Integration refers to the active process of differentiating and linking the diverse elements of physiological, psychological, and relational systems of functioning.
It is the mind’s ongoing dynamic and developmental capacity to discern and weave together distinguished modes of processing – including affective and neuroceptive sensation, relational and regulatory perception, as well as semantic and sense-making interpretations. This integrative process enables a spatiotemporal emergence of the here-and-now as it connects to the then-and-there and opens toward the new-and-next.
In the context of well-being integration reflects a process of Self: the affective dynamic development of a coherent sense of Self with an Other in the World.
Finally, with integration our sense of Self is embraced and grounded in continual contextual coherence – with integration the Self is congruent and connected.
Integration (noun – process)
- Definition: The active process of linking differentiated systems or functions—physiological, emotional, cognitive, and relational—into a coherent whole.
- Connotation: Ongoing, developmental, dynamic.
- Use: Emphasises the movement toward coherence.
- Example: Integration occurs as the brain links affective resonance with meaning-making, allowing regulation to emerge in relational safety.
- In clinical context: Integration is what we support in therapy—it unfolds through neuroplasticity, safety, connection, and reflection.
