Close
Skip to content

*

Attachment Repair with Guided IPF Meditation
—Ideal Parent Figures—

*

*

Attachment Repair with Guided IPF Meditation
—Ideal Parent Figures—

*

IPF Meditation
IPF Protocol
IPF Protocol
IPF Protocol for Secure Attachment
Untitled design (19)

IPF guided-meditation helps repair attachment wounds: 

The Ideal Parent Figures (IPF) Protocol is one of the 3 pillars of attachment repair, used to heal attachment wounds — as described by Harvard psychologists David S. Elliott and Daniel P. Brown in their 2016 3 Pillars Model.

The 3 Pillars are unique to each person and include (1) cultivating collaborative relational abilities, (2) enhancing metacognitive ability and functioning, and (3) creating new, positive attachment representations with the IPF Protocol.

Along with supporting a move into secure attachment (as measured by the AAI), the model can be used prior to trauma processing to resolve attachment insecurity — a gift because many studies show “trauma processing” can re-traumatize those with attachment insecurity. Additionally, The 3 Pillars Model sometimes resolves trauma without processing it.

The Three Pillars Model is also exciting because therapeutic models are considered effective when they have a treatment effect size of 0.8. The treatment effect size of IPF guided-meditation is 6.23 (Cohen), with an average treatment duration of 35-50 hours. Typical investment is 1-2 hours weekly.  

During an IPF guided meditation, the meditator will relax deeply and imagine themselves as a young child having experiences with parent figures, who are ideal in every way to their nature and needs. The facilitator will reflect, amplify, and guide the experience as the meditator shares it, so that it becomes increasingly natural to be able to feel and draw on the supportive and nourishing resource of internalized secure attachment.

As secure attachment is reinforced, the meditator will increasingly feel amplified internal security within and outside their sessions. They will begin to easily access the felt sense of having emotionally safe, reliable, and physically present parents who are genuinely interested in and delighted by them. And they will begin to feel the possibility of nurturing secure relationships with other people in their life, including their romantic partner(s).

During meditation, the ideal parents reinforce security by consistently offering physical and emotional protection that includes perfect attunement to the meditator-as-child’s behavior, internal state, and developmental stage.

The ideal parents know just the right ways to help the meditator feel soothed and reassured. They help the meditator accept, contain and feel safe with all their feelings. These ideal parents encourage inner and outer exploration by listening carefully and validating the meditator’s feelings, accepting their inner experiences, and supporting and encouraging them to try new things, discover what they like, and explore what inspires them.

Furthermore, these ideal parents provide experiences that are the positive opposite of harmful experiences real caregivers may have unwittingly failed to prevent or even caused the meditator. They repair the wounds that the meditator’s real caregivers would have wanted to protect the child from experiencing, had those real caregivers been more resourced and able to offer attuned care themselves. 

The 9 outcomes of secure attachment, summarized by Dan Siegel are body regulation, attuned communication, emotional balance and equanimity, response flexibility, insight, empathy, fear modulation, intuition, and morality.

      IPF meditation draws on 4 general factors and 5 conditions inherent to secure attachment relationships of all kinds

      General Factors

      1. Physical Presence: They are genuinely accessible and available when you’re in need
      2. Consistency: They help you feel secure and safe every time you’re together
      3. Reliability: They are trustworthy. You can count on always being able to turn to them for understanding.
      4. Interest: They are so interested in what matters to you, so genuinely interested in your thoughts and feelings, and happy to learn everything about you that you want to share

