The Three Faces of Eve - Book Report/Review Example

? The Three Faces of Eve The Three Faces of Eve The Three Faces of Eve is a best-selling book about a young woman, given the pseudonym Eve White, who suffers from multiple personality disorder (MPD). It is based on a series of true events that took place back in the mid-twentieth century, and is written by Corbett H. Thigpen and Hervey M. Cleckley, the two psychiatrists who had treated her. I would highly recommend this book to all those who are interested in becoming clinicians. The reason for this is because this book has taught me a lot about the impact of MPD on clients suffering from it, and how to deal with such situations and clients. Other than giving me an educational insight into this type of mental condition, The Three Faces of Eve has also affected me on a personal level. First of all, this book has educated me to a large extent about MPD, the knowledge of which is bound to help me as a clinician. In The Three Faces of Eve, when Eve first comes to the psychiatrists for help regarding her blackouts, they investigate into the issue by interviewing her and her family. This teaches me to take evidence and opinions from various sources about the client’s problem so that I can have a clearer understanding about the issue at hand. Similarly, this book has also made me realize how important it is for clinicians to think ‘out of the box’ and avoid jumping to conclusions without investigating matters thoroughly. I was especially inspired by the way Eve’s psychiatrists considered a range of explanations for the odd letter they received from Eve, instead of instantly blaming her for ‘playing a trick’ on them. This incident also made me realize that like in every field, professionalism is very important in psychiatry. The methods used to treat Eve’s MPD are also mentioned in The Three Faces of Eve, making this book a must-read for clinicians. Hypnosis seems to be an effective way to get the client to bring out his/her ‘other’ personality. Furthermore, after only a few sessions of hypnosis, it is possible to converse with a client’s ‘other’ personality merely by request. However, I have learnt that a lot of care should be taken during this technique, because there is a possibility that the client’s ‘other’ personality can exert more control over the original personality. The reason for this caution is because Dr. Thigpen and Dr. Cleckley faced a similar situation when Eve Black “took over” Eve White more easily after hypnosis sessions. Moreover, I have understood that it can get difficult to ascertain the exact number of personalities a client possesses, seeing as how the two psychiatrists found out about Eve’s third personality, Jane, after a long period of time. As a clinician, I should also keep an eye out for the smallest of detail regarding the difference in the personalities of a client afflicted by MPD. The purpose behind this is that if one of the client’s personalities is shrewd (just like Eve Black), that personality can try to pass off as another personality (similar to the way Eve Black would sometimes deliberately try to pass off as Eve White by imitating her). On the other hand, The Three Faces of Eve has given me a deeper awareness of the kinds of emotions and situations clients with mental conditions go through. For instance, Eve White had no idea whatsoever about the existence of another personality inside her, whereas Eve Black had complete knowledge about the existence of Eve White. Moreover, poor Eve White had to bear all the adverse consequences caused by the actions of Eve Black. Thus, as a clinician, I should be able to sympathize with my clients and try my best to neutralize certain bold personalities that would likely cause harm to my clients. Indeed, putting up with multiple personalities is not a piece of cake. One is always afraid of what the other personality might do. Eve Black once even tried to strangle Eve White’s daughter and was also the main cause behind the deterioration of Eve White’s first marriage. However, one thing that I have discovered after reading this book is that MPD is not a mental condition that arises out of the blue. There has to be a reason behind the development of multiple personalities, such as a traumatic incident from the past. According to The Three Faces of Eve, Eve Black was ‘created’ ever since Eve White was forced by her mother to kiss a dead relative-an incident that had greatly disturbed Eve. Thus, a disturbing and traumatizing event is mainly the most important cause for the development of MPD. My heart went out to Eve White after reading about the distressing life that she had to lead especially due to the fact that she had to face the brunt for instances that she could not even recall. True, I was a bit frightened at first at the idea of having no control over what one’s body does during the appearance of one’s dual personality. However, after reading more about what Eve had to go through, I became more determined to ease the pain of such clients as a clinician. I can completely understand what a troubled childhood Eve White must have led because-similar to Eve’s situation-a very close friend of mine was also ignored as a child due to the birth of younger siblings. As a result, he too faced some mental problems in his adulthood and used to direct most of his pent up anger towards his therapist. While reading the initial part of the book, The Three Faces of Eve, as a Christian my mind got diverted to think about demonic possessions. I had a thought that the book may be highlighting upon the impact of demons that was known to be laid on individuals and it is known to us that Jesus used to spiritually cure these problems. But the book provided for a greater insight upon the fact that family bonds and a good upbringing are important for physical as well as the mental health of the child. The faith of Christianity teaches us regarding how we should lead our everyday lives. Rituals are not to be forced as per our religion and the forceful kissing of Eve’s dead grandmother was a traumatic event for her. This should not have been done. Furthermore, I realized that spiritual peace is important for the proper physical and psychological health status of an individual. With prayers and confessions, a person can get healed and overcome the traumatic events in his life. The sharing of one’s trauma and guilt can prove to be very beneficial. It was Eve’s suppression of her feelings and the lack of spiritual satisfaction that drove her into her condition. The Three Faces of Eve is a heart-wrenching biography about a woman who suffered from multiple personality disorder (MPD). It provides a lot of essential information related to the kinds of methods used by psychiatrists to treat this mental condition. In addition, this book has taught me how to handle different situations related to clients with MPD. The authors have effectively described the extent to which Eve White suffered as a result of this mental disorder, thus allowing me to understand the impact of MPD on clients. Besides this, The Three Faces of Eve has had an emotional impact on me and has strengthened my resolve to treat clients with such mental conditions. It also made me realize the importance of confessions and prayers in the life of a person for the purpose of healing. Read More