Just wanted to add something here -

Jewels where you are this statement may be true but many usa states, mental health professionals and therapy techniques consider the word alters to be short hand for the word alternate personalities.

And many USA states, mental health professionals and therapy approaches use the words alters, parts and alternate personalities interchangeably to mean the same thing.

Sometimes different therapists that treat DID and clients with DID have a preference over which interchangeable word they choose to use, just like even though the correct terminology in the US is Dissociative Identity Disorder some people here in the US and here on PC still prefer calling it Multiple Personality Disorder when the two terms are one and the same.

one rule I try to use for my posting is when telling people terms like MPD, DID, Alters, Alternate personalities, personalities, parts, pieces, fragments and such I take into consideration everyone here at pc is not from the same location (countries, states, towns, cities, geographic locations mountain, central whatever) as I am and they may not be using the same textbooks,, mental health professional and therapy techniques I have experience with through my therapy, classes and internship in mental health agences around here.