Orlando mental health professionals now have available an immersive course in Accelerated Resolution Therapy -- an innovative, effective technique for treating PTSD, anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions.
What is Accelerated Resolution Therapy?
.Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is an evidenced-based psychotherapy that has demonstrated proven results in treating individuals with PTSD. The therapy empowers clients to resolve traumatic memories through a combination of relaxation and memory visualization. This treatment provides effective relief from strong physical and emotional reactions associated with PTSD in an average of four sessions.
Clinicians find ART is a highly effective treatment for anxiety, phobias, depression and prolonged grief, as well as trauma. Some clinicians use ART in coaching clients to perform at a higher level, whether athletes on the field, executives in the boardroom or painters at a canvas.
ART enables clients to recode distressing memories in the brain. Clients follow a trained therapist's hand movements with their eyes, a form of bilateral stimulation of the brain. The process enables clients to reconsolidate their memories; while they still recall the troubling event, they no longer experience unpleasant physical and emotional symptoms when thinking of it.
During an ART session, the therapist guides the client through the process of coming up with a new ending to a troubling memory. The client serves as a director of sorts, creating new associations with the past experience. The therapist follows the client's lead when pacing the session and might suggest metaphors to help the client create a positive resolution.
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What is ART International?
Inspired by the amazing results of ART, entrepreneur Chris T. Sullivan, one of the founders of the Outback Restaurant Group, created ART International in 2016. He continues to fund the nonprofit, which is headquartered in Tampa.
ART International seeks to expand access to ART by training clinicians and spreading the word of the efficacy of the treatment.
The nonprofit plans more than 100 training sessions around the country each year.
Licensed clinicians including psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors are eligible to participate in the training. Therapists who complete the session will earn 21.5 CEUs and are immediately certified to use ART in their practice.
For more information on ART International's upcoming training sessions, or to sign up for a session, individuals can visit https://artherapyinternational.org/.
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How Effective is ART?
Laney Rosenzweig, MS LMFT, created ART in 2008 through extensive testing and research. Since then research studies have demonstrated the efficacy of ART in several patient populations, with about a dozen papers published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Much of the research has been conducted at the University of South Florida with funding from the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health.
Since 2015, ART has been recognized as an evidence-based therapy by the SAMHSA National Registry of Evidenced-Based Programs and Practices.
A randomized controlled trial of ART showed that approximately 70 percent of service members and veterans who completed treatment with ART substantially reduced their symptoms of PTSD in an average of four treatment sessions, and with consistent evidence of safety. Results have been similar in civilians treated with ART. A large randomized controlled trial is underway at the University of Cincinnati to compare ART's effectiveness with Cognitive Processing Therapy which is considered standard-of-care and is widely used in Veterans Administration facilities.
Department of Defense has supported the ART training of 80 mental health clinicians at Ft. Hood, Ft. Stewart, and Ft. Drum, as well as more than 100 clinical providers at Ft. Belvoir Community Hospital, the sister military hospital to Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, MD. Other clinician trainings have been conducted at the Betty Ford Clinic and with the Idaho National Guard.
If you feel like ART could be helpful to you feel free to reach out to us at Providence Counseling Center, a safe and understanding environment for you to work through your concerns. We would be humbled and honored to come alongside you. We are Licensed Counselors, who are trained in ART, to offer assistance, guidance, and support to you and your family. Reach us at 407-423-0790 or visit www.providencecounseling.org
