Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is an evidence-based therapy approach that uses eye movements and guided imagery to help you quickly process difficult emotions, memories, and sensations.

How it Works:

Here is an outline of the things you can expect in an Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) session:

1. Planning: As an ART-trained therapist, I help you make a plan to work on the issue you want to address. You get to decide how much detail you share about the problem you want to work on. You do not have to talk about the details of your problem in order for the therapy to be effective.

2. Eye movements: In our ART session, I sit across from you and have you follow my hand with your eyes, moving back and forth repeatedly. These eye movements are similar to the movements your eyes naturally make when you are in REM (rapid-eye-movement) sleep, which is a phase of sleep in which your brain processes and consolidates memories. In ART, eye movements are used to regulate your nervous system, help your brain reprocess challenging experiences, calm your body, and find new, less "stuck" solutions to problems.

3. Calming your body: Between eye movement segments, we check in about how your body is feeling, and help you work through emotions and sensations.

4. Guided imagery: Throughout the session, guided imagery (a technique where I help you visualize scenes and images in your mind) is used to help your brain find solutions to the problem you are addressing.

5. Resolving and ending the session: As we close the session, I work with you until you feel calm and ready to manage the concerns you started the session with. We discuss your needs, and plan for any follow-up you feel could be helpful.

The Benefits:

Compared to traditional talk therapy, ART often provides quicker relief with less verbal discussion of difficult memories and images. ART is also structured to help you feel a meaningful reduction in your symptoms by the time the session ends. It’s part of my clinical responsibility, and the ART protocol, to make sure you feel grounded and settled before the session is over.

What it Is Not:

• ART is not hypnosis. You remain fully in control through the entire experience.

• ART does not erase memories or implant false memories; instead, it helps your brain process thoughts, memories, and images with reduced distress, pain, and fear. You keep your knowledge of the facts, but reduce the associated emotional pain.

• ART is not a quick fix. While many people find that ART is helpful in a short amount of time, ART is not a magic wand that erases all of your difficulty right away. ART is a therapeutic tool that can help your brain and body to resolve trauma and difficult emotions. You are still in the driver’s seat with the responsibility and opportunity to take action in your life and healing process with support from therapy. ART can be used with other tools (the ones found in therapy, or in other places in your life) to help you find healing.

ART can be helpful for a wide range of issues, including:

• Trauma (including flashbacks, nightmares, and intrusive thoughts, images, and physical sensations)

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Phobias

• Eating disorders

• Relationship problems

• Daily life stress

• Other struggles

Click here for more information on Accelerated Resolution Therapy