We are mothers, sisters, grandmothers, neighbors, college graduates, researchers, university professors, artists, health care workers, high school teachers, and activists.

We are all survivors of childhood trauma and have been diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).

What We Do

  • Inform clinical and research programs
  • Develop Participatory Action Research projects
  • Destigmatize DID through sharing personal experience
  • Promote social justice and foster inclusion

We Use our Expertise

  • To raise awareness and bring value to what people with lived experience bring to advancing treatment and care
  • To find new ways to bring our insights to enhance research and treatment protocols
  • To educate clinicians and the public about DID
LEARN MORE

Lived Experience Voices

“When the opportunity to serve on LEAP happened, I was eager to share my experience with the research team.  I have found that my experience living with DID is so different from what is portrayed in mainstream/social media. Over the last couple of years, I have developed a deep respect of and admiration for my fellow colleagues on the panel.  It is hard, this work, and the panel with the research team support and respect the challenges that arise in this undertaking.   The work with LEAP means that I am not silent any longer. I have agency to create change.”

“Being part of Leap makes me feel like I am somebody and my experience matters.  I feel my lived experience of having DID is valuable to and for others.”

“Being a part of this LEAP team means being part of a community of people with a shared commitment to making things better. Whether we are focused on fighting stigma, informing research, or helping to move clinical practice forward, being a resource to a high caliber research team means that our voices are heard and our perspectives are valued. We have the privilege of learning and thinking together, exploring our similarities and differences, and growing and changing as individuals as a result. All of that combines to fight internalized stigma, isolation, and shame, and builds our momentum for and (belief in the possibility of) institutional and systems level change.”

“Being a member of LEAP has been one of the best decisions I’ve made. LEAP has provided me with the opportunity to learn, advocate, and share my experiences. The opportunity to help with research and development to better serve others with DID has been a huge part of my journey. I feel comfortable in using my voice and my knowledge to support the goal of improving treatment through research and reducing stigma in the community. LEAP has also helped me in my own recovery journey.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What do you think people should know about living with DID?

Summary: DID can be a very hidden problem, kept secret from others and not something most people would pick up on. But, people need to know we are just like everybody else. We work, we are professionals, and we have families. We are in our communities, helping out and volunteering. We are advocates. We deserve the respect and love that everyone else deserves too.

Summary: When I go to the dentist, have medical tests done, or feel sick, the ability to dissociate on call is greatly appreciated and I find it very helpful then. I think DID demands that I study my mind and that has given me a certain sense of wisdom, I have a greater understanding of my mind.

Summary: I have different parts and they hold different memories. If I have a flashback, it might be a child part that is experiencing it. I think healthcare professionals need to take extra caution when something like that is happening with somebody with DID. It is very nuanced, but it can be very traumatic.

Summary:  I think the media has done a huge disservice to people with DID and have cast a bad light on DID. This has affected me. It has made me feel ashamed and more isolated, like I don’t belong anywhere.

Summary:  I am here today, because I have had DID-focused treatment. I am able to communicate with my parts now and tell the difference between past and present. I am stronger and more confident, thanks to six years of DID-focused therapy.

Summary: There is so much we can do in future advocacy efforts. Letting people with DID know that they are not alone, convincing healthcare professionals to consider childhood trauma when they are looking at someone’s presentation, and educating the insurance companies.

Recent Projects

Reflections from LEAP
Advancing Research on and Treatment of Dissociative Identity Disorder With People With Lived Experience
Living with Dissociative Identity Disorder: An Illustrated Journey
Lived Experience Advisory Panel
DeconstructingStigma.org
What being part of LEAP has meant to us...

DID Resources

The Trauma Continuum
at Hill Center

International Society for the Study
of Trauma and Dissociation

Learn more - Coming soon

©2025 Lived Experience Advisory Panel | All rights reserved.

Rebecca Modell, BS

Rebecca is a driven individual with a love of people, an interest in research, and a passion for empathetic clinical care. She graduated from Boston University in 2022 with a BS in Health Science. In the future, she is interested in pursuing an MD and/or PhD in the fields of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience. As a student, Rebecca discovered her interest in research as a Research Assistant in the Boston University Global Health Nutrition Lab under Dr. Lindsey Locks. In the Global Health Nutrition Lab, Rebecca studied malnutrition in populations of women, children, and adolescents and the interaction between malnutrition and infection. She continued to explore her research interests in the Dekel Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital. As a Clinical Research Intern under Dr. Sharon Dekel, Rebecca helped to investigate women’s postpartum mental health and the processes involved in their adjustment post childbirth. Eventually, Rebecca’s interests led her to the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program at McLean Hospital where she now works as a Clinical Research Assistant under Dr. Milissa Kaufman and Dr. Lauren Lebois investigating the neurobiology of trauma and dissociative disorders. Rebecca’s ultimate goal is to become a physician-scientist working in the field of trauma and dissociative disorders. She hopes that one day, her research and clinical practice will be able to improve the lives of those struggling with trauma spectrum disorders.

Zoe Bair, BS

Zoe is passionate about understanding mental health issues through the stories and experiences shared by individual participants. She is currently a Clinical Research Assistant in the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program. Zoe graduated in 2022 from Tufts University with a B.S. in Clinical Psychology. While at Tufts she worked directly under Dr. Jasmine Mote in the Mote Emotion and Social Health Lab to investigate the effects of loneliness on heart rate variability in people with schizophrenia. She also was a part of the Social Identity and Stigma Lab with Dr. Jessica Remedios examining discrimination and adversity faced by individuals with multiple marginalized identities. Zoe has clinical experience conducting assessments for ADHD and autism and working for multiple crisis hotlines. In the future, she hopes to continue doing meaningful research in a clinical psychology graduate program.

Juliann Purcell, PhD

Dr. Juliann Purcell is passionate about supporting survivors of trauma through direct clinical work, research to understand neurobiological changes after trauma, and advocacy to help decrease mental health stigma.

Dr. Purcell earned her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham under the mentorship of Dr. David Knight and Dr. Sylvie Mrug and completed her clinical internship at the Central Virginia VA Health Care System in Richmond, Virginia. Her published research broadly explores the neurobiological impacts of adversity (e.g., childhood abuse and neighborhood disadvantage). Dr. Purcell’s NIH-funded dissertation work investigated relationships that different patterns of substance use across adolescence have with brain structure and function in young adulthood. Additionally, she was instrumental in developing an intervention designed to enhance emotion regulation and interpersonal skills for individuals reintegrating into their communities after incarceration. Dr. Purcell’s clinical background and neuroscience expertise afford a unique perspective from which she approaches clinical, research, and advocacy work.

Romeo S. Cabanban, MS

Cori is the Lab Manager for the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program. The clinical research studies she works on examine the neurobiology of dissociative symptoms and biological markers of PTSD. 


Cori received her MA in Clinical Psychology from Towson University, and her BS in Psychology from Sacred Heart University. Throughout her graduate training under the direction of Dr. Bethany Brand, Cori researched the assessment of complex dissociative disorders. She has clinical experience treating comorbid developmental disabilities, problematic behaviors, and trauma histories.

Cori Palermo, MA

Cori is the Lab Manager for the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program. The clinical research studies she works on examine the neurobiology of dissociative symptoms and biological markers of PTSD. 

Cori received her MA in Clinical Psychology from Towson University, and her BS in Psychology from Sacred Heart University. Throughout her graduate training under the direction of Dr. Bethany Brand, Cori researched the assessment of complex dissociative disorders. She has clinical experience treating comorbid developmental disabilities, problematic behaviors, and trauma histories.

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Lauren A. M. Lebois, PhD

Dr. Lauren Lebois is a cognitive neuroscientist who is passionate about understanding how the mind, brain, and body adapt in the aftermath of trauma.  She prioritizes translating scientific breakthroughs in accessible, compelling, and clinically-relevant ways.  Dr. Lebois is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, where she serves as the Director of the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program at McLean Hospital.  Dr. Lebois’ National Institute of Mental Health funded research program focuses on the neurobiology of dissociation in trauma-spectrum disorders.  Her published research analyzes the therapeutic effect of mindfulness-related treatments, the role of learning, experience, and plasticity in emotion, and the assessment of brain and behavioral correlates of dissociation.  Dr. Lebois serves as the Scientific Committee Immediate Past Chair for the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), and the Operations Co-Director of the Initiative for Integrated Trauma Research, Care and Training at McLean Hospital. In 2021, she was awarded McLean Hospital’s Alfred Pope Award for Young Investigators for the publication of an exceptional peer-reviewed, first-authored publication, and ISSTD’s Pierre Janet Writing Award for the best research paper in the field of dissociation and/or trauma within the past year. Recently, she also received the Morton Prince Award from ISSTD for her outstanding cumulative contributions to research on dissociative disorders. Dr. Lebois is deeply committed to using her advances in neurobiology, behavior, and treatment to reduce the stigma and improve care for individuals living with PTSD and dissociative identity disorder.


E-Mail – ResearchGate – Google Scholar – LinkedIn – X @LaurenLeboisPhD