What is Integration?

Integration refers to the process of combining or bringing together separate parts into a unified whole. While its meaning varies across disciplines, the core concept of a cohesive, interdependent system remains consistent.

In short, it's about helping the different parts of you – your brain, thoughts, feelings, body, stories, and beliefs – work together rather than against each other.

In psychology, the term takes on several layered and specific meanings.

The Many Shapes of Integration in Psychology: From Brain to Belief

1. Integration in the Brain: The Science of Linkage

In contemporary neurobiology, integration refers to how differentiated parts of the brain, such as the subcortical “low road” systems (which handle instant reactions) and cortical “high road” systems (which handle thoughtful processing, such as with the prefrontal cortex), as well as hemispheric left or right functions, become linked and coordinated (Siegel, 2012).

For instance, the emerging field of interpersonal neurobiology posits that the health of the mind corresponds to integration — “the linking of differentiated parts of a system” — so that separate neural, bodily, relational, and narrative processes cohere into a unified functioning whole (Siegel, 2020).

From a neuroscience perspective, when brain systems fail to integrate (for example, due to trauma that disrupts connections between lower brain systems, limbic/emotional systems, and higher cortical systems), then the result may be symptoms of fragmentation. This can look like feeling disconnected, having emotional outbursts, being stuck in rigid habits, or behaving with chaotic reactivity (Siegel, 2020).

In this sense, integration in the brain might mean that emotional, sensory, bodily, and cognitive systems are linked and communicating, allowing for insight, emotional regulation, and resilience (Siegel, 2020). In his work on connection, Dan Siegel’s (2022) IntraConnected: MWe (Me + We) as the Integration of Self, Identity, and Belonging, he extends this integration through relationships.

2. Integration of Your Self and Story: Moving from Fragmentation to Cohesion

Beyond neurobiology, the language of “integration” also appears throughout multiple clinical psychology paradigms.

In classic psychodynamic traditions, integration means making the unconscious conscious and bringing conflicting internal forces into conscious harmony (Freud, 1923/1961; Kernberg, 1975).
In contemporary relational psychodynamic language of one’s internal working models and self-states, integration involves absorbing emotionally corrective experiences (Messer & Warren, 1995) into the ongoing story of one’s life to heal the fragmented, hurtful experiences that shaped one’s attachment and relational behaviors.

This also happens with one’s life narrative, as one grows by integrating one’s harder stories of loss, suffering, trauma, and failure into a coherent life narrative with radical acceptance (van der Kolk, 2014), rather than suppressing or segregating them, which can lead to splitting or fragmentation of identity and life experience with shame.

In narrative trauma work specifically, this is known as structural dissociation, where a trauma-related experience is split off from the "apparently normal self," and integration is the process of synthesizing these dissociated parts into a unified sense of self (van der Kolk, 2014).

In developmental psychology, integration reflects how individuals synthesize identity across stages of life, linking cognitive, emotional, and social domains into a coherent sense of self (Erikson, 1968; McAdams, 2013).
In cognitive and behavioral traditions, integration can involve reconciling contradictory cognitions, emotions, and behaviors through processes like cognitive restructuring or experiential acceptance (Beck, 2011; Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 2012).
Humanistic and existential psychologies also emphasize integration as the movement toward congruence — where one’s internal experience, outward behavior, and values align in authenticity (Rogers, 1961; Yalom, 1980).
In multicultural and systemic psychology, integration can describe the process of weaving together multiple cultural, relational, and spiritual identities into a cohesive whole, fostering psychological flexibility and belonging (Sue & Sue, 2016).

In mental health-informed coaching, therapy, and pastoral care, fostering integration means helping clients or counselees to link what has been separated – bodily sensation with cognitive awareness, past implicit memory with current explicit narrative, spiritual meaning with relational life – and thereby move from the extremes of chaos or rigidity, toward a more flexible, connected way of being (Siegel, 2019).

3. Whole-Person Integration: Body, Soul, and Spirit

At the whole-person level (body, soul, spirit), integration suggests that our physical existence, our mental and emotional life, and our spiritual self are not compartmentalized but interwoven in our relational world (Entwistle, 2015). As scholar David Entwistle (2015) illustrates in Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity, our spiritual beliefs and practices, emotional health, and physical well-being feed into one another.

