The PORT Five-Step Therapy Progress Model: A Guide for Therapists to Navigate Relationship Repair | Relate

In the field of couple's therapy, offering a structured yet flexible framework can significantly enhance therapeutic outcomes. The PORT Five-Step Therapy Progress Model is a robust framework that aids therapists in guiding couples towards healing and connection, especially in complex situations like affairs. This post delves into the five essential steps of the model, illustrating its effectiveness in therapy contexts.

Understanding the PORT 5 Step Therapy Progress Model's Evolution

Initially referred to as AARNI, the 5 Step model evolved through thoughtful adaptation. It draws inspiration from John Paul Lederach's reconciliation model, focused on truth, justice, mercy, and peace. However, for therapy with couples, the model includes the addition of a crucial step: Alliance. Thus, the steps encompass Alliance, Acknowledgement, Responsibility, Needs, and Intimacy.

Step 1: Building an Alliance

Every successful therapeutic journey begins with a solid alliance. In therapy, this step involves establishing trust and a mutual commitment between the therapist and the clients. A strong alliance is foundational, addressing approximately 80% of challenges in therapy. Therapists often revisit this stage throughout the therapy process to ensure a secure and collaborative environment.

Application in Therapy:

Therapists ensure that the couple has a shared goal for therapy. This allows the couple to make changes and improve their relationship. Often inexperienced or untrained couples therapists have experience stressful and difficult appointments because they don’t know how to build alliance.

Step 2: Encouraging Acknowledgement

Acknowledgement, akin to the phase of ‘truth’ in Lederach’s model, entails creating a safe space for partners to communicate openly about their experiences and emotions. It is not merely about recounting events but about deeply understanding and respecting each other's perspectives.

Application in Therapy:

This stage is crucial for setting the ground for empathy and understanding in the relationship. Therapists aid couples in expressing themselves without fear of judgment, facilitating a genuine exchange of thoughts and feelings.

Step 3: Cultivating Responsibility

In the Responsibility phase, partners are guided to own their actions and emotions. This step is about recognizing one's role in the relationship dynamic—understanding that while one's feelings are personal, the actions and choices are collaborative.

Application in Therapy:

Therapists work with couples to differentiate personal responsibilities from those of their partner's actions. Through this clarity, individuals take ownership of their feelings, thoughts, and behaviors, which is particularly vital in scenarios like dealing with infidelity.

Step 4: Identifying Needs

Beyond acknowledging responsibilities, understanding personal and collective needs is imperative. This step explores each partner’s needs amidst the context of the relationship, fostering a path towards mutual support and collaboration.

Application in Therapy:

Therapists assist clients in articulating their needs clearly, guiding discussions that help partners see how they can support each other’s emotional and practical needs without compromising personal integrity.

Step 5: Achieving Intimacy

The final step, Intimacy, is akin to the ‘peace’ stage in Lederach’s approach—moving beyond mere conflict resolution to foster a deep, fulfilling connection. It involves creating a renewed and strengthened dynamic in the relationship.

Application in Therapy:

In this stage, therapists support couples in building a proactive relationship that not only resolves past issues but also fortifies the emotional and intimate bond going forward creating a mature love. 

Integrating the Model with the Presence Bridge Model

The Discussion on Presence Bridge aligns beautifully with the Presence Bridge Model. Each step of the model can be seen as reinforcing the aspects of presence: the invitation to engage (Alliance), the reality of shared experiences (Acknowledgement), aligning personal narratives (Responsibility), addressing mutual support (Needs), and achieving overall emotional cohesion (Intimacy).

The Benefits to Therapists

Using the 5 Step Therapy Progress Model delivers significant advantages in couples therapy:

1. Structured Approach: Provides a sequential yet adaptable framework for therapists, allowing for tailored interventions based on couples’ needs.
2. Clarity and Focus: Helps both therapists and clients maintain clarity on therapeutic objectives, ensuring that progress aligns with shared goals.
3. Enhanced Client Engagement: By continually revisiting the Alliance, therapists bolster client engagement, a key indicator of therapy's success.
4. Comprehensive Understanding: By addressing responsibility and needs, therapists help couples cultivate a profound understanding of each other and their relationship dynamics.
5. Fostering Deep Intimacy: By guiding couples to the Intimacy stage, therapists enable the building of lasting, stable relationships beyond surface-level peace.

The PORT Five-Step Therapy Progress Model is more than a set of steps; it’s a philosophy grounded in fostering authentic, lasting transformations in relationships. For therapists, adopting this model means empowering couples to not only resolve past conflicts but to envision and realize a fulfilling future together.

If you are interested in learning more about PORT's 5 Step Therapy Progress Model, Connection, Change & Trust is a free 5 Point CPD Training (ACA). Register here.