Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy (DNMS)

Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy (DNMS) is a recent form of adult psychotherapy developed by Shirley Jean Schmidt. It has been used in treating dissociative identity disorder (DID). It is an ego-state therapy based on the knowledge of how the brain develops in childhood.

DNMS is based on the assumption that present-day issues that originated in unmet childhood needs are perpetuated by maladaptive introjects (see, Introjection). DNMS is a semi-hypnotic therapy that uses alternating bilateral stimulation to process these maladaptive introjects, build internal resource connections, and strengthen positive experiences.