Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) for Teens

Therapy is extremely effective at treating teen mental health difficulties – the evidence has shown this time and time again. Yet, many of the traditional approaches involve 15+ sessions and talking about the causes of trauma in order to move on from it. These age-old methods don’t appeal to everyone.

Fortunately, accelerated resolution therapy (ART) provides an alternative. This is a short term trauma therapy for adolescents that combines eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) and Gestalt therapy techniques to produce rapid improvements. All within three to four sessions.

But what is accelerated resolution therapy for teens? And how does it work? Here, we’ll explore what ART therapy for teens is, how it helps, and what a typical ART treatment session looks like.

What Is ART Therapy for Teens?

Accelerated resolution therapy (ART) is a relatively new counseling approach, having been developed by Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Laney Rosenzweig in 2008.^[1] Despite its novelty, ART is considered an evidence-based trauma therapy for youth, primarily due to the research backing its effectiveness.

ART doesn’t ask you to share your difficult, traumatic experiences with your therapist, making it unlike many traditional psychotherapy approaches. Instead, your therapist guides you to revisit thoughts and memories of traumatic events within your mind, with no expectation of voicing them. You’re then guided to replace these negative images with positive alternatives.

Due to the ART framework and its direct approach, it involves a much shorter course of treatment than many other therapy approaches – typically one to five sessions. ART therapists, and limited research, suggests these few sessions are adequate to find relief.^[2]

ART vs EMDR Teens’ Treatment

Accelerated resolution therapy combines aspects from multiple therapeutic modalities – eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is one of these.

Rapid side-to-side eye movements – known as bilateral, rapid horizontal eye movements – are used to help the brain process difficult memories and rewrite these experiences. We’ll go into more depth about how this works in the following section.

Gestalt techniques, as well as metaphors and solution-focused strategies, also feed into the ART approach.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy in Teens: How It Works

Research is still ongoing to understand the theoretical underpinnings of the ART approach. However, evidence suggests that the main therapeutic change in accelerated resolution teen therapy occurs within the part of the brain involved in memory storage.^[1]

To understand how ART works for teens, we first need to explore how we retrieve a memory. When we recall a memory – for example, remembering a time where we felt embarrassed – it’s believed we ‘activate’ it. As memories are said to be changeable, ‘activating’ a memory enables reconsolidation.^[3]

Reconsolidation is the brain’s process of reopening a memory when it’s recalled, allowing it to be:

Updated.
Strengthened.
Changed before it is stored again.

This window of opportunity is approximately 6 hours long. In this time, we can deliberately re-expose ourselves to a threatening memory and alter how we feel about it. By doing so, we can reduce how distressing this memory feels in the future.^[1]

How ART Uses Memory Reconsolidation

ART leverages the reconsolidation process. Rapid eye movements create a sense of relaxation while the therapist encourages the patient to recall traumatic experiences in their mind.^[4]

The ART therapist then guides the patient to replace these memories with positive ones. When the reconsolidation process is combined with relaxing eye movements, this helps the patient reprogram how distressing memories are stored within the brain – all from a state of relaxation, rather than fear.

When these experiences are recalled in the future, they don’t elicit the same emotional and physical reactions. The brain recalls the positive thoughts and images, rather than the negative ones.

How ART Supports Teen Mental Health

Research into ART’s effectiveness is limited thus far, and the evidence for accelerated resolution therapy for teen mental health is particularly limited. However, the first few studies have shown promising results.

Within this section, we’ll explore the potential benefits of ART for teens by looking at studies involving adults, as well as the evidence based on teens specifically.

ART Therapy for Teen Trauma

The majority of research into ART’s effectiveness has been on military adults and those experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), often as a result of military service.

