Accelerated Resolution Therapy
What is Accelerated Resolution Therapy?
Accelerated Resolution Therapy is a proven, evidence-based therapy that supports rapid relief from trauma, stress, and emotional difficulties, helping individuals experience lasting healing in fewer sessions. ART uses a combination of guided eye movements and imagery replacement techniques to help the brain reprocess distressing memories in a safe and controlled way. Unlike traditional talk therapy, ART does not require clients to repeatedly relive or verbalize traumatic experiences in detail, making it a gentle yet powerful approach to healing.
Through bilateral eye movements, similar to those used in REM sleep, Accelerated Resolution Therapy helps reduce the emotional and physical reactions associated with traumatic memories. The imagery replacement component allows individuals to change how distressing memories are stored in the brain, replacing negative images with more positive or neutral ones. As a result, the memory remains, but the emotional charge and physiological stress response are significantly reduced or eliminated.
Accelerated Resolution Therapy has been shown to be highly effective for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, phobias, grief, and other trauma-related conditions. One of the key benefits of ART is its efficiency—many people experience rapid relief, often within one to five sessions for a single-event trauma. This makes ART an appealing option for individuals seeking lasting results without long-term therapy.
By focusing on both mind and body, Accelerated Resolution Therapy empowers individuals to regain emotional balance, improve overall well-being, and move forward with greater clarity and confidence.
Key Aspects of ART
During Accelerated Resolution Therapy, clients replace the distressing images associated with traumatic memories with positive, chosen images. The factual memory of the event remains. However, the intense negative emotional and physical reactions are reduced or eliminated.
Accelerated Resolution Therapy uses a step by step protocol that combines several therapeutic approaches, including:
- Eye Movements: The therapist guides the client’s eyes to move back and forth rapidly, similar to the movements during REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. This stimulates the brain’s processing of memories and promotes a relaxation response.
- Voluntary Image Replacement (Imagery Rescripting): The core of the therapy. A therapist guides the client to actively and consciously change the negative mental picture of the traumatic event into a more positive or desired one. This helps to “reprogram” how the memory is stored.
- Elements from other therapies: It draws upon techniques from Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Gestalt therapy, and Guided Imagery.
- Focus on Imagery, Not Detailed Narration: A unique benefit of Accelerated Resolution Therapy is that clients do not have to talk in detail about their traumatic experience. Instead, they recall the images silently, which can make the process less overwhelming.
Conditions Treated: While primarily known for treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), research also supports the use of Accelerated Resolution Therapy for:
Anxiety and Panic
Depression
Phobias
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Grief and bereavement
You can find us at
nina@mbcllc.health
PHONE NUMBER
703-705-9880
LOCATION
6611 Jefferson Street, Suite 202
Haymarket, Va 20169