Claudia had crossed her legs in that poised way of hers, leveling her gaze at Serene.
"Why do you ask?"
"Because. Well, because no one knows me as Serene anymore. Everyone says I go by Dora now."
"Dora has really built a life for herself, hasn't she?"
"Yes. These kids––Dora's kids––they might think it's kinda strange if I tell them to call me Serene."
"It would be an adjustment. But all of it is going to be an adjustment, and Dora's children will have their own issues and challenges to face. When you return to the home Dora has made, I'd like to continue to see you, Dora's children, and her wife." Claudia always made sure to speak of Dora as a separate person from Serene because Serene insisted she was separate from Dora.
"Would you like to be called Dora?" Claudia had asked.
"Yes."
5
Claudia Lipstein’s Notes - February 2020
Counselor: Claudia Lipstein, Session Date: February 5, 2020
Time: 2:00 PM, Session #23
Client Name: Dora Jones/Serene Hokulani
(D) Overall, client appeared less agitated and more accepting of the life she has created as Dora Jones. She expressed some trepidation about returning home and sought validation for choosing to be called Dora rather than Serene. When I asked the client if she knew why she wanted to be called Dora, she expressed a concern that returning home as Serene might cause some confusion and issues for her family members. Her wish to be called Dora did not seem as if it came from a place of connecting with the identity of Dora. The client, by my observation, is still purely Serene. When the client brought up her children and her concern around confusing them, she did not mention any of their names, calling them instead, “these kids” and “Dora’s kids.” The client is still deeply dissociated from her previous self and the family related to the self known as Dora.
(A) In previous sessions, however, Dora has expressed a willingness to go home and try to assimilate back into her life. Today there was some apprehension around that decision, which we discussed. I think, though, that the client’s desire to move along with the next step of her healing is stronger than her fear of moving forward.
Dora presents an interesting case in that the more I see her, the more convinced I feel that she may have dissociative identity disorder. In my very first assessment of Dora, she presented some of the classic symptoms of having dissociative fugue, the autobiographical memory loss and complete disinterest in anything or anyone from her life before the amnesia. However, I found it unusual that she remembered her birth name and life up until the age of sixteen. This left me with the thought that possibly, when the client was still using the name Serene, she experienced another fugue state, starting a new life as Dora, although after speaking with Dora’s wife Erica, I learned that Serene changed her name to Dora six years ago with full awareness of her life as Serene. The other problem with the dissociative fugue prognosis is that typically individuals who go into a fugue state remember nothing of their life or their name and often go on to build a new life in a different town or city. Dora, on the other hand, does recall her life as Serene up until the age of sixteen.
The amnesia has wiped out all of her memory after the age of sixteen: memories of her years as an adult and, of course, of the last six years when she went by Dora. Possibly the client has hysterical amnesia. However, the two different names and the marked distinction of sexual preference that the client has as Serene versus Dora suggests distinct personality states. People do change their names and have fluidity in sexuality, but the revulsion that the client displays as Serene over Dora’s choice to marry a woman, and the fact that Serene was in a heterosexual marriage before the name change, serves to further highlight a disruption in identity. The client’s discontinuity of self has been quite drastic, affecting her behavior, memory, how she perceives the world around her and her cognition. The client presents as a teenager, her language and mannerisms adolescent, and after watching some of Dora Jones’ fashion and lifestyle vlogger videos on YouTube I’ve noted that she comes across as confident and mature. The difference between the two personalities are markedly distinct.
(P) This session concludes our daily appointments. As Dora is returning home, we will now be moving to weekly appointments. I intend to further explore the memories that the client does have of her childhood. I would also like to get a profile of the client around the time the name change took place. I’ve asked Dora to talk with her wife and any other family members she feels close to and safe with to gather information from this time. I have also prescribed regular walks, as this exercise in particular seems to temper the daily anxiety Dora suffers from, and to keep eating regular meals. Dora may have had some orthorexic tendencies before the amnesia, as well as excessive exercise habits.
6
Steve - July 1996
"And Bates is spelled B-A-T-E-S?"
"Yeah." Steve nodded and slouched down on the padded chair he'd been directed to for the interview.
Detective Carole Greiner studied the boy in front of her. He had the tall, rangy body of a young man. His brown hair hung to his collarbone, the front long and partially obscuring his left eye, a brilliant green. A sizable cystic pimple protruded from his chin, open and bleeding. His hands rested in his lap. Now he placed them on the table, and Detective Greiner took note of the long fingers, the nails stubby, chewed short rather than cut.
"What is your address, Steve?"
He tossed his hair away from his eye. "It's 4275 Jackson Avenue, Culver City."
"And how long have you lived at that residence?"
"Um, a year." He moved the palm
