevant section in the General Spiritual Warfare page. When working with someone with DID they will report seeing a person, animal, monster, or inanimate object on the inside world that they are unsure of. Before requesting that God cover whoever or whatever it is with the blood of Jesus, it is sometimes best remind the alternate personalities who are listening in that we are speaking in symbolic language and that they can visualize this any way they like. One person who was uncomfortable with the mental image of blood in her inside world described it as looking like a pretty deep pink colored oil. This writer will sometimes also mention that while demons really hate it when we pray this, alters either enjoy it or don't feel anything at all. Very often, when we pray that God will cover someone or something in the inside world with the blood of Jesus a remarkable transformation will take place. If an alternate personality is demonized, often a deliverance will gently and painlessly take place at this point, most commonly with child alters. If a demon should ever attempt to torment, discourage, accuse or otherwise abuse an alternate personality, if not already done so commands restricting their behavior in the Name of Jesus should be issued. If such commands have already been issued, some ministers will request that God have His angels punish the demon(s) for disobeying the restrictions. For more information on these restrictions, see the relevant section in the General Spiritual Warfare page.

Non-abusive internal restraints. When someone with DID indicates that there is an alternate personality sabotaging the healing process and that personality is unwilling to be engaged in dialog with the person's therapist or ministry team member, there are restraints that can be requested from God that generally should not feel abusive to the personality. Interventions such as locking personalities up in safes, boxes or other enclosed places can feel abusive to the personalities and further delay their healing. It also may be a reenactment of prior similar childhood abuse experiences, making the therapist or ministry team appear to be "just another abuser" or reinforce a distortion that all men (women) are abusers. A few internal restraints that can be used effectively also have the benefit of being useful for either demons or personalities, with the effect that the same restraint that would be torturous for a demon is either neutral or pleasant for a personality. Such restraints include praying that God place the personality inside a "glory bubble." A "glory bubble" can be visualized as a soap bubble filled with a particularly intense manifestation of the Holy Spirit or the blood of Jesus in a cloud form that might appear to be a white or pink fog. Another restraint would be to ask that God place the personality on a beautiful island in the middle of a lake filled with the blood of Jesus. Angels standing by to stop a personality from destructive behavior may also be helpful. Any creative form of "time out" that occurs to the individual with DID that would have the additional benefit of restraining demonic forces can be used. The key is that the restraint not feel abusive to the personality and be subject to God's sovereign control.

Return to top

Getting Rid of Demons

Since it is God who delivers, not this writer or any other minister, as much as is practical this writer tries to let God decide who is a demon and who is an alternate personality. One technique some ministers use is to command the demons to line up behind the head demon(s) (or "strong man", see Matthew 12:22-37) bound by the Holy Spirit. Then they are commanded to release any alternate personalities they are holding captive. This writer likes to also ask that God see to it that any confused alternate personalities, who think they are demons and are not, are somehow separated from that group of demons. Then the head demon is told that he is commanded to go to the Throne of God (where God then presumably tells him and his troops where to go) in Jesus' Name. Some ministers send demons to the Abyss, but it may well be preferable to send demons to the Throne of God when dealing with people with DID When this command is issued it is generally said, "In Jesus' Name you are commanded to go before God Almighty's Throne where the true Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High God, sits at God's right hand. Once there, in Jesus' Name you are commanded to go to where the Lord Jesus sends you, nowhere else." This level of specific detail is probably advisable, lest the demons report to some throne of some false god. If, after all the instructions and precautions we can humanly take to avoid having an alternate personality think we are trying to cast him or her out, an alternate personality still thinks he or she is a demon, being sent to the Throne of God is less abusive. It would be very interesting spiritually and psychologically if an alternate personality were to try to go there, in this writer's limited experience this has not happened. It might be possible for the person with DID to attempt to create a divine Throne Room in their inside world. If that were to happen, probably the whole person's intellectual understanding of God's nature would dictate what would happen next in terms of what God would then tell that alternate personality to do. This writer's experience with alternate personalities who thought they were demons and were not is that they become puzzled when they are unable to comply with commands issued in Jesus' Name. When they are covered with the blood of Jesus, somehow at some unconscious level they know they are not demons and do not find the experience the torment that a demon experiences.

Return to top

How long does it take to obtain complete freedom?

It is highly unusual for someone who is severely demonized to be rid of all demons in one session, but with God, of course, anything is possible. Generally, though, for His own reasons, God seems to want to deliver the severely demonized in stages, just as for most people the healing journey for severe trauma is a process. There are exceptions, of course, such as the man inhabited by a legion of demons (Mark 5:1-19). But consider also, Jesus Himself was the deliverance minister in that case. And there were instances when the disciples were unable to facilitate a deliverance and had to ask Jesus for help. Jesus then performed the deliverance (Matt. 17:14-20) and said,

Matt. 17:19-20 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"

And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you."

So to this writer, this passage seems to imply that there is more to deliverance than saying the right words with the right authority. This writer has observed the outcome weeks, months and years later when well-meaning, but misinformed people have claimed to be able to take a severely demonized individual with DID through full deliverance and total integration in a single session. The results were disappointing, to say the least. This writer has seen three different cases using the teachings from a particular seminar where people have thought they have been fully freed and fully integrated only to be severely disappointed and confused days or weeks later when they find this to not be the case. Fortunately in these instances the individuals remained in therapy and are making good progress. Can God take a person through that kind of healing instantaneously? Of course, but it is presumptuous, dangerous and quite probably unethical to claim to be able to bring about such a spectacular result every time, or even most of the time.

So how long? It is impossible to say. It depends on the individual, the number of personalities, number of demons and nature of the traumata. But it is much more likely to take years (Murphy, 1992, 1996, Smith, 1999), than days or weeks or months. Much of the deliverance work can be done by the alters working together on each others' behalf once the initial fears are overcome and training in deliverance is done.

Return to top