‍A quick and easy solution for PTSD, Trauma and moreAccelerated Resolution Therapy, or ART, was created to help those who have experienced trauma to recover and heal.  It does this through a natural process of the brain called memory reconsolidation.  With treatment, you can change the way the traumatic memory is stored and replace negative images in the brain with positive images and sensations.  The ART session begins with the patient bringing a past traumatic experience to mind and visualize the memory from beginning to end.  The therapist’s hand moves the patient’s eyes from side to side, to help engage the visual part of the brain, and mimic REM- the dream stage of sleep during which memories are stored.  Rapid Eye Movements allow the patient to reshape their memories and move them to long-term storage away from the forefront of the mind.  The entire time the patient is in control, guided by the therapist, and only sharing what they choose.  Meanwhile the therapist will help the patient stay relaxed and calm, processing any strong emotions that may come up during visualization.  There’s no need to bring up specific details about your experiences that may be too painful to share.

The next step of ART is for the patient to imagine what they’d rather remember in place of the traumatic memory, continuing to use eye movements to facilitate the process. Voluntary Image Replacement is how negative images begin to be replaced with positive ones and is an important part of what makes ART so effective.  Within just an hour to an hour and a half session, the patient is able to go through an entire memory, the emotions connected to it, and find relief.  

ART has been used to treat patients with post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, trauma from sexual abuse, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder, physical and mental challenges, addictions, grief and job or relationship issues. 

If you’re feeling stuck and unable to move forward in life because of a traumatic event or a job that has exposed you to painful images and experiences, OCD, anxiety or phobias we urge you to give Accelerated Resolution Therapy a try and discover the hope and freedom from healing that so many of our patients have already experienced.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is a form of psychotherapy with roots in existing evidence-based therapies but shown to achieve benefits much more rapidly. The process is very straightforward, using relaxing eye movements and a technique called Voluntary Image Replacement to change the way in which distressing memories and images are stored in the brain so that they no longer trigger strong physical and emotional reactions.