Coming in Skeptical, Leaving Hopeful: How Accelerated Resolution Therapy is Changing Lives
I was trained in Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) a few years ago and complete about one ART session a week or every few weeks, sometimes more. I’ve seen over 30 clients heal from trauma, grief, anxiety, and substance use. It is a huge part of my practice. When I was trained, I did not know where this journey would take me. I first wrote about ART in 2023 when I was trained. I’m writing again, to highlight it as a necessity in mental health treatment.
What is ART?
ART is a therapy that integrates somatic (body sensation) work with imaginative, metaphorical work. It is achieved through bilateral stimulation, which means activation of both left and right hemispheres of the brain. How do we activate both sides of the brain? In ART, we can do so by prompting the eyes to move from one side to the other. Weird, right? This is often where I lose people! It is very similar to a more widely known therapy called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). If you’re not familiar with EMDR, let me explain how EMDR was founded.
Francine Shapiro, the founder of EMDR, was out for a walk one day and noticed how her own negative thoughts were desensitized by moving her eyes left to right on the walk. This led to studies of the brain and what happens in the brain when there is bilateral stimulation paired with a cognitive component prompting individuals to use imagery to work through images in the mind. ART was later founded by Laney Rosenzweig and although it is similar to EMDR in the way it uses eye movements, it differs in the way that a therapist gives a client directions and helps a client advance through body sensations. Clients are also able to reimagine a problem or scenario at the end of an ART session so they leave with new positive or neutral images that replace any negative ones.
I could use a fictional case to emphasize how it works:
Sean and Lisa are married and got into a terrible argument about their children. Lisa cannot stop thinking about the argument, including what she said, how she raised her voice, and how Sean handled himself. Lisa reports that their fights often get loud and it makes her anxious. She completes an ART session that allows her to work through the argument she had in her mind’s eye from beginning to end, working through body sensations (anxiety) and leaves with a different version of how she wanted the conversation to go. She understands that the fight still occurred, but she is now better able to manage her anxious feelings and envision how she wants to communicate with Sean in the future.
What does ART help treat?
With the above example, you can see ART helps with anxiety and difficult memories. ART can treat many different issues though. I work with individuals on complex childhood trauma such as neglect and abuse over the course of many years. I also support clients with replacing images and body sensations that apply to one time events or traumas, such as a car accident or sexual assault. I also work with grief, depression, and smoking cessation/co-occurring substance use. Some other specific examples include physical altercations or text threads that you cannot stop thinking about; difficult memories with family members; specific body image memories tied to bullying; natural disasters or emergencies; medical emergencies; the loss of a pet, person in your life, the loss of a job, or any loss that is bringing up negative sensations or memories; or nightmares that are disturbing. I often get asked what can be “ARTed” and I welcome emails and questions about this!
How many sessions do I need?
It depends. When studied, researchers found that it was an average of about two sessions per client that was needed; however, in my experience it really depends on the client and what they are working on. Some people come in for a few sessions and then do not need any more. The majority of the clients I work with have completed just a few sessions and felt that their issues were resolved. I also find that clients can tolerate several weeks in between sessions, which can be a positive experience for clients. Some clients come in just for ART and others are long-term clients.
Combining ART with other modalities
My practice is built to combine outdoor sessions in nature, telehealth, and an office setting where other modalities could be used, including psychoeducation, mindfulness, cognitive therapy, eco-therapy, intuitive eating, and movement/somatic therapy. It is common to have clients meet for several outdoor sessions and then meet in the office or virtually for ART when an issue arises for them that is “ARTable.” It’s been super neat to see long-term clients decide for themselves what they need to use ART for and ask if it can be “ARTed!”
Leaving Hopeful
The best part of ART is seeing clients leave hopeful and happier. Sometimes they report feeling empowered, positive, motivated, lighter, and energized. I much rather have a practice that gets people in and out of the door than a practice that keeps people for years and years with issues going unresolved. ART has clients leaving the therapy space hopeful, but has me leaving hopeful as well at the end of the day.
You can find an ART therapist in the directory. Ask me anything about ART by emailing me or completing the contact form.