03/29/2026
I absolutely love doing ART sessions. ๐ค
Some people want to blend ART sessions with traditional talk therapy sessions while others prefer to stick solely to one type of therapy. Either is okay. ART can be used in a single session or several.
It's a flexible, evidence-based approach that meets you exactly where you are. If you're curious about whether ART might be right for you, I'd love to chat! ๐๐บ
When we experience trauma, our nervous system is shocked and overwhelmed. Whether itโs a single traumatic event like a car crash or repeated events such as prolonged childhood abuse, we often feel helpless. The trauma happens too much, too soon, and too fast, preventing us from integrating and processing these memories. This leads to changes in our worldview, making us feel like the world is dangerous and we are unsafe, causing us to live in perpetual fear.
Trauma causes our brain to get stuck in danger mode, leading to significant changes in brain structures:
๐ง Amygdala: The fear center misfires constantly, blasting our body with stress hormones that harm us. This can alter the size and function of the amygdala and hippocampus.
๐ง Hippocampus: Normally responsible for storing memories, the hippocampus struggles under trauma, leaving the memory โliveโ in our brain as if itโs still happening. It goes offline, unable to tell if we are safe or in danger, which keeps the fear alarm active.
๐ง Prefrontal Cortex: In charge of rational thinking and decision-making, the amygdala overrides the Prefrontal Cortex during trauma. When itโs offline, we struggle to manage emotions and think clearly.
๐ง The Vagus nerve, which plays a crucial role in regulating our parasympathetic nervous system, is the part of the nervous system that helps us calm down after stress. When trauma occurs, the vagus nerve can become dysregulated, making it difficult for our body to return to a state of calm, leaving us in a constant state of hypervigilance and anxiety.
ART can help calm the overactive amygdala, soothing the fear response through bilateral eye movements and vagal nerve stimulation. The goal of this process is to change how traumatic memories are experienced, which can be associated with improved engagement of brain areas involved in regulation and perspective-taking. Through this process, ART helps reframe perceptions and โpositizeโ experiences, supporting a greater sense of safety and healing.
Find an ART-trained therapist near you. Visit www.AcceleratedResolutionTherapy.com