      5 Conditions

      1. Protection: They are dedicated to watching out for you and protecting you from harm
      2. Attunement: They are so attuned to your feelings and needs. They notice what you’re doing and if something has shifted for you internally. They can tell from the look on your face what you might be feeling inside and what you might need. They never push you beyond what you’re ready for, and when you’re ready to learn more and move ahead, they’re right there to support you.
      3. Soothing and Reassurance: Whenever you’re upset, they are right there to soothe, comfort, reassure, and help you in just the right ways. You can count on them to always help you feel better. They welcome your strongest feelings and help you accept, understand, and contain them, so you can feel safe with all your feelings.
      4. Expressed Delight: They are absolutely delighted you are theirs, so delighted in you simply being you, just as you are. They let you know about their delight in ways you can really feel. You know they genuinely like you and delight in your being.
      5. Encouragement for Exploration
        [Inner Exploration] They help you see emotions are not dangerous but are natural ways to learn about yourself and also to express unmet needs. They validate your feelings. They help you see yourself as the unique, deep, rich, and complex individual you are. They help you feel open to self-discovery and support, and they accept your inner experience, whether it’s comfortable or uncomfortable for you.

        [Outer Exploration]
        With their support and encouragement, you feel inspired to try new things, explore new ways of acting and doing things, become capable and competent in the world in many ways, become more adventuresome and daring, discover what you like, and go off on your own to explore and see what you find.

        • • •

        —adapted from pages 323-325
        Attachment Disturbances in Adults: Treatment for Comprehensive Repair (2016)

        by Daniel P. Brown (deceased), David S. Elliot, Paula Morgan-Johnson, Paula Sacks, Caroline R. Baltzer, James Hickey, Andrea Cole, Jan Bloom, and Deirdre Fay

        Learn more about My Approach.

      IPF Protocol Ideal Parent Figures
      IPF Protocol Ideal Parent Figures
      IPF Protocol Ideal Parent Figures
      IPF Protocol Ideal Parent Figures
      IPF Ideal Parent Figures

      IPF guided-meditation helps repair attachment wounds: 

      The Ideal Parent Figures (IPF) Protocol is one of the 3 pillars of attachment repair, used to heal attachment wounds — as described by Harvard psychologists David S. Elliott and Daniel P. Brown in their 2016 3 Pillars Model.

        IPF Meditation

        The 3 Pillars are unique to each person and include (1) cultivating collaborative relational abilities, (2) enhancing metacognitive ability and functioning, and (3) creating new, positive attachment representations with the IPF Protocol.

        Along with supporting a move into secure attachment (as measured by the AAI), the model can be used prior to trauma processing to resolve attachment insecurity — a gift because many studies show “trauma processing” can re-traumatize those with attachment insecurity. Additionally, The 3 Pillars Model sometimes resolves trauma without processing it.

        IPF Protocol

        The Three Pillars Model is also exciting because therapeutic models are considered effective when they have a treatment effect size of 0.8. The treatment effect size of IPF guided-meditation is 6.23 (Cohen), with an average treatment duration of 35-50 hours. Typical investment is 1-2 hours weekly.  

          IPF Protocol

          During an IPF guided meditation, the meditator will relax deeply and imagine themselves as a young child having experiences with parent figures, who are ideal in every way to their nature and needs. The facilitator will reflect, amplify, and guide the experience as the meditator shares it, so that it becomes increasingly natural to be able to feel and draw on the supportive and nourishing resource of internalized secure attachment.

          IPF Protocol for Secure Attachment

          As secure attachment is reinforced, the meditator will increasingly feel amplified internal security within and outside their sessions. They will begin to easily access the felt sense of having emotionally safe, reliable, and physically present parents who are genuinely interested in and delighted by them. And they will begin to feel the possibility of nurturing secure relationships with other people in their life, including their romantic partner(s).

            IPF Protocol Ideal Parent Figures

            During meditation, the ideal parents reinforce security by consistently offering physical and emotional protection that includes perfect attunement to the meditator-as-child’s behavior, internal state, and developmental stage.

              IPF Protocol Ideal Parent Figures

              The ideal parents know just the right ways to help the meditator feel soothed and reassured. They help the meditator accept, contain and feel safe with all their feelings. These ideal parents encourage inner and outer exploration by listening carefully and validating the meditator’s feelings, accepting their inner experiences, and supporting and encouraging them to try new things, discover what they like, and explore what inspires them.

