Host (psychology)

In psychology and mental health, a host is the most important (to therapeutic goals) mental entity in someone who has dissociative identity disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder). Often this is thought to be the root of the person's psyche, or at least a key figure for completion of therapy, whether or not it has integration as a goal.

People suffering from this disorder, or who believe themselves to contain multiple mental or spiritual entities, often use the term "host" in reference to the entirety of the body and all of the entities contained therein. This usage of the term denotes that the singular physical entity in question claims many internal mental residents; no importance to one entity over the rest is implied. Dissociative Identify disorder (DID) frequently seen in hosts. “A real loss of contact with the objective world gives the observer a specific impression of Queerness --- the remainders of emotions or the substitutes for emotion usually refer to rage and aggressiveness.” See Otto Fenichel 1946 Schizophrenia.