Elena: A case of dissociative identity disorder from the 1920s

Abstract

In 1930, Italian psychiatrist Giovanni Enrico Morselli described the history, diagnosis, and treatment of his patient Elena. The case of Elena has been considered in literature as one of the most remarkable cases of multiple personality ever published. In fact, before treatment, Elena showed alternating French- and Italian-speaking personalities, with the Italian personality knowing nothing of her French counterparts. After a difficult treatment involving recovered memories of incestuous attacks by her father, which were proven to be true, Elena fully recovered from her symptoms. In this article, the author presents details of the case that were not available in the international literature before. He also discusses Elena's psychological and somatoform symptoms according to a contemporary perspective on the relationally traumatic origins of dissociation and dissociative identity disorder.