Interpersonal Neurobiology

For decades, mental health has focused mainly on the individual mind. Interpersonal Neurobiology challenges that view with a powerful scientific truth: the human brain is inherently social. We are not meant to process pain in isolation.

Dan Meyer offers this advanced therapeutic lens. It moves beyond standard support, understanding that a safe, attuned therapeutic relationship is the active ingredient that physically reshapes your brain toward healing.

Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) is a comprehensive framework originally developed by Dr. Dan Siegel. It is not a specific set of steps like CBT; rather, it is a scientific lens through which we view human development and healing.

IPNB combines data from neuroscience, psychology, attachment research, and complexity theory to explain a simple, profound concept: Your brain, your mind, and your relationships are inseparable.

We often think of our brains as being “done” by adulthood. IPNB proves that the brain remains plastic (changeable) throughout our entire lives. Experience changes brain structure, and the most powerful experiences for shaping the brain are emotional interactions with other people.

The Core Philosophy: Integration is Health

If IPNB has one central goal, it is Integration.

A healthy brain is an integrated brain—meaning different parts (the logical left side, the emotional right side, the instinctual lower brain, and the thoughtful higher brain) are all communicating with each other freely.

• Trauma Causes Disintegration: Trauma and chronic stress create blockages. You might feel flooded with emotion but unable to think clearly, or you might be hyper-logical but completely cut off from your bodily sensations.

• Therapy Fosters Integration: In Dan’s approach, the therapeutic relationship is used to lower defenses. This allows these disconnected parts of your brain to begin “talking” to each other again, leading to a sense of coherence, calm, and flexibility.

The Evidence Base: The Science of Safety

IPNB is rooted in hard science regarding how the nervous system develops.

We know that when an infant’s distress is met with consistent, calm soothing by a caregiver, the infant’s brain builds thick neural fibers connecting their emotional centers to their calming centers. This is the biological foundation of emotional regulation.

Many of us did not get that consistent soothing, or we experienced trauma that severed those connections. The evidence base for IPNB shows that the therapeutic relationship can serve as a “second chance” for neurodevelopment. By providing relational safety, therapy allows neuroplasticity to take over, strengthening the pathways needed for resilience and connection.

Conditions Treated with IPNB

Because IPNB focuses on the root cause of how we relate to ourselves and others, Dan Meyer uses it primarily for:

• Developmental & Childhood Trauma

• Attachment Wounds

• Chronic Shame & Self-Criticism

• Complex PTSD (C-PTSD)

• Relationship Cycles

• Parenting Challenges