The "rediscovery" of DID is due in part to the recognition that early childhood trauma and the propensity to dissociate are etiological factors in the development of DID. The author attempts to raise clinical consciousness regarding DID, discusses the definition and etiology of dissociative disorders and their assessment, and describes an approach to treating sexual abuse survivors who have DID. The treatment program integrates some of the techniques recommended by others but is unique in its step- by-step flexible organization and in its multifaceted format. The treatment process is examined in terms of anxiety management, the identification of alternate personalities or states, initial intervention, the development of co-consciousness, working through trauma, resolution and integration, and the development of post-resolution coping skills. The author concludes that psychotherapy for adult sexual abuse survivors who meet diagnostic criteria for DID can be more effective when the dissociative identity disorder is diagnosed early in treatment. 32 references