The primary dispute is between those who believe DID is caused by traumatic stresses forcing the mind to split into multiple identities, each with a separate set of memories, and the belief that the symptoms of DID are produced artificially by certain psychotherapeutic practices or patients playing a role they believe appropriate for a person with DID. The debate between the two positions is characterized by intense disagreement. Research into this hypothesis has been characterized by poor methodology. Psychiatrist Joel Paris notes that the idea that a personality is capable of splitting into independent alters is an unproven assertion that is at odds with research in cognitive psychology.Some believe that DID is caused by health care, i.e. symptoms of DID are created by therapists themselves via hypnosis. This belief also implies that those with DID are more susceptible to manipulation by hypnosis and suggestion than others. The iatrogenic model also sometimes states that treatment for DID is harmful. According to Brand, Loewenstein and Spiegel, "[t]he claims that DID treatment is harmful are based on anecdotal cases, opinion pieces, reports of damage that are not substantiated in the scientific literature, misrepresentations of the data, and misunderstandings about DID treatment and the phenomenology of DID".
in Fight Club, and in whodunnit stories like Secret Window.United States of Tara was reported to be the first US television series with DID as its focus, and a professional commentary on each episode was published by the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. More recently, the award winning Korean TV series Kill Me, Heal Me (Korean: 킬미, 힐미; RR: Kilmi, Hilmi) featured a wealthy young man with seven personalities, one of whom falls in love with the beautiful psychiatry resident who tries to help him.Most people with DID are believed to downplay or minimize their symptoms rather than seeking fame, often due to fear of the effects of stigma, or shame. Therapists may discourage them from media work due to concerns that they may feel exploited or traumatized, for example as a result of demonstrating switching between personality states to entertain others. (p 169)However, a number of people with DID have publicly spoken about their experiences, including comedian and talk show host Roseanne Barr, who interviewed Truddi Chase, author of When Rabbit Howls; Chris Costner Sizemore, the subject of The Three Faces of Eve, Cameron West, author of First Person Plural: My life as a multiple, and NFL player Herschel Walker, author of Breaking Free: My life with dissociative identity disorder.In The Three Faces of Eve (1957) hypnosis is used to identify a childhood trauma which then allows her to merge from three identities into just one.