The ego, id, and superego are abstract inventions, not observable processes. What can be studied are phenomena such as attachment, defense mechanisms, resilience, meaning-making, and identity processes. These are evident in behavior, physiology, relationship patterns, and lived experiences.

The psychological constructs that tend to be most supportive are those that describe lived experience in a way that validates and expands a person’s self-understanding, rather than pathologizing them, such as:

Attachment- It provides language for the patterns of safety and connection they experience in relationships. It helps people recognize that their struggles often come from unmet needs, not personal defects.

Defense and Coping- When framed as adaptations, not flaws. Naming dissociation, suppression, or projection as ways the system protects itself under unbearable stress can reduce shame and create compassion. 

Resilience- Not as a pressure to “bounce back,” but as recognition of the many ways a person’s system has found to survive, and how those same processes can support growth.

Meaning-Making- The construct that humans are interpreters of experience. People don’t just react; they give shape to their lives through the stories they tell. That matters for healing.

Self and Identity- Not as fixed things, but as flexible processes. It’s supportive for people to understand that who they are is emergent and relational, not a permanent pathology.

These kinds of constructs fit well with IPNB because they honor the person’s biology while also giving language for the symbolic and relational patterns that matter just as much.