This program is for adults, including Service members and veterans, who experience distress related to a psychological trauma.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART®), a brief psycho-therapeutic intervention, is designed to treat the symptoms of psychological and emotional trauma through the use of imaginal exposure and imagery re-scripting techniques combined with eye movements.

One randomized controlled trial (RCT) among active duty Service members and veterans and one RCT among adults with complicated grief have been conducted. In addition, several uncontrolled studies among different populations, including veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), female veterans with military sexual assault-related PTSD, and adults with neuropathic pain, have been conducted. Short-term results from all studies have indicated positive results for ART, and improvements have been found among various outcomes, including PTSD, depression, anxiety, psychological distress, trauma-related global guilt and distress, pain, sleep quality, aggression, and self-compassion.

ART intends to alter the way individuals store and process traumatic memories and images, so they cease to evoke acute emotional and physiological responses. The program is delivered through the following steps:

• Relaxation and Orientation – identify a traumatic experience and report any troubling sensations, and make sure to notice the part(s) of the body where sensations are present;
• Desensitization Through Imaginal Exposure - reactivate the troubling memory, and identify and attenuate distressing emotional and physical reactions;
• Memory Reconsolidation Through Imagery Rescripting – after desensitizing the memory, imagine a new, preferred way of visualizing the original traumatic experience; and
• Assessment and Closeout – therapist tests whether there are any remaining trigger points or images of the original memory that produce bodily responses in participants and determines the ease with which participants can shift their focus to the new, rescripted image. A closing ritual is performed to reinforce that the trauma is now in the past.

During the first three steps, participants are asked to perform repeated sets of horizontal eye movements by following the clinician’s hand with their eyes. The clinician moves his or her hand horizontally from side to side, close to the participant’s face. The purpose of this activity is to induce a relaxation response in the participant. A session is considered a success when participants recount the traumatic memory without experiencing distressing symptoms and indicate only being able to recognize the positive images they used to replace the troubling ones. ART does not use homework exercises or skill practice.

ART was developed in 2008 and has been used with active duty military, veteran, and civilian populations. Participants have attended this program in several states, including Florida, Maine, Minnesota, and Nevada; however, this program is available for implementation in many other states. For a list of active ART therapists, please visit https://acceleratedresolutiontherapy.com/therapist-directory/

ART can only be delivered by licensed mental health providers who possess at least a master's degree and have attended the required 3-day, off-site basic training. The cost of the basic ART training is $1,500 per person, plus travel expenses, and includes the ART training manual, handouts, and a practicum. After completing the basic training and delivering a specified number of ART sessions, clinicians may attend the 2-day, off-site advanced and 2-day, off-site enhanced trainings. Each of these trainings costs $750 per person, plus travel expenses, and includes workbooks and practicums. For more information or to register for a training, please visit https://acceleratedresolutiontherapy.com/types-of-training-available/

Considerations for implementing this program include recruiting and retaining clinicians who are suitably qualified, acquiring funds to pay for training expenses, gaining participant buy-in, realizing sensitive topics may be discussed, and finding space and time for the sessions.

The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

If you are interested in implementing ART, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you!
Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

ART is implemented in one to five sessions, depending on need, over 2 weeks, and each session lasts 60 to 75 minutes.

Information on implementation costs was not located. Please use details in the Contact section to learn more.

To move ART to the Promising category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least one evaluation with a strong study design should be performed demonstrating positive effects lasting at least one year from the beginning of the program or at least six months from program completion.

The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program.
Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: Clearinghouse@psu.edu

You may also contact the Rosenzweig Center for Rapid Recovery, LLC (RCRR), by mail 12472 Lake Underhill Rd #398, Orlando FL 32828, phone 1-407-298-6786 or 1-877-675-7153, email robin@acceleratedresolutiontherapy.com, or visit https://acceleratedresolutiontherapy.com/contact-us-online/

https://acceleratedresolutiontherapy.com/, Kip et al. (2012), Kip et al. (2013), Kip et al. (2016).

