4963 Elm Street, Suite 100 Bethesda, MD 20814 | 202.256.4646
NOW LICENSED IN DC, MARYLAND, PENNSYLVANIA, & VIRGINIA
4963 Elm Street, Suite 100 Bethesda, MD 20814 | 202-256-4646
NOW LICENSED IN DC, MARYLAND, & VIRGINIA
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Accelerated Resolution Therapy©
Accelerated Resolution Therapy® (ART): How It Works and What to Expect
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is a brief, structured form of psychotherapy that helps people process distressing memories, sensations, and emotions associated with trauma and other stressful experiences. Developed in 2008 by Laney Rosenzweig, MS, LMFT, ART is an eye movement therapy, which draws on evidence-based components of existing therapies—such as a unique form of Gestalt, imaginal exposure, and imagery rescripting—and adds original interventions for various client issues and diagnoses. It then delivers these components together in a highly structured and time-efficient format.
ART is a “bottom-up” therapy. What does that mean? ART helps regulate and adjust bodily responses by focusing on body sensations, emotional awareness, and movement impulses. This process releases energy trapped in a traumatic “freeze” response or persistent hypervigilance in fight or flight mode. This is important to adjust a client’s immediate reaction to perceived threats. A person may intellectually understand why certain situations trigger them, but their body still sees the situation as an immediate threat. By calming the body while visualizing the traumatic event and replacing negative images with positive ones, ART can significantly reduce or even eliminate emotional reactivity.
At the core of ART is the principle that painful or intrusive memories are stored in a way that continues to trigger emotional and physical distress long after the event. By re-engaging the brain’s natural memory reconsolidation process under safe, guided conditions, ART helps reprocess these memories in a way that allows them to be recalled without the original physiological and emotional charge. Clients retain the factual details of the traumatic memory, but lose the intense distress previously linked to it.
What Happens in an ART Session
An ART session usually lasts 90 minutes and follows a step-by-step, manualized protocol. The therapist guides the client through sets of horizontal eye movements while the client focuses on distressing images or sensations. Between sets, the clinician may ask the client to notice shifts in body sensations, emotions, or imagery, and to use visualization to replace distressing scenes with neutral or positive ones. This “Voluntary Image Replacement” (VIR) process is central to ART’s design and allows the brain to link new, non-distressing information with the original memory network.
Unlike traditional exposure therapies, ART does not require clients to verbally describe their trauma in detail. Many individuals find this feature especially helpful if they struggle with avoidance, shame, or emotional flooding when recounting their experiences. Clients remain in control at all times, and sessions typically conclude with a sense of calm or resolution rather than prolonged distress.
How ART Differs from Other Therapies
Other trauma therapies rely on exposure to create desensitization. This means a client will have to relive the memory of their trauma in a controlled environment as they rehash painful details. With ART, clients don’t have to recount their trauma in detail to their therapist, making it a safer, more comfortable process. Plus, there’s no homework. ART uses targeted techniques that help you process and resolve trauma effectively, focusing on how memories are stored and experienced without reliving the pain.
ART shares some mechanisms with EMDR, particularly the use of bilateral eye movements and the aim of reducing distress associated with traumatic memories. However, ART differs in its structure and focus: sessions are more directive and include scripted interventions that actively guide the client to replace distressing images. ART is also briefer in format and many issues are commonly resolved in only one session—many clients complete treatment in fewer sessions than traditional trauma-focused therapies such as EMDR, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) or Prolonged Exposure (PE).
Importantly, ART is not hypnosis. Clients remain fully alert, oriented, and aware throughout the process. Nor is ART a “band-aid” fix; while it can produce rapid relief, the method works through recognized neurological processes of memory reconsolidation supported by emerging research in affective neuroscience.
Evidence and Effectiveness
Peer-reviewed studies, including several randomized and controlled trials, have demonstrated that ART can significantly reduce symptoms of posttraumatic stress (PTS) and related conditions. A landmark trial in Military Medicine (2013) found that ART produced large and clinically meaningful improvements in combat-related PTS symptoms, including among veterans who had previously undergone other evidence-based therapies without full resolution. Replication studies have since reported similar outcomes in both military and civilian populations.
