Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART): A Breakthrough Path to Healing
Living with the weight of traumatic experiences and memories is overwhelming for anyone. Add in being a highly sensitive, accomplished individual who prides themselves on having everything together. If you're an anxious overachiever, perfectionist, or people-pleaser struggling with past trauma or a traumatic event that continues to impact your daily life, Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) offers a remarkably efficient path to emotional and mental freedom.
I'm Holly Barnes and as an ART Practitioner serving clients in my online private practice in Colorado, I understand the unique challenges faced by driven females who can feel incredibly overwhelmed and frustrated by the echoes from their past and the way they continue to haunt them in present day.
What is ART?
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is a gentle yet powerful, evidence-based approach that helps people move beyond painful memories, and distressing symptoms, often in just a few sessions. It is a modality that offers hope to those who have tried other therapies and still feel stuck. As ART likes to say, it allows the participant to "keep the knowledge" of the event, but "lose the pain" associated with it.
ART was derived particularly from Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). While both ART & EMDR utilize eye movements to process troubling memories, ART therapy incorporates additional elements including Gestalt (parts work), mindfulness, and imagery, which creates a structured and directive process.
Unlike traditional therapy, ART doesn’t require clients to share every detail of their trauma or past—in fact sometimes clients don't share any information about their trauma. This means healing can happen without having to verbally re-tell the hardest moments of ones life.
How does ART work?
Accelerated Resolution Therapy distinguishes itself from purely talk-based therapies through its neurobiological approach. ART harnesses the brain's natural ability to reprocess memories through guided bilateral eye movements, similar to eye movements that occur during REM sleep. The rapid eye movements reduce the charge of traumatic memory by easing the strain on working memory. This allows the brain's alarm center (the amygdala) to calm down, and enables the logical prefrontal cortex to come back online. Clinical neuroscience research demonstrates that this process, known as memory reconsolidation, causes activated memories to be processed and stored again in an updated form. Subsequently, this facilitates healing on both a conscious and subconscious level, often providing rapid and lasting relief from distressing symptoms.
What Challenges Does ART Help?
Accelerated Resolution Therapy is highly effective for both single-incident traumas, as well as more subtle but pervasive experiences that shape how you see yourself and interact with the world. Examples include:
Trauma and Post Traumatic Stress
Anxiety and panic
Grief and loss
Fears and phobias
Nightmares and flashbacks
Relationship struggles
Performance Challenges
Low self-esteem or confidence
Daily stressors and stuckness that feel impossible to shake
Academic or professional pressure
Perfectionism and self criticism
Health scares, among others
Who is a good fit for ART?
ART is a good fit for anyone who is motivated to change. It is particularly effective for busy students, professionals, and parents who have tried self-help approaches or attended previous therapy without achieving the relief they seek. It is also a powerful adjunct to current therapy work to break through a specific barrier or accelerate healing. If you are already working with another therapist and finding the work there helpful, great! You can absolutely continue working with your therapist and do ART simultaneously.
Why Choose ART?
One of the main differences between ART and other modalities is how quickly and gently it works. With ART, you can expect:
Fast results – Many clients feel significant relief within 1–5 sessions, with an average of 3.7 sessions for complete resolution.
Less distress – No need to rehash every detail of painful memories.
Lasting change – The brain reprocesses memories at a deep level, so the results last.
Empowerment – Clients leave feeling calmer, stronger, and more confident in themselves.
Why Choose ART Now?
Deciding to seek treatment for trauma takes courage, particularly for busy, high-achieving individuals who are used to handling everything on their own. Thankfully, healing doesn’t have to take months or years. ART is a compassionate, effective way to reclaim peace of mind and body, and step into the life you’re ready to live.
If you’ve been waiting for the right time to finally move forward—to release the weight of trauma, fears, or negative patterns—this is your sign. Reach out and let's discuss if ART might be a good fit for you.