The ARC model is an effective framework to guide therapy for children and their caregivers who have been impacted by trauma. Its core targets of attachment, regulation, and competency encourage therapists to foster trust and build a healthy therapeutic relationship. Strengthening these relationships allows for better emotional regulation and coping in stressful situations, as well as building self-regulation skills to help children cope with their experiences. This results in greater adaptive functioning and future resiliency, as well as stronger and more stable relationships with caregivers.

Research supports that the three core needs of ARC are essential for learning, development, and well-being. While Deci and Ryan chose a more specific set of needs for their ARC framework than Maslow’s hierarchy (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) for practical reasons, there are a number of theoretical arguments to support their choice.

The Power of Attention Mechanisms in ARC: Exploring the Key Concepts

For example, the ARC theory of motivation (Keller, 1987a) suggests that learners are motivated to learn when they have a sense of relevance, confidence, and satisfaction with their learning experience. This can be activated through extrinsic rewards such as praise and feedback, but also intrinsically by engaging in tasks that they enjoy or have a high level of interest in.

The ARC model is applied across multiple systems including schools, mental health clinics, residential treatment programs, juvenile justice and child welfare systems, and foster care training programs. Often, children with trauma symptoms are involved with multiple service systems and the mapping of CANS to ARC helps to ensure that all professionals are aware of the child’s symptomatology and working together to best support their needs.