The James Tapes: Integrating Fragmented Personalities

When Dr. Joel Brende first met James, he immediately discovered that James suffered from memory loss and gaps of awareness, and that two or more parts of his brain seemed to operate independently. It became apparent that James’s mind had split off traumatic memories of emotional and physical pain via the psychological defense mechanism of dissociation that created split identities. During his early psychotherapy sessions, Dr. Brende met five distinct personalities: James—the original personality; Jay—the predominant and protective personality who took over the body when James suffered a psychological trauma at age seven; Jim and Jimmy—two child personalities; and Shea—a homosexual personality. During psychotherapy, as portrayed in the first book, there were significant personality changes that led to James’s rebirth experience as that book came to a close.

This second installment –The James Tapes, Book Two—begins with the newborn personality J, who slowly grows up as his identity matures from his childhood self. This process is detailed by Dr. Joel Brende from video recordings of psychotherapy sessions with James made over a number of years, something no other mental health professional has ever accomplished. Both books provide an honest look at the innerworkings of a unique psychotherapy process.