Most (but not all) organized personality systems have internal hierarchies, which may mirror the structure of the abuser groups. When there is a hierarchy, you can work with the internal leaders who can shut down any programming until you are able to work with the actual memories that created the programs. When there is little or no hierarchy, lots of internal children may continue to do their jobs, believing in the lies the abusers told them and fearing abusers who are long gone. Alison Miller