Adaptive Internal Relational Network (AIR)/ Anchored Relational network
What is it?
Hold on to your seats. Adaptive Internal Relational Network is a tricky one to explain. AIR, Internal Family Systems and Ego Psychology are all based on the concept that we have internal parts. For example, you at work, at home, as a parent, a friend, romantic partner, and so on. No matter who you are, you have internal parts. When you say, “a part of me feels like…” that’s you identifying another part of you. The thoughts and feelings of that part have something to say. It’s not a bad thing to have parts, it is normal to have parts. It doesn’t mean you are “crazy.”
How does it work?
Anchors: AIR is based on what they call Anchors. Therapists pay very close attention to the parts of you that arise in session. We use different “anchors” to reground you, focus on your ultimate aim, and adjust emotions accordingly. The overall goal in the long run is regulating the part of oneself that can think and act in a manner that is effective.
Most Resourced Self: We focus on the use of the Most Resourced Self as a grounding tool. The Most Resourced Self is the part of you that is most authentically you and has internal resources such as; boundaries, emotional regulation, asking for help, positive characteristics and pieces of your personality that make you uniquely you. One of the Anchors is go to back to calming/ regulation when clients get overwhelmed. Doing talk therapy while intensely dysregulated is not all that effective.
Positive Take: We want to examine when your MRS (Most Resourced Self) was present in a moment of distress and how to get your most resourced self to be present again and even more often when you’re anxious, depressed etc. We don’t want to examine what happened and how it went wrong. Most of the time we also don’t want examine the details of trauma, most of the time that is reactivating, if we do discuss them it is to get more information on when you dealt with it positively or with strength.
A little more: When we work with uncomfortable emotions such as; distress, dissociation, anxiety, panic and depression, we ask questions, about that part and the source of that part. We help ask why it comes up and what it’s purpose is. We can also see variations of parts, parts that interfere with life, cause tension in relationships, or are highly dissociative, causing a loss of memory. The important thing to know about parts is most of them are there for a reason. Those parts of you are protecting you (most of the time from historical fears), they are built for a reason.
Whew! That was a lot! Let us know if you have any questions or want to see what it’s all about!
A side note: AIR was recently renamed to Anchored Relational Model. To read more about the concepts, the founders and other details go to the Anchored Relational Network’s website.