Thus, in the many ways psychologists use the word “integration,” the underlying sense is of moving from fragmentation → wholeness, from disconnection → connection, and from divided selfhood → cohesive being-in-relationship.

At Integrate You, we are interested in all of these forms of integration, with a special emphasis on the integration of theology and psychology.

The field of integration involves the intentional and systematic combination of religious beliefs and psychological principles to understand human nature and promote well-being. It recognizes that theology and psychology can inform and mutually enrich each other.

Key historical figures like Fritz Kunkel and Gordon Allport were pioneers in this movement, and organizations like the Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS) were founded on this integrative mission (Fuller Theological Seminary, 2019).

According to Hathaway and Yarhouse (2021) in The Integration of Psychology and Christianity integration can happen in several domains:

Worldview: Merging theological and psychological views of human nature.

Theoretical: Combining psychological theories with theological principles to create a unified conceptual framework.

Applied: Incorporating spiritual disciplines and faith-based practices into clinical interventions that can be either implicit (i.e., spiritually conscious) or explicit (i.e., spiritually directive).

Role: A psychologist's professional identity is also integrated with their religious identity.

Personal: A psychologist's personal faith and spiritual growth are intertwined with their professional development.

Proponents of integration believe that both disciplines are necessary to fully understand the human experience, as "all truth is God's truth" (Lester, 2020).

This integrative mission echoes the philosophy of St. Augustine in pursuit of the “truth” revealed through the “book of the word” and the “book of the world.” Augustine used the metaphor of the "book of the world" to describe the visible creation as a divine revelation, parallel to Scripture, which he referred to as the "book of God" or "book of the word" (Augustine, Letter 43; O’Donnell, 2005).

He stated that the world is our greater book, where what was promised in the book of God is fulfilled and can be read. This idea is expressed in his Letter 43, where he writes, "Our greater book is the entire world; what I read as promised in the book of God, I read fulfilled in it [the world]" (Augustine, n.d.). Similarly, in his Enarrationes in Psalmos, he says, "Let the sacred page [from the word of God] be a book for you so that you may hear these things; let the world be a book for you so that you may see these things" (Augustine, Enarrationes in Psalmos; O’Donnell, 2005). He emphasized that while only those who know letters can read the sacred texts, even the uneducated can read the book of the world, making divine truths accessible to all (Augustine, n.d.). This metaphor reflects Augustine’s belief in the harmony between faith and reason, where the natural world, as studied by empirical science, serves as a divine text open to interpretation by all, not just the literate (O’Donnell, 2005).

Why does Integration matter to us?

**Integration isn’t just a concept — it’s your journey toward wholeness.**

We believe the constantly evolving field of psychology helps give us language and practices to grow our capacity to love, heal, and be with one another in Christlikeness.

We apply an explicit integration at Integrate You by bringing those equipped in theology and spiritual direction, alongside those with spiritually integrative psychological training. This intentional blend and collaboration of the fields is foundational to all we do.

We all come with our many stories — our traumas, our milestones, and our seemingly mundane days that rarely make the highlight reel. Through the sacred work of storytelling, whether in therapy, coaching, spiritual direction, or community, we discover patterns of grace and meaning.

Ultimately, integration is the path to personal, spiritual, and relational wholeness, not just in theory, but in the practice of daily life.

At Integrate You, we leverage this full spectrum of knowledge, from neurobiology to theology, providing a distinct, comprehensive, and compassionate approach to transformation.

Our unique team of spiritual directors and coaches are equipped to guide you in weaving your fragmented stories and diverse experiences into a cohesive, meaningful narrative. We help you move beyond coping to living fully — through individual and group coaching, spiritual direction, community workshops, and partnerships with church-based healing ministries.

Whether you’re a young adult seeking spiritually integrated life coaching, a professional pursuing faith-driven resilience through spiritual direction, or a church leader wanting to build trauma-informed ministries, we invite you into an embodied journey of unified living — where the brain, the heart, the spirit, and the community move together in vibrant cohesion.

If you’d like to explore further, download our Triune Check-In journaling tool by signing up for our monthly newsletter below, joining an upcoming free community workshop, or reaching out for a conversation. Integration isn’t just a concept — it’s your journey toward wholeness.

What is Integration? How to Reclaim Your Whole Self