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.
Famous quotes containing the word host:
“Those of us who are in this world to educate—to care for—young children have a special calling: a calling that has very little to do with the collection of expensive possessions but has a lot to do with the worth inside of heads and hearts. In fact, that’s our domain: the heads and hearts of the next generation, the thoughts and feelings of the future.”
—Fred M. Rogers, U.S. writer and host of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. “That Which is Essential Is Invisible to the Eye,” Young Children (July 1994)