Understanding Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART): How It Works and Its Benefits for Healing Trauma

Trauma can leave deep emotional wounds that affect daily life, relationships, and overall well-being. Many people seek therapy to find relief, but not all approaches work the same way. Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) has gained attention for its unique method and effectiveness in helping people heal from trauma. This post explains what ART is, how it works, why therapists use it, and the conditions it can help treat.

What Is ART Therapy?

ART stands for Accelerated Resolution Therapy. It's a psychotherapy technique derived from Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR was developed in the 1980s by psychologist Francine Shapiro. Both therapy approaches focus on helping people process and heal from traumatic memories that remain stuck in the brain, causing distress and symptoms like anxiety, flashbacks, or nightmares. ART refines the therapy of EMDR by a more focused treatment to help direct the client toward reprogramming of their trauma images while maintaining intentional focus on reducing fight or flight symptoms, body upset, and/or emotional distress.

Unlike traditional talk therapy, ART uses guided eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation (such as tapping) to help the brain reprocess traumatic memories. This allows the brain to integrate these memories in a healthier way, reducing their emotional charge.

How ART Therapy Works

ART therapy employs a structured framework aimed at preparing clients, processing traumatic memories, and fostering the development of positive beliefs.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is grounded in the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, which emphasizes the mind’s innate ability to process experiences in a healthy, adaptive manner. Under normal circumstances, the brain effectively organizes and integrates new information. However, highly stressful or overwhelming experiences can exceed this natural capacity, disrupting the brain’s ability to process and resolve what has occurred. When this happens, the associated memories may remain stored in their original, unprocessed form—along with the distorted thoughts, images, sensations, and perceptions present at the time of the event.

In ART, these inadequately processed memories are understood to be the primary contributors to ongoing psychological distress. ART stimulates the brain’s information-processing system, enabling it to re-engage with and resolve these memories. This process reduces the emotional intensity associated with the experience and helps connect the memory to more adaptive, positive neural networks. Through this mechanism, clients can work through previously overwhelming memories, sensations, and emotions, allowing their natural healing systems to resume. As a result, experiences that once triggered strong negative responses (fight or flight response or other intense emotionality) typically become significantly less distressing.

ART also shares similarities with the processes that occur during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, a phase in which the brain naturally integrates and organizes information. In a comparable way, ART guides the mind to access what it needs in order to heal. The therapy uses eye movement to support this processing. During a session, clients may follow the clinician’s hand movements from left to right with their eyes while also engaging in other ART-specific techniques designed to facilitate rapid and lasting emotional resolution.

Why Therapists Use ART

Therapists choose ART because it offers a structured, evidence-based method to effectively address trauma without requiring clients to talk in detail about the trauma repeatedly. ART is often substantially less overwhelming for many people.

ART is recognized as an evidence-based therapy and an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is also adaptable to other mental health issues, making it a versatile tool in therapy.

Like most evidence-based psychotherapy approaches, ART often leads to meaningful therapeutic change within a relatively short period—often within 5 - 6 sessions. The number of sessions required varies based on several factors, including the nature of the presenting concern, the severity and duration of trauma, and the individual’s broader life circumstances. In my practice, clients may choose to engage in ART as their primary treatment modality or incorporate ART into their ongoing talk-therapy sessions to enhance and support their overall therapeutic goals.

Additionally, it is often well-tolerated by clients, given that it focuses on body calming rather than trauma eliciting. This generally makes it quite safe to use. Additionally, it works well with people who struggle to verbalize their trauma/emotional symptoms. Finally, it can be easily combined with other treatment interventions.

What Conditions ART Can Help

ART therapy is most commonly associated with treating PTSD, but its benefits extend to other conditions linked to trauma and distress. Some examples include:

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

ART helps reduce flashbacks, nightmares, and hypervigilance by reprocessing traumatic memories.

Anxiety and Panic Disorders

It can address underlying traumatic events contributing to anxiety symptoms.

Depression

ART can help by targeting negative beliefs and memories that fuel depressive feelings.

Phobias

Processing traumatic or distressing memories related to specific fears can reduce phobic reactions.

OCD  

Processing distressing memories/images related to specific compulsions or obsessions helps to reduce overall OCD behavior.

Grief and Loss

ART supports healing from complicated grief by helping clients process painful memories.

Addictions

Trauma often underlies addictive behaviors, and ART can address these root causes.

Chronic Pain and Illness

Some studies suggest ART can reduce pain linked to trauma or stress.

What to Expect in an EMDR Session

A typical ART session lasts about 60 minutes. The therapist guides the client through the phases, focusing on one or more traumatic memories. Bilateral stimulation can involve following the therapist’s finger as it moves side to side with the eyes, the use of tactile tapping, or sounds to guide eye movement.

Clients frequently notice a decrease in the intensity of body distress and emotion related to distressing memories after 1-2 sessions. Some describe feeling lighter or more in control of their emotions. Frequently, it can take 5-6 sessions to work through a trauma event successfully.

Practical Tips for Those Considering ART

If you are thinking about ART therapy, here are some points to keep in mind:

Find a qualified therapist trained and certified in ART. Proper training ensures safe and effective treatment. When meeting with a prospective therapist, you may consider asking questions such as:

• How frequently have you treated clients with concerns similar to mine?

• How do you determine whether someone is an appropriate candidate for ART?

• Can you describe how ART works?

• What does a typical treatment plan look like, and what is the usual duration of ART therapy?

• How do you assess and track client progress?

  
  

Be patient with the process. Healing takes time, and progress can vary.

Communicate openly with your therapist about your feelings and any concerns during treatment.

Understand that ART is one tool among many tools available. Competent therapists often integrate multiple evidence-based approaches—including cognitive and behavioral therapies, exposure-based methods, and others—to ensure that treatment is tailored to each client’s unique needs.

Conclusion

Accelerated Resolution Therapy offers a compassionate, structured, and highly effective approach for those seeking relief from trauma and related emotional challenges. By harnessing the brain’s natural capacity to heal, ART helps individuals safely process distressing memories without requiring extensive verbal detail, making it accessible and well-tolerated by many clients. Its versatility and evidence-based results allow it to address a wide range of conditions—from PTSD and anxiety to grief, phobias, and chronic pain—while integrating seamlessly with other therapeutic methods. For individuals considering trauma-focused treatment, ART provides a hopeful and empowering path forward, supporting meaningful change and restoring a sense of calm, control, and resiliency.