I found this article about integration. It's old (2003) but timelessly relevant, I think. It was written by a survivor/therapist who fully integrated back in the 90s.

Understanding Integration | Sidran.org

A section of the article:

At the most basic level, integration simply means acceptance/ownership of all thoughts, feelings, fears, beliefs, experiences and memories (often labeled as personalities) as me/mine. It means giving up the split(s) that says something is “not me.” Integration is more than about personalities. It is about full acceptance of all dissociated aspects of oneself. Integration is a process not an event. It occurs throughout therapy (and outside of therapy) as dissociated aspects of one’s self become known, accepted and integrated into normal awareness. It is a natural process in the recovery from trauma. It brings a kind of peace that comes with fully accepting and loving yourself.

During the course of my therapy, I accepted/integrated many new awarenesses about myself. I accepted the core accounts of trauma and my feelings about this. It was hard for me to face the fact that my father had hurt me. I had kept the memories of his abuse separate from my everyday belief that my father loved me and wanted what was best for me. Having to rewrite my life story taking into account the abuse was one aspect of the integration for me.

Integration occurs when I accept a dissociated personality, part, or aspect of myself and bring it intonormal awareness. It is not about getting rid of or killing off a part of myself. When I maintain the split and say it is “not me,” I am implicitly rejecting that part of myself. Essentially, integration is fully embracing each and every part/aspect of myself.

Full acceptance allows greater self-control and choices. This is true not just for individuals with DID, but for non-DID as well. For example, when I deny, reject or dissociate that I have a problem with binge eating, I am not able to work on the problem. When I admit/accept that I have the problem, I can take action to deal with my feelings and choose new ways to handle the problem. With DID, when I deny/reject a part of myself that wants to cut/hurt me, I can’t control that part of myself. When I incorporate that part of myself I gain control and choices.


We am not there yet with any of our others but I can feel some of us moving closer towards it as we process their feelings and experiences and come to different relationships and understanding with them.

It is a long article but I found it both helpful and hopeful, maybe some of you will too.