IPFP for Disorganized (Fearful) Attachment

The IPFP for Disorganized (Fearful) Attachment: The Poignant Paradox

Disorganized attachment, characterized by conflicting emotions (such as a yearning for and fear of closeness) has a distinct approach to healing that may include many of the approaches for healing anxious-preoccupied and dismissing attachment.

Drawing inspiration from Daniel P. Brown and David Elliott, we embark on a profound journey to offer sanctuary to both the attachment system and the exploratory system through the Ideal Parent Figure meditation, as shared in “Attachment Disturbances in Adults: Treatment for Comprehensive Repair.”
Find an IPFP Provider

Special IPFP Considerations for Disorganized Participants

Calm, Reassuring Safe Haven

Hostile, intrusive, frightening, and aggressive caregiving is a frequent cause of disorganized attachment. Therefore, both your facilitator and ideal parent figures must be especially soothing, accepting, and welcoming to soften high fear states and provide a consistent safe shelter.

Uninvolving Engagement

Because disorganized attachment includes deactivation and hyperactivation of both the attachment system and exploratory system, the facilitator and parent figures must be engaged with your experience without involving you in their own states of mind. This allows you to soften an outside-in orientation, so you can feel safe attending to your own feelings.

Proactive Self-Assurance

Because your caregivers may have been frightened and helpless, to help you heal your facilitator and ideal parent figures show up in reassuring fearlessness, with determined and proactive confidence you come to know you can rely on.

Steady Presence

One of the causes of disorganized attachment is a caregiver's dissociation or failure to be present, along with sudden behavioral shifts. Therefore, unwavering presence, consistency, and a steady predictable way-of-being are essential characteristics of both the IPFs and the facilitator for attachment repair.

Encouraging Emotional Attunement

The caregivers of those with disorganized attachment poorly attune to emotions in the moment they occur. Therefore your facilitator and IPFs should be reciprocally, and finely attuned. They should nonverbally match your entire emotional range and especially help reinforce positive emotional experiences, that can be fleeting without emphasis.

No Interruptions

Caregivers of those with disorganized attachment often interrupt spontaneous attempts to connect or express emotion. That's why the IPFs and your facilitator should take special care not to interrupt you and to let you completely express your attachment feelings and behaviors.

Separate IPFs for Each Emotional State

Because rapid shifting between behaviors and states of mind is common for those with disorganized attachment, each significant shift should be considered a unique attachment need. Each need is met with its own unique and separate set of Ideal Parent Figures.

All Parts and IPFs Stay Present for Each Emotional State

After IPFs work with one emotional state and bring the feeling of security, they should remain present with that version of the self while other parts with different attachment needs come forward with their own IPFs to experience the connection they need. This will help facilitate a unified sense-of-self.

Responsiveness to Deep Fear and Difficulty with Trust

Because those with disorganized attachment had caregivers that were both a source of threat and safety, these Ideal Parent Figures are carefully attuned to that sense of fear and completely understand it. They accept how much sense it makes, know how to comfort and calm you, and are dedicated to helping you begin to feel more safety in just the right way.

Simultaneous Attachment and Exploratory Behavior

Because disorganized attachment inhibits the exploratory system and the attachment system, IPFs are shaped to encourage the experience of both in the same scene, helping you to explore with their supportive presence.

Fierce Protection

Because those with disorganized attachment often had caregivers who were abusive and failed to protect them from trauma, these Ideal Parent Figures are fiercely protective, without being intrusive.

Stimulate Emotional Experiences

One common experience for those with disorganized attachment is emotional numbness. Therefore, these IPFs know how to help you feel what you feel.

Set Appropriate Limits

During states of rage, aggression, and hostility, these Ideal Parent Figures know just the right ways to calm you and help you and others feel safe, so you can express and honor your feelings with accompaniment while you and others continue feel safe.

Steady Energy

Rapid, unpredictable, and intense shifts in a caregiver's mind states contribute to disorganized attachment, so the Ideal Parent Figures find the right balance of not being too much or too little in their steady, encouraging, and soothing way of being.

Just Enough Structure

Because easily disorganized states of mind are common with those who have disorganized attachment, IPFs are never overwhelming or confusing. They provide just the right amount of structure to help you feel clear and calm and mentally coherent.

3 Metacognitive Skills for Disorganized Attachment: Unlocking Emotional Awareness


In the intricate web of human connections, attachment styles play a pivotal role in shaping our emotional landscapes. For those with disorganized attachment, identifying and mastering internal states can be challenging. In this post, we’ll explore strategies to enhance metacognitive skills, helping individuals with disorganized attachment gain a deeper understanding of their emotions and attachment beliefs.

