Group experiences are critical to all survivors if they are to overcome the secrecy, shame, and isolation of survivorship. Stabilization may include contracts to ensure physical and emotional safety and discussion before any disclosure or confrontation related to the abuse, and to prevent any precipitous stop in therapy. Physician consultants should be selected for medical needs or psychopharmacologic treatment. Antidepressant and antianxiety medications can be helpful adjunctive treatment for survivors, but they should be viewed as adjunctive to the psychotherapy, not as an alternative to it. Developing a cognitive framework is also an essential part of stabilization.
Stabilization is a time to learn how to ask for help and build support networks.
If the dissociative disorder is DID, stabilization involves the survivor's acceptance of the diagnosis and commitment to treatment. The treatment frame for DID includes developing acceptance and respect for each alter as a part of the internal system. Each alter must be treated equally, whether it presents as a delightful child or an angry persecutor. Mapping of the dissociative personality system is the next step, followed by the work of internal dialogue and cooperation between alters. This is the critical stage in DID therapy, one that must be in place before trauma work begins.