Multiple studies show that many veterans experience major reductions in trauma symptoms, depression, anxiety, and guilt in an average of three to four ART sessions.^[5]^[6]

These improvements appear to be long-lasting, with the symptoms staying low for months – and sometimes years – after treatment.^[7]

ART seems to have a similar effect on teen mental health. Research shows that ART significantly reduces trauma-related distress in children and adolescents, and often after just one session.^[8]

Depression, Anxiety, and ART Teen Therapy

Limited research has indicated that accelerated resolution therapy can support people with co-occurring PTSD and depression. For example, in a study of 28 people, patients showed improvements in the symptoms associated with both PTSD and depression.^[9] Research involving veterans also found that ART reduced anxiety and improved sleep.^[10]

However, more research is needed to fully understand ART’s potential in treating depression, particularly depression on its own. In addition, there is currently no research examining the effectiveness of ART therapy for teenagers with depression or anxiety.

For this reason, it’s important to speak with a licensed clinician before deciding whether this approach is suitable for your teenager.

ART for Complicated Grief in Teens

Accelerated resolution therapy has also been shown to be highly effective for complicated grief, particularly in older adults who have experienced a traumatic bereavement.^[11] Those who received ART showed significantly lower grief symptoms compared to a waitlist group, as well as major improvements in co-occurring PTSD and depression symptoms.

Most participants saw improvements within four sessions, and these positive changes stayed stable in the eight-week follow-up, suggesting the effects may be long-lasting.^[11]

Many individuals within the study had already received traditional grief counseling, suggesting ART may help when other treatment approaches haven’t been effective. Research also shows that ART was particularly effective for people with severe symptoms or who had experienced multiple losses.^[11]

At present, there is no research examining ART therapy for teen grief. As such, we can’t identify whether or not this approach can effectively support grief in adolescents. However, the early findings in older age groups look promising.

Further Health Benefits of ART

Another small study of 10 people shows that ART may help to reduce pain, including chronic neuropathic pain, and improve mobility and sleep in certain populations.^[12] Again, more research is needed to help us fully understand ART’s impact on these difficulties – particularly among young people.

Are You or a Loved One Struggling with anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns?

Mission Prep is here to help you or your loved one take the next steps towards an improved mental well-being.

What ART Sessions Look Like

ART sessions are highly structured and interactive. They typically last 60-90 minutes and take place in a private one-to-one setting between the therapist and client.

During an ART session, the therapist guides the client through a series of eye movements by asking them to follow their hand moving back and forth across their field of vision.13 These movements are similar to the natural eye movements that occur during REM sleep – the stage of sleep linked to emotional processing and memory integration. The repetitive motion helps the body feel calmer and more regulated, making it easier to revisit distressing memories without becoming overwhelmed.

As the memory is brought to mind, the therapist helps the client begin replacing the upsetting images or sensations attached to the event with new, neutral or calming ones. Rather than erasing the memory itself, the aim of ART sessions is to change how the brain stores and responds to the experience.

Over time, memories that once triggered fear, panic, grief, or shame begin to feel more:

Distant.
Manageable.
Less emotionally activating.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy at Mission Prep Teen Treatment

At Mission Prep Teen Treatment, we understand that long-term therapy approaches aren’t for everyone. We also see, first-hand, how difficult it can be for teens to vocalize their past traumatic experiences. Our team offers expedited trauma therapy for adolescents through structured accelerated resolution therapy sessions.

Alongside accelerated resolution therapy, we specialize in a variety of other alternative trauma therapy for youth. For example, EMDR, cognitive behavioral therapy, internal family systems therapy, and narrative therapy are also available to teens.

What’s more, at Mission Prep Teen Treatment, therapy is on each teen’s terms. We offer a range of teen PTSD treatment options – including residential, outpatient, and summer programs. Our residential locations are designed to provide a healing environment with around-the-clock care.

Mission Prep Teen Treatment accepts insurance and is in-network with most major insurance providers. If your teen has experienced trauma and needs support, contact us.

There is no cost or obligation when you call us at 866-901-4047. Our compassionate team is available 24/7 to answer your questions and help you determine your best next steps.

"*" indicates required fields

Step 1 of 2

Verify Your Insurance

Patient’s First Name*

Patient’s Last Name*

Phone*

100% Confidential

No Commitment

Instant Results