Buck, H. G., Cairns, P., Emechebe, N., Hernandez, D. F., Mason, T. M., Bell, J., … Tofthagen, C. (2020). Accelerated Resolution Therapy: Randomized controlled trial of a complicated grief intervention. American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine, 37(10), 791-799. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049909119900641

Kip, K. E., Elk, C. A., Sullivan, K. L., Kadel, R., Lengacher, C. A., Long, C. J., … Diamond, D. M. (2012). Brief treatment of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by use of Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART®). Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 115-134. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs2020115

Kip, K. E., Rosenzweig, L., Hernandez, D. F., Shuman, A., Diamond, D. M., Ann Girling, S., … McMillan, S. C. (2014). Accelerated Resolution Therapy for treatment of pain secondary to symptoms of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 5(1), 24066-12. https://doi.org/10.3402/ejpt.v5.24066

Kip, K. E., Rosenzweig, L., Hernandez, D. F., Shuman, A., Sullivan, K. L., Long, C. J., … Diamond, D. M. (2013). Randomized controlled trial of Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) for symptoms of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Military Medicine, 178(12), 1298-1309. https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED-D-13-00298

Kip, K. E., Sullivan, K. L., Lengacher, C. A., Rosenzweig, L., Hernandez, D. F., Kadel, R., … Diamond, D. M. (2013). Brief treatment of co-occurring post-traumatic stress and depressive symptoms by use of Accelerated Resolution Therapy. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 4, 11-11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00011

Kip, K. E., Tofthagen, C., D'Aoust, R. F., Girling, S. A., Harper, Y., & Rosenzweig, L. (2016). Pilot study of accelerated resolution therapy for treatment of chronic refractory neuropathic pain. Alternative & Complementary Therapies, 22(6), 243-250. https://doi.org/10.1089/act.2016.29082.kek

Pang, T., Murn, L., Williams, D., Lawental, M., Abhayakumar, A., & Kip, K. E. (2021). Comparison of Accelerated Resolution Therapy for PTSD between veterans with and without prior PTSD treatment. Military Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usab335

Rossiter, A. G., D’Aoust, R. F., Shafer, M. R., Martin, M., & Kip, K. E. (2017). Accelerated resolution therapy for women veterans experiencing military sexual trauma related post-traumatic stress disorder. Annals Psychiatry Mental Health, 5, 1108.

Finnegan, A., Kip, K., Hernandez, D., McGhee, S., Rosenzweig, L., Hynes, C., & Thomas, M. (2016). Accelerated Resolution Therapy: An innovative mental health intervention to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps, 162(2), 90-97. https://doi.org/10.1136/jramc-2015-000417

Hernandez, D. F., Waits, W., Calvio, L., & Byrne, M. (2016). Practice comparisons between Accelerated Resolution Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and Cognitive Processing Therapy with case examples. Nurse Education Today, 47, 74-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2016.05.010

Howe, E. G., Rosenzweig, L., & Shuman, A. (2018). Ethical reflections on offering patients accelerated resolution therapy (ART). Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience, 15(7-8), 32-34.

Kip, K. E. (2014). Case report and theoretical description of Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) for military-related post-traumatic stress disorder. Military Medicine, 179(1), 31-37. https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED-D-13-00229

Kip, K. E., Berumen, J., Zeidan, A. R., Hernandez, D. F., & Finnegan, A. P. (2019). The emergence of accelerated resolution therapy for treatment of post‐traumatic stress disorder: A review and new subgroup analyses. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 19(2), 117-129. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12210

Kip, K. E., D'Aoust, R. F., Hernandez, D. F., Girling, S. A., Cuttino, B., Long, M. K., … Rosenzweig, L. (2016). Evaluation of brief treatment of symptoms of psychological trauma among veterans residing in a homeless shelter by use of Accelerated Resolution Therapy. Nursing Outlook, 64(5), 411-423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2016.04.006

Kip, K. E., & Diamond, D. M. (2018). Clinical, empirical, and theoretical rationale for selection of Accelerated Resolution Therapy for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder in VA and DoD facilities. Military Medicine, 183(9-10), e314-e321. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usy027

Kip, K. E., Hernandez, D. F., Shuman, A., Witt, A., Diamond, D. M., Davis, S., … Rosenzweig, L. (2015). Comparison of accelerated resolution therapy (ART) for treatment of symptoms of PTSD and sexual trauma between civilian and military adults. Military Medicine, 180(9), 964-971. https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED-D-14-00307

Mason, T. M., Szalacha, L. A., Tofthagen, C. S., & Buck, H. G. (2021). A longitudinal examination of quality of life of older adults with complicated grief receiving Accelerated Resolution Therapy. Journal of Palliative Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2021.0267

Schimmels, J., & Waits, W. (2019). A tale of two compulsions – two case studies using Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Military Medicine, 184(5-6), e470-e474. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usy257

Tofthagen, C., Hernandez, D. F., Mason, T. M., Buck, H. G., & Kip, K. E. (2020). Complicated grief with post-traumatic stress disorder addressed with accelerated resolution therapy: Case discussions. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 30222820947241-30222820947241. https://doi.org/10.1177/0030222820947241

Waits, W., Marumoto, M., & Weaver, J. (2017). Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART): A review and research to date. Current Psychiatry Reports, 19(3), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-017-0765-y