Beyond PTS, ART has shown promise in addressing depression, anxiety, grief, phobias, and pain-related distress. Case reports also suggest potential benefits for sleep disturbance and somatic symptoms. Research continues to expand, including neurobiological investigations of ART’s mechanisms and its application in primary care.
Why People Choose ART
Many individuals seek ART because it offers an efficient, empowering way to resolve distress without months of therapy or repeated retelling of painful memories. For some, ART provides a bridge after other therapies have plateaued; for others, it serves as an accessible first-line intervention. Because sessions are typically few in number, ART can be a cost-effective option for individuals and healthcare systems alike.
ART represents an innovative approach that blends structured protocol with deep emotional processing. For clients and clinicians alike, its central promise is simple: to help people remember the facts around difficult memories by removing or replacing the associated negative images, and to restore calm, clarity, and resilience in the process.
List of issues that ART has been successful in addressing
Accelerated Resolution Therapy® (ART) is extremely versatile and can help clients in many ways. Here are some issues that have been quickly and effectively treated by ART:
- Post Traumatic Stress (PTS)
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Phobias
- Panic Attacks
- Sleep Issues (including nightmares)
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Addictions / Substance Abuse
- Performance Anxiety
- Family Issues
- Victimization/Poor Self Image
- Victimization/Sexual Abuse
- Relationship Issues/Infidelity
- Codependency
- Grief
- Job-Related Stress
- Pain Management
- Memory Enhancement
- Dyslexia Anxiety
- And more!
How ART Differs From EMDR
It’s thought that the eye movements used in ART replicate REM sleep, during which memories are reconsolidated in the brain. EMDR is used to treat similar disorders but differs from ART in the following ways:
| Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) |
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) |
|---|---|
| Often requires 10-20 sessions | Usually requires 1-5 sessions |
| Requires that you talk about your trauma | Requires little to no talking about your trauma |
| Reintegrates & desensitizes negative memories | Replaces negative memories with positive ones |
| Focuses on thoughts and feelings | Focuses on images and sensations |
| Uses free association . |
Uses a strict protocol with resolution at the end of every session |
My Experience With ART
Although I have been a talk therapist for over 20 years, I am committed to learning new and innovative ways to help clients find healing. Because the results I’ve witnessed are absolutely miraculous, my practice now primarily focuses on providing Accelerated Resolution Therapy.
I have a personal connection with the ART process. After going through a traumatic breakup, I was unable to stop grieving despite weekly talk therapy. I tried ART as a client. After only two sessions, I was fully able to put the break-up behind me and move forward with my life. Because of this experience, I knew I wanted to train in ART immediately. I have been practicing ART since 2018 and am proud to be a Master level clinician. ART is now my favorite modality, and I use it both as a stand-alone treatment and in longer-term talk therapy as well.
I am thrilled to share that the ART process works both in-person and virtually. We have therapists at Brooke Bralove Psychotherapy who offer online Accelerated Resolution Therapy in the state of Maryland. When working with trauma, we believe that treatment modalities utilizing a bottom-up approach can be much more effective than simple talk therapy. We are proud to be some of the first ART practitioners in the DMV.
ART Testimonial
“My experience with ART was transformative. I had been haunted by debilitatingly intrusive images and sounds in the days following a traumatic event…To my surprise and relief though, the work seemed to bear results even while I was still in the chair, and the days that followed the session proved to be exactly as Brooke described. The images and sounds were faded, muted, opaque and all intrusive qualities were gone…. Several weeks later now, I feel as if things have been actually processed and transformed vs. shoved down or boxed up. I’m calmer, easier. I’m not haunted anymore.” – Nina G.
Let’s Talk About How ART Can Help You
Try Accelerated Resolution Therapy for yourself and see how this approach can help you live without your triggers controlling you. To set up an initial consultation to see if we’re a good fit, please connect with us through our contact page or by calling 202.256.4646. We look forward to hearing from you!
To read more testimonials from my ART clients, click here.
To view my collection of podcasts on ART, please visit my media page here.
For more information on ART, please watch Laney Rosenzweig’s TED Talk here or visit acceleratedresolutiontherapy.com.
