Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (also known as ART), is a guided intervention that allows you to quickly and effectively process negative sensations from a number of different issues. Many clients experience relief after one session; however, depending on the complexity of what you are processing, more sessions may be needed, and typical treatment can be up to five sessions. ART is an evidence-based practice that has significantly reduced symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma, OCD, and much more.
The intervention uses imagery and eye movements, to replace negative images with positive images. These eye movements are similar to how our eyes move when we sleep and dream and allows for emotional processing. The eye movements are calming, even when processing extremely traumatic events. The processing is completely lead by you, accessing creative aspects of your mind, making ART different than hypnosis.
What can make ART even more appealing is the fact that the processing can happen internally, meaning you do not have to share what you are processing with your therapist. In fact, talking is encouraged to be kept to a minimum to focus more on the internal processing. You can even elect to not share any of what you are processing with the therapist and it will still be effective. This aspect of ART means the re-traumatization to you and vicarious traumatization to the therapist is extremely low.
ART does not require any special preparation other than the three following items:
Choose what you want to process. This must be something you are motivated to change - “What are you ready to get rid of?” Motivation is the key factor for positive outcomes with ART. ART can be used to help you feel motivated to process something you are hesitating to let go.
Choose a scene or create a scene related to what you want to process. This could be an event you experienced first-hand (such as a traumatic incident) or an imagined experience (hearing about a traumatic event but not actually witnessing it). ART works best for scenes that already play in your mind.
Be able to move your eyes back and forth. Eye movements are the key to processing with ART. The eye movements encourage bilateral stimulation. This is when the right and left hemispheres of the brain are stimulated quickly so they better communicate with one another. People with neurological issues or other medical issues related to the eyes or nervous system may need to obtain special clearance from their medical team before utilizing ART. For those unable to tolerate eye movements, handheld buzzers known as tappers can also be used which produce bilateral stimulation and allow for adequate processing.
For more researching information on ART: ART Research
You may also reach out to Kyle Stepler, LMHC in our office with any questions about ART.