Adaptive Internal Relational Network Model
Intensive Training on Complex PTSD, Developmental Trauma and
The Continuum of Neuro-Dissociative States
Presented by: Patti Miller, MA, LP and Phyllis C. Solon, PsyD, LP
This training presents a unique theoretical model based on compassionate, competency based relational interventions for complex, developmental trauma and neuro-dissociative states. The advanced resourcing and interventions taught are consistent with strengthening a client’s multi-directional attention which underlies the ability to manage neuro-dissociative states, regulate emotionally and physically, reduce C-PTSD symptoms and build compassionate relationships internally and externally. This is a theory and treatment modality that is particularly effective for those with developmental abuse, emotional/physical neglect and severe relational trauma, as well as those who have been trapped in systems of ongoing oppression or organized violence. We have developed ways of understanding and treating higher levels of dissociative abilities/experiences that are grounded in the most recent neurological and developmental research within the context of healing relationships.
The AIR Network model is heavily based in developmental neurology, work that has exploded in the last 20 years, and is a feminist, multicultural, competency and dignity based model. We focus on the person rather than the problem and do not hold the traumatic memory as the most important focus of the work but rather, building the internal relational network and the resourcing of each persons dignity and most present self to rewire the brain from traumatic responses/loops to present time thinking, relating, choosing and behaving. We cover the continuum of programming and conditioning, which includes what happens in families through what happens in organized systems of violence and ongoing systems of oppression, and the underlying neurological and learning theory that explains why it is possible to program and condition people in these ways.
AIR Network is a theory grounded in feminist and multicultural pedagogies, philosophies, perspectives, and research. It is not, as such, a culturally specific theory or treatment model. It is a model for understanding who people are and how they get that way from a complex interconnected set of considerations and factors which include neurological, developmental, experiential, familial, cultural, and societal dimensions. AIR therapy is a model of seeing people who have been traumatized across multiple dimensions – individual, family, cultural, societal, historical - in the context of systems of domination that are ascendant in the world and have been for millennia. This is a feminist and multicultural lens on the world explicating how people, all people within their different settings and systems, are impacted by the systems in which we live. The theoretical perspective and the therapy take into account both adverse/risk and protective/resilience factors and assume that we are wired to connect, repair and heal, which happens best and most fully in the context of compassion, care and community. Those assumptions are based in an understanding of the cross-cultural reality that neurodevelopment and childhood sequences of development happen in the same way across the world.
Learning Objectives and Projected Competencies
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Learning Objectives
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Gain a working knowledge of the neurology of development, stress-danger response system and attachment strategies
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Practice using developmental information and neurology to explain trauma symptoms and activation patterns
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Apply the Adaptive Internal Relational (AIR) Network Model to case conceptualization
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Integrate existing forms of trauma treatment with the AIR Network Model of therapy
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Use competency based language in conceptualization and treatment interventions
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Recognize the range of neuro-dissociative states and the adaptive developmental nature of such
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Utilize effective intervention strategies across the spectrum of neuro-dissociative states
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Understand the continuum of limiting beliefs to intentional programming, as it is used in families, systems of oppression and organized violence
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Develop intervention strategies for recognizing and intervening with the continuum of Conditioning/Programming
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Formulate effective strategies around traumatic bonding and compassion fatigue as it relates to the self of the therapist
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Integration of AIR Network therapy with EMDR and other memory processing interventions appropriate to various neuro-dissociative states
Instructional Methods:
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Lecture including multimedia presentations
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Experiential exercises to enhance practice and understanding of concepts
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Interactive consultation which includes conceptualizing and developing treatment strategies for 1-2 of your clients over the course of the 4 month training
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Interactive practicum for building skills around intervention and relational therapeutic stance