What is Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)?
Veronica Ehret, LPC, CSAT, CMAT, CSTIP
Have you ever noticed how certain memories continue to trigger strong emotional or physical reactions, even years after the event occurred? For many people, distressing experiences can feel stuck in the mind and body, making it difficult to move forward despite their best efforts.
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is a powerful therapeutic approach designed to help individuals process and resolve these difficult memories quickly and effectively. By combining elements from several well-established therapeutic models with guided eye movements, ART can help reduce emotional distress and restore a sense of calm and control.
What exactly is Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)?
Accelerated Resolution Therapy, often referred to as ART, was developed in 2008 by Laney Rosenzweig, LMFT. ART is a form of psychotherapy with roots in existing evidence-based therapies with eye movements to provide accelerated relief in symptoms (usually within 1-5 sessions).
How ART works
ART incorporates a combination of techniques used in many other traditional psychotherapies. ART works directly to reprogram how distressing memories and images are stored in the brain so that they no longer activate strong physical and emotional reactions.
ART uses rapid eye movements similar to eye movements that occur during dreaming sleep state. Although techniques similar to these are used in other types of therapies, ART’s very specific and directive approach can support with rapid recovery from symptoms and reactivity that may have been present for many years.
What can ART help with?
The client can experience notable benefits beginning in the first session. ART can support clients struggling with trauma and other mental health problems such as:
Victimization/Poor Self-Image
Victimization/Sexual Abuse
Relationship Issues/Infidelity
Codependency
Grief
Job-Related Stress
Pain Management
Memory Enhancement
Anxiety
Depression
Phobias
Panic Attacks
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Addictions/Substance Abuse
Performance Anxiety
Family Issues
And many other mental and physical conditions.
How is Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) different from traditional talk therapy?
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) utilizes well known therapies including Gestalt, Cognitive Behavioral, Exposure (imaginal, in-vivo), relaxation techniques, and Brief Psycho-dynamic therapy. It combines them with eye movements similar to the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) phase of dream sleep state.
ART utilizes a re-scripting process called Voluntary Memory/Image Replacement (VMR/VIR) to support clients in replacing negative images with positive ones.
What can you expect during an Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) session?
The client is always in control of the entire ART session with the therapist guiding the process. Some traumatic experiences such as rape, combat experiences, or loss of a loved one can be very painful to think about or visualize. However, it is not required for clients to verbalize or talk through the traumas or difficult life experiences with the therapist to achieve recovery.
The therapy rapidly moves clients beyond and through the place where they are stuck in these experiences toward growth and resiliency. The process is very straightforward, using relaxing eye movements and the Voluntary Memory/Image Replacement (VMR/VIR) techniqueto change how negative images are stored in the brain.
The treatment is grounded in well-established traditional psychotherapy techniques resulting in traumas and difficult life experiences that no longer activate strong emotions or physical reactions.
Can ART be done virtually?
Yes, therapy in general is evolving where therapeutic approaches like Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) are accessible virtually, allowing clients the resources and advantages of in-person therapy sessions from the familiarity of their home.
It is important to find a clinician informed and experienced in providing ART and other trauma modalities virtually to ensure safe and positive results.
Get started at the Institute for Relational Recovery
If you live in Texas and want to work with a therapist individually, with a group, or both, contact us on our contact page or call (214) 906-5138.
About the Author
Veronica Ehret, MS, LPC, CSAT, CMAT, CSTIP
(In-person therapy in Dallas, TX and Telehealth therapy across Texas, Arizona, Louisiana, and Florida)
Veronica specializes in helping adults who struggle with intimacy disorders, including fear of abandonment, developmental trauma, trust issues, anxiety, depression, maladaptive attachment, and substance and behavioral addictions. She works with clients to heal their relationship with themselves so they can build healthier connections with others while addressing underlying issues such as addiction, workaholism, sex addiction, financial behaviors, and other compulsive patterns.
Veronica is qualified and experienced in Sexual Addiction Therapy (CSAT), Multiple Addiction Therapy (CMAT, in Love Addiction and Financial Disorders), Post Induction Therapy (PIT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR), Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), Enmeshment Informed (EI), and is a Certified Sex Therapy Informed Professional (CSTIP).
Her experience ranges from being a public health educator and inpatient therapist in Flagstaff, AZ, to a trauma and sex addiction therapist in residential, partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient levels of care with Meadows Behavioral Healthcare in Wickenburg, AZ, and Dallas, TX. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Northern Arizona University.
To learn more about Veronica Ehret or to get in contact, click HERE.