Welcome
Trauma & Dissociation Education & Support
New and returning members: The Ivory Garden online community has moved. Apply to join us in our new home.
Thank you for stopping by. Make yourself at home and take your time. Over the past twenty years, we’ve gathered articles, books, videos, and research about trauma and how it affects people’s lives. Much of our work has focused on eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complex PTSD (CPTSD), depression, and dissociation. You’ll find these topics and much more in our collection, with contributions from survivors and professionals. We’re still adding to it, and it’s here for anyone to browse. If you’d like a place to talk with others about living with dissociative identity disorder (DID), you’ll find our free, private forum under Online Community in the menu. If you’d like a hand finding something, Billybot, our AI assistant, is in the bottom-right corner of your screen.
Patricia Goodwin, MA 11-9-26
Understanding trauma-related dissociation for yourself or someone you love
Maybe you’re trying to make sense of something you’ve experienced, looking for information for someone you love, or following up on something you’ve read. Ivory Garden members have written books and articles, made videos, and shared creative work here over the years. In our articles, you’ll find people writing about what it’s like to live with trauma-related dissociation in their own words, alongside research and articles by professionals. If you run across an unfamiliar term, you can look it up in the glossary. You can also browse our books and videos.
Are you living with Trauma-Related Dissociation?
If you are living with trauma-related mental health issues or think you might be, you’ll find articles, educational materials, and a glossary covering dissociation, eating disorders, complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD), developmental trauma disorder (DTD), somatoform dissociation, depersonalization/derealization disorder (DP/DR), self-harm, and more.
If you’re looking for support, you’ll find information on finding a therapist and crisis services. You can also learn about our private online support community, where members meet and take part in live, Zoom-style groups twice a week.
For mental health practitioners
If you work in mental health, you’ll find articles, books, and talks by clinicians and people with firsthand experience of trauma and dissociation. If you’re looking for something to share with a client, we’ve gathered information on hospitals and treatment programs, crisis services, and finding a therapist. You can also point clients who want to talk with others about living with DID to Online Community in the menu, where they can learn about our free, private forum and live groups.
Ivory Garden Online Community
Our free, private DID forum is a place to get to know others, keep a journal of your own, or join a live group. We get together twice a week for a casual meetup and a group study.
“The best online support group (forum) I’ve ever had the privilege to belong to is Ivory Garden Dissociative Identity Disorder Support Forum. I have belonged since 2012 and have received an enormous amount of support.”
Shirley J. Davis, author and public speaker
Explore the Online Community →
Your own journal
A space for your thoughts and writing.
Weekly coping groups
Meet and learn together live.
Community chat
Talk by text, audio, or video.
Little alters’ private area
A private space for younger parts.
Teen alters’ private room
A private space for teen parts.
Creative works & crafts
Share art, writing, music, and more.
Memories from 20 Years of Ivory Garden
From message boards to today’s community
Over the years, more than 4,000 people have shared in the life of the community: Easter parties, late-night karaoke, Christmas card exchanges, learning, crafting, and lasting friendships. As the community moved from one message board to another, people kept finding each other and sharing what they made.
Survivors, clinicians, and speakers came together to learn from each other. Name tags showed only names, so people could meet and talk without knowing anyone’s title or diagnosis.
Thank you to the speakers who shared their time and expertise at the Ivory Garden International Conferences, including Colin Ross, MD, Steven Frankel, PhD, Sandra Paulsen, PhD, Laura Brown, PhD, Dana Ross, MD, David Calof, DAPA, Richard Loewenstein, MD, and many more.
What Ivory Garden Conference Attendees said:
“I finally had the feeling of belonging. I connected with both experts/therapists and survivors, people who I feel I’ll know for years to come.”
2016 Conference Attendee
“There will never be another conference like this. For over a decade, Ivory Garden has provided safe venues where survivors, professionals, and supporters experience education, respect, and support. IG does not promote their organization or their directors or any personal agenda. They simply host the conference. This cannot be said for any other conference or group.”
2015 Conference Attendee
Excerpt taken from video “…Which shows you in this economy, this market, this culture, that’s a hard thing to do. That’s very amazing, very impressive achievement. And for some grassroots people [Ivory Garden] to just go, “okay, I think we’ll do a conference.” And then, actually have it happen, be well organized, well attended, well exhibited at. Most amazing and helpful and useful contribution to the field. And all the credit goes to one human being plus her delegates, which is Pat [Patricia Goodwin, MA]. So, be very hard pressed to find a survivor- recovered person who’s contributed individually more to the field. She certainly would be in the top five minimum. So congratulations, and thank you for your efforts”.
Colin Ross, MD
Taken from Extreme Skeptics About DID: Why They Are Wrong – Colin Ross, MD