Among PORT’s innovations are the integration of the PORT Relational Brain Model that makes neuroscientific insights accessible for both clinicians and clients; The Presence Bridge Model which incorporates existential and mindfulness into the bridge concept; and the 5 Step Therapy Progress Model (AARNI) which informs intervention and manages client conflict.

PORT’s Relational Brain model helps therapists target their interventions using neuroscientific insights.  PORT is centered on teaching couples to co-develop connection skills with language that aligns with lived experience and avoids neuroscientific jargon. This allows for therapists to intervene rapidly with couples for emotional regulation and minimizing conflict through the course of therapy. It aligns developmental stages with needs and validation strategies; varying proxemic, haptic, kinesic and verbal empathy strategies; and how to triage seemingly paradoxical developmental attachment needs in the moment.

The Presence Bridge Model helps tracking couples moment to moment within the the session; and the 5 Step Therapy Progress Model (AARNI) which helps therapist track progress over the course of therapy and plan interventions appropriately

The goal of all couples therapy is increased connection. PORT  is based on the idea that increasing presence allows the greatest possibilities for connection. PORT’s Presence Bridge Model provides a progressive developmental and tracking pathway to support presence.  It helps therapists guide their couples into a mindful flow state incorporating empathy, validation, responsiveness and appreciation. 

Additionally the Presence Bridge Model enables clinicians to integrate a wide variety of interventions from a range of other couple and individual therapy models. 

A key benefit of combining the Presence Bridge Model with the Relational Brain model is that it equips the therapist to attune quickly to the neural configuration of the couple, identify neurodevelopmental challenges in the moment, and apply developmentally appropriate interventions. This significantly increases the range of clients who can be treated effectively and speedily through couples therapy. 

A key challenge in any therapy work is progress tracking. The 5 Step Therapy Progress Model (AARNI) was developed by the RElate team to help guide and track progress through the affair recovery progress.  AARNI helps therapists know where they are going and to hone their interventions appropriately to the stage the couple is at and the challenges of that stage.  It also helps identify when couples are progressing or regressing. Additionally AARNI helps manage the couples expectations and let them know how they are doing in the journey.

PORT is an intensely practical couples therapy modality that developed from the ground up out of the challenge of equipping a diverse team, including interns, with the most effective strategies from models as diverse as PACT, EFT, Imago, Gottman and the Developmental Model.  What became clear is that each of these models offered significant strengths but often lacked essential features or flexibilities present in other models.  In addition insights from other modalities including Narrative, ACT, NLP, Psychodrama, Gestalt, Relational Neurobiology were incorporated. PORT’s challenge and achievement has been to integrate these diverse insights into an accessible, flexible and powerful   approach that empowers clinicians while allowing them to incorporate their own unique insights and experience.