Despite its modest appearance and unassuming cover, Elizabeth Howell's Diagnosing and Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder: A Relational Approach is a very ambitious book. The author strives to present a thoroughly comprehensive and detailed review of this specialized area with which many psychiatrists have little or limited familiarity. In fact it was with the hope of gaining an appreciation and understanding of the current conceptualization of dissociative disorders and their treatment that I undertook this review.

The book is divided into two parts and an introduction. In the introduction, the author lays out her reasons for writing this book, her hopes for what it will provide, and key definitions and concepts. Part 1: Understanding Dissociative Identity Disorder consists of 7 chapters that begin with 3 illustrative case histories, moves on to an extensive history