The Case of Shirley Mason (AKA Sybil Dorsett)

In 1973 psychologist Dr. Cornelia Wilber was suddenly thrust into the spotlight for groundbreaking work she had done with Shirley Mason, known to the world as Sybil Dorsett. This work, published in a book by Flora Schreiber, documented the years of treatment Dr. Wilber had done with Mason for Multiple Personality Disorder, known today as Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). This event brought the concept of multiple personalities into popular culture and kicked off an intense debate in contemporary psychology. Was this a mental illness brought on by severe trauma or something suggested to a vulnerable patient for the purpose of creating a human drama?

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The Slender Man Stabbing

On the evening of May 30th, 2014, three adolescent friends, Anissa Weier, Morgan Geyser, and Payton Leutner whose friends called, “Bella,” all spent the night playing games and celebrating Morgan’s 12th birthday. The next morning, Anissa and Morgan tried to stab Bella to death in a nearby forest to appease a dark figure known only as Slender Man. What is the nature of insanity? How is the magical thinking of children often influenced by mass media? How did a random creation by a 29-year-old for a website contest manage to capture the imagination of Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser so completely? Join us this week as Drs. Micono and Morelos explore the chilling case of the Slender Man Stabbing, by listener request!

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