ABSTRACT
Fully integrating the Child and the Adult and achieving a healthy accommodation to the trauma are the ongoing and final tasks of healing. As that happens, the client’s beliefs about self and the world undergo a gradual transformation. The client begins to consistently define self as worthwhile rather than worthless—a person to be valued and protected, a person who deserves to thrive. The client discovers at the center of self a real identity rather than an empty shell or a bottomless pit. Stage II recovery is characterized by an acceptance of self and an acceptance of history that anticipates further growth and enhancement. Life becomes an adventure to be enjoyed rather than a sentence to be served.