                IPF Protocol Ideal Parent Figures

                Furthermore, these ideal parents provide experiences that are the positive opposite of harmful experiences real caregivers may have unwittingly failed to prevent or even caused the meditator. They repair the wounds that the meditator’s real caregivers would have wanted to protect the child from experiencing, had those real caregivers been more resourced and able to offer attuned care themselves. 

                The 9 outcomes of secure attachment, summarized by Dan Siegel are body regulation, attuned communication, emotional balance and equanimity, response flexibility, insight, empathy, fear modulation, intuition, and morality.

                  IPF Protocol Ideal Parent Figures

                  IPF meditation draws on 4 general factors and 5 conditions inherent to secure attachment relationships of all kinds

                  General Factors

                  1. Physical Presence: They are genuinely accessible and available when you’re in need
                  2. Consistency: They help you feel secure and safe every time you’re together
                  3. Reliability: They are trustworthy. You can count on always being able to turn to them for understanding.
                  4. Interest: They are so interested in what matters to you, so genuinely interested in your thoughts and feelings, and happy to learn everything about you that you want to share

                  5 Conditions

                  1. Protection: They are dedicated to watching out for you and protecting you from harm
                  2. Attunement: They are so attuned to your feelings and needs. They notice what you’re doing and if something has shifted for you internally. They can tell from the look on your face what you might be feeling inside and what you might need. They never push you beyond what you’re ready for, and when you’re ready to learn more and move ahead, they’re right there to support you.
                  3. Soothing and Reassurance: Whenever you’re upset, they are right there to soothe, comfort, reassure, and help you in just the right ways. You can count on them to always help you feel better. They welcome your strongest feelings and help you accept, understand, and contain them, so you can feel safe with all your feelings.
                  4. Expressed Delight: They are absolutely delighted you are theirs, so delighted in you simply being you, just as you are. They let you know about their delight in ways you can really feel. You know they genuinely like you and delight in your being.
                  5. Encouragement for Exploration
                    [Inner Exploration] They help you see emotions are not dangerous but are natural ways to learn about yourself and also to express unmet needs. They validate your feelings. They help you see yourself as the unique, deep, rich, and complex individual you are. They help you feel open to self-discovery and support, and they accept your inner experience, whether it’s comfortable or uncomfortable for you.

                    [Outer Exploration]
                    With their support and encouragement, you feel inspired to try new things, explore new ways of acting and doing things, become capable and competent in the world in many ways, become more adventuresome and daring, discover what you like, and go off on your own to explore and see what you find.

                    • • •

                    —adapted from pages 323-325
                    Attachment Disturbances in Adults: Treatment for Comprehensive Repair (2016)

                    by Daniel P. Brown (deceased), David S. Elliot, Paula Morgan-Johnson, Paula Sacks, Caroline R. Baltzer, James Hickey, Andrea Cole, Jan Bloom, and Deirdre Fay

                    IPF Ideal Parent Figures

                    Learn more about My Approach

                      Take the next step!

                      Thin-brush-gold

                      Only pay for the first session if you decide to continue.

                      I do not accept insurance.
                      camille pack oak tree storykeeper building a lasting connection

                      Times are listed in PT.

                      Take the next step!

                      Thin-brush-gold

                      When available, I offer initial consultations in a safe, confidential Zoom space. Come have a chat, and only pay for the first session if you decide to continue.

                      I do not accept insurance.

                      Times are listed in PT.

                      Dr. Rebecca Jorgensen Emotionally Focused Therapy

                       

                      “I’ve watched Camille across the years, and I’m excited to recommend her as someone who can help you find love and connection in your life. 

                      She’s a wonderful coach, who brings gentle kindness into her work in a way that creates powerful insights and strong connections.”

                      DR. REBECCA JORGENSEN

                      Building a Lasting Connection® Co-Developer,
                      Director of the San Diego Center for Emotionally Focused Therapy
                      and TRI EFT Alliant, and (you guessed it) my mother.

                      rebeccajorgensen.com

                      Frequently Asked Questions

                      Thick-brush-blue