ART for Healing from Divorce or Breakups

Relationships
Written By Laura Geftman

Understanding the Emotional Impact of Divorce and Breakups

Ending a romantic relationship, whether through divorce or breakup, can trigger profound emotional responses. Individuals may experience grief, anger, guilt, self-doubt, fear of being alone, or anxiety about future relationships.

While these feelings are natural, some people find themselves stuck, unable to move forward. Lingering emotional distress can affect mental health, self-esteem, work, and social life. ART provides a focused approach to release emotional pain and address unresolved trauma associated with relational loss.

The Role of Trauma in Relationship Endings

Breakups or divorces can be experienced as traumatic, particularly when relationships ended abruptly, involved betrayal, or created feelings of rejection. Trauma from past relationships or early attachment experiences may also intensify emotional reactions.

Unprocessed trauma can maintain negative thought patterns, intrusive memories, or hyperarousal, making it difficult to regain emotional balance. ART works directly with these trauma-related responses, helping individuals reprocess distressing memories and shift negative beliefs.

What is Accelerated Resolution Therapy?

Accelerated Resolution Therapy is a brief, evidence-based psychotherapy designed to help individuals process emotionally charged memories efficiently. Using guided eye movements and imagery rescripting, ART allows clients to revisit and transform distressing experiences in a less emotionally intense way while maintaining awareness.

For individuals coping with divorce or breakups, ART can:

  • Reduce emotional intensity tied to the end of the relationship

  • Reframe self-critical or guilt-laden thoughts

  • Promote emotional regulation and resilience

  • Restore confidence and readiness for future relationships

How ART Supports Healing from Breakups

ART addresses the emotional, cognitive, and physiological aspects of post-relationship distress:

  • Processing unresolved emotions: ART enables clients to safely release sadness, anger, regret, or anxiety related to the breakup.

  • Reframing negative beliefs: ART transforms maladaptive thoughts, such as self-blame, worthlessness, or fear of future rejection.

  • Regulating the nervous system: ART reduces hyperarousal and physiological stress responses, fostering calm and emotional balance.

  • Supporting adaptive coping: ART helps clients rebuild self-esteem, establish healthy boundaries, and regain a sense of agency in relationships.

This comprehensive approach allows individuals to move forward while integrating their experiences in a healthy, adaptive way.

Imagery Rescripting for Relationship Loss

Imagery rescripting, a central technique in ART, allows clients to revisit emotionally charged relationship experiences while guided eye movements help the brain reprocess emotional responses.

For divorce or breakup-related grief, imagery rescripting can:

  • Reduce the intensity of distressing memories or interactions

  • Shift perceptions of past experiences to foster self-compassion

  • Promote acceptance and emotional integration

  • Support confidence and readiness for future relational experiences

By reworking these memories safely, ART enables clients to release emotional weight and regain control over their emotional state.

Addressing Attachment Patterns and Emotional Reactivity

Attachment styles influence responses to breakups. Individuals with anxious attachment may experience heightened fear of abandonment, clinginess, or rumination, while those with avoidant attachment may struggle with intimacy or emotional vulnerability.

ART helps reprocess attachment-related experiences and reduce emotional reactivity. Clients often notice a decrease in anxiety-driven behaviors, such as obsessively checking a partner’s social media, seeking reassurance, or withdrawing emotionally.

Rebuilding Confidence and Emotional Resilience

Divorce or breakups can significantly impact self-esteem and confidence. ART helps individuals rebuild self-worth by:

  • Releasing self-blame and negative self-perceptions

  • Cultivating self-compassion and self-acceptance

  • Encouraging assertiveness and healthy boundary setting

  • Enhancing emotional resilience for future relationships

These changes support long-term well-being and readiness to engage in fulfilling relational experiences.

ART Compared to Traditional Therapy

While traditional talk therapy offers valuable support for relationship loss, ART provides unique benefits:

  • Rapid reduction of emotional intensity, often within a few sessions

  • Direct focus on trauma and maladaptive relational patterns

  • Integration of cognitive, emotional, and physiological processing

  • Evidence-based, non-pharmacological, and trauma-informed approach

For individuals whose grief or anxiety is complicated by trauma or persistent patterns, ART offers an effective and efficient path to healing.

Who Can Benefit from ART

ART is suitable for individuals struggling with emotional distress following divorce or breakups, particularly those who:

  • Experience persistent sadness, anger, guilt, or anxiety

  • Feel stuck or unable to move forward

  • Struggle with trust, intimacy, or self-esteem in future relationships

  • Seek rapid, evidence-based relief without medication

By targeting the core emotional and physiological patterns that maintain distress, ART promotes meaningful recovery and emotional restoration.

What to Expect in an ART Session

During an ART session, a therapist guides clients through sets of eye movements while focusing on memories, emotions, or relational experiences related to the breakup.

Clients remain fully aware but experience a reduction in emotional intensity, enabling safe processing and reframing. Sessions typically last one to two hours, and many clients notice improvement after only a few sessions.

Long-Term Benefits

Beyond immediate relief, ART offers lasting benefits for individuals recovering from relational loss:

  • Reduced emotional reactivity and rumination

  • Improved emotional regulation and coping strategies

  • Increased self-compassion, confidence, and resilience

  • Enhanced ability to engage in future relationships healthily

  • Sustained emotional recovery and adaptive growth

By addressing both emotional and physiological dimensions, ART supports comprehensive and lasting healing.

Taking the First Step

Divorce and breakups can be profoundly challenging, but recovery is possible. Accelerated Resolution Therapy offers a rapid, evidence-based, and compassionate approach to help individuals process emotional pain, release trauma, and rebuild confidence and emotional balance.

If you are struggling with lingering grief, anxiety, or self-doubt after a breakup or divorce, ART can guide you toward healing and prepare you for healthier future relationships.

Start your ART journey today by completing my intake form.

Peer-Reviewed Sources

  • Kip, K. E., et al. (2012). Randomized controlled trial of accelerated resolution therapy for treatment of symptoms of PTSD. Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 183–195.

  • Neimeyer, R. A. (