New Books in Psychology Sally Maslansky, "A Brilliant Adaptation: How Dissociative Identity Disorder and the Power of the Therapeutic Bond Saved Me" (New Harbinger Publications, 2026)
May 13, 2026
Sally Maslansky, LMFT, therapist and memoirist who recovered from dissociative identity disorder. She recounts rediscovering childhood trauma, intensive relational therapy with Dan Siegel, and how therapeutic safety and neuroplasticity enabled healing. Conversations cover memory, mindfulness practices, integration of fragmented states, family boundaries, and reclaiming joy and wholeness.
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Episode notes
Relational Bond Enables Deep Healing
- Healing came from a sustained safe relationship not a technique list.
- Sally credits the relational bond with Dan Siegel plus her own inner reflection as the mechanism that allowed DID to resolve.
Adoption Trigger Revealed Forgotten Childhood
- Sally went into therapy at 37 after adoption triggered terror she didn't understand.
- Meeting Dan because he evaluated her adopted son led to realizing she didn't remember her childhood and beginning intensive work.
High Frequency Therapy Supported Rapid Change
- During intensive treatment Sally saw Dan up to three or four times weekly with multi-hour sessions.
- Her husband and supports allowed her the privilege of full-time therapy and childcare to focus on healing.