 

Understanding Disorganized Attachment

Disorganized attachment is marked by a tendency to experience fear without solution around emotional intimacy. This often leads individuals to spontaneously shift emotional states without coherently understanding why. Therefore it’s crucial to develop strategies that encourage organization of mind.

 

1. Anchoring Scales for Disorganization/Organization

To kickstart the journey of self-discovery, simple anchoring scales can be incredibly useful. Ask yourself questions like, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how disorganized/organized is my state of mind at this very moment?” This self-assessment can provide a starting point for developing metacognitive skills that enhance mental coherence.  

 

2. Anchoring Scales for Recognizing Orientation

Disorganized participants often shift orientation. Sometimes they are oriented to their own experience, sometimes another’s. Sometimes they are oriented to the past. Sometimes the present. Therefore, recognizing orientation is an important skill. For example, you might ask yourself, with ten being in the past and one being in the present, “where am I living mentally at the moment?” Developing this skill can help soften a preoccupation with the past. 

 

3. Imagining Wider Perspectives

Imagine that although the mind sometimes gets jumbled and shifts between emotional states and orientations, you can become aware of it happening within a unique version of yourself that is becoming stronger, more balanced, and coherent. You can sense the larger perspective and see yourself in the context of all that’s been and what’s becoming.

 

In conclusion, enhancing metacognitive skills for disorganized attachment is a transformative journey toward self-awareness, emotional safety, and self-exploration. By utilizing these tools and strategies, you can take a powerful step toward creating an emotional sanctuary that facilitates the fullest expression of your being.

Start Your IPF Practice with Personalized Support

Choose an IPF Provider
 
 

The Disorganized Attachment Ideal Parent Figure Meditation

 
In the context of dismissing attachment, the Ideal Parent Figure meditation takes a unique approach, one that honors the need for autonomy while gently inviting vulnerability and connection.
 

Step 1: Creating a Safe Space

 
Begin by creating a safe space for your guided meditation. This space should evoke a sense of stillness and tranquility. Light a candle, arrange meaningful objects, and invite a profound stillness into your environment.
 

Step 2: Breath as the Bridge to Vulnerability

 
Your facilitator will invite you to close your eyes and turn your awareness inward. Let your breath serve as the bridge between your conscious mind and the depths of your being. Inhale softly, and as you elongate exhale, imagine feeling yourself as a very young child.
 

Step 3: Inviting the Ideal Parent Figures

 
In the quiet of your inner world, summon Ideal Parent Figures who are not anyone you know, nor are they replacements for your actual caregivers. These caregivers embody soothing acceptance, warmth, and safety. They are perfectly attuned to a closeness that feels just right, and would never want to be closer physically or emotionally than is comfortable for you.. They understand the need for independence and also celebrate all your emotions (especially difficult emotions) as an essential part of the human experience.
 

Step 4: Embracing Relational Safety

 
Step into the presence of your Ideal Parent Figures. Feel their gentle encouragement that allows you to begin to rely on the safety and emotional protection available within this relationship. They recognize when you want to be close to them, to have contact with them, and they are always ready to offer a comforting embrace when you seek one and feel equally content when you simply wish to be near them and feel emotional closeness.
 

Step 5: Closeness

 
In the stillness of this space, allow yourself to explore your true emotions. Your Ideal Parent Figures help you escape numbness and contain your feelings so they feel safe for you and others. You can express yourself authentically to them, knowing that even (and especially) when you’re emotionally upset (even at them), these parents are so attuned to you and right there to help you in just the right ways that are soothing and comforting.
 

Step 6: A Secure Base for Exploration and Attachment

 
As you explore, envision these parental figures as your steadfast companions. While you venture forth in discovery, they gently accompany you, watching over your journey with genuine interest and delight. Their protection ensures you stay safe while you explore, and their unwavering support encourages you. They share your discoveries with interest and delight, ready to celebrate what you’ve shared and simply enjoy the light of your presence. Together, you form a collaborative team, navigating the terrain of life with trust, connection, and mutual understanding.
 

The Dance of Collaboration

 
Throughout the meditation, as you describe each unfolding scene, your facilitator will collaborate with you to expand and brighten your descriptions, begin again when memories intrude, further explore your state of mind, and amplify your experience with the 10 key ingredients of secure attachment relationships.
 

Concluding the Meditation

 
As the meditation gently concludes, know that this newfound collaboration with your ideal parent figures can serve as a foundation for healthier relationships and a deeper connection with your true self.
 

Start Your IPF Practice with Personalized Support

Choose an IPF Provider

Custom Attachment Strategy Approaches