Sybil is a 1973 book by Flora Rheta Schreiber about the treatment of Sybil Dorsett (a pseudonym for Shirley Ardell Mason) for dissociative identity disorder (then referred to as multiple personality disorder) by her psychoanalyst, Cornelia B. Wilbur.
The book was made into two movies of the same name, once in 1976 and again as a television movie in 2007.
Mason is given the pseudonym "Sybil" by her therapist to protect her privacy. Originally in treatment for social anxiety and memory loss, after extended therapy involving amobarbital and hypnosis interviews Sybil manifests sixteen personalities. Wilbur encouraged Sybil's various selves to communicate and reveal information about her life.
Described personalities
The book begins with a list of Sybil's "alters", together with the year in which each appeared to have dissociated from the central personality. The names of these selves were also changed to ensure privacy.
- Sybil Isabel Dorsett (1923), the main personality
- Victoria Antoinette Scharleau (1926), nicknamed Vicky, self-assured and sophisticated
- Peggy Lou Baldwin (1926), assertive, enthusiastic, and often angry
- Peggy Ann Baldwin (1926), a counterpart of Peggy Lou but more fearful than angry
- Mary Lucinda Saunders Dorsett (1933), a thoughtful, contemplative, and maternal homebody
- Marcia Lynn Dorsett (1927), an extremely emotional writer and painter
- Vanessa Gail Dorsett (1935), intensely dramatic
- Mike Dorsett (1928), one of Sybil's two male selves, a builder and a carpenter
- Sid Dorsett (1928), the second of Sybil's two male selves, a carpenter and a general handyman
- Nancy Lou Ann Baldwin (date undetermined), interested in politics as fulfillment of biblical prophecy and intensely afraid of Roman Catholics
- Sybil Ann Dorsett (1928), listless to the point of neurasthenia
- Ruthie Dorsett (date undetermined), a baby and one of the less developed selves
- Clara Dorsett (date undetermined), intensely religious and highly critical of Sybil
- Helen Dorsett (1929), intensely afraid but determined to achieve fulfillment
- Marjorie Dorsett (1928), serene, vivacious, and quick to laugh
- The Blonde (1946), a nameless perpetual teenager with an optimistic outlook
The book's narrative describes Sybil's selves gradually becoming co-conscious, able to communicate and share responsibilities, and having musical compositions and art published under their various names. Wilbur attempts to integrate Sybil's various selves, first convincing them via hypnosis that they are all the same age, then encouraging them to merge together. At the book's end, a new, optimistic self called "The Blonde" emerges, preceding Sybil's final integration into a single, whole individual with full knowledge of her past and present life
from:
WIKIPEDIA
Here we are while watching the movie.
Our
Prof. Dangla (clad in yellow shirt) required us to watch this movie for our
PSYCHOTHERAPY class.
I think it was nice..but I couldn't completely understand the whole story since it was too noisy in the nearby area. AB Math students were also having a program just few meters away from us. In times like this WE UCCians really are very RESOURCEFUL!!
Before the film showing started..the people assigned for the materials had a hard time looking for a ROOM & equipments necessary for it.
I've heard someone saying:
"Sana may Audio-visual ROOM tayo! "
Kelan kaya tayo magkakaroon nun no??
Everything is getting more & more MODERNIZED nowadays..I hope we can also be able to keep up with the fast-paced academic evolution.
Di kasi sa lahat ng pagkakataon nadadala sa pagiging RESOURCEFUL natin!
