Consistent, attuned Tau-bond. The developing mirror learns the Tau-field is safe and responsive — foundation for all future Tau-bonding.
Unpredictable Tau-bond response. Infant increases Tau-signal amplitude (protest, hyperactivation) to ensure Tau-bond response.
Caregiver withdraws from emotional Tau-signals. Infant suppresses its own Tau-signals to maintain proximity — at the cost of authentic expression.
Caregiver is both Tau-safety and Tau-threat. The developing mirror cannot form a coherent strategy — it fragments. Strongly predicts later disorder.
Attachment is Tau-bond resonance between developing and established Tau-addresses. The infant's Tau-mirror calibrates against the caregiver's Tau-field. Consistent caregiving matters more than perfect caregiving.
The four Ainsworth patterns (secure, anxious-ambivalent, avoidant, disorganised) each correspond to a specific Tau-bond resonance pattern established in early caregiving. Disorganised attachment most strongly predicts later disorder.
Internal working models are Tau-maps: structural features of the Tau-mirror encoding expected Tau-bond resonance patterns. They shape interpretation of all subsequent Tau-bond signals throughout life.
The attachment system persists into adulthood. Adult Tau-bonds are maintained through consistent attunement, proximity, repair after disruption, and safe-haven provision. Relationship distress is Tau-bond disruption.
The parent's Tau-mirror — attachment style, emotional regulation, self-referential coherence — becomes the reference field for the child's developing Tau-mirror. Unresolved parental trauma generates Tau-field disruptions absorbed by the child.
The therapist's consistent, attuned Tau-bond resonance provides a new reference field for the client's Tau-mirror to recalibrate against. Therapeutic rupture-and-repair demonstrates that Tau-bonds can survive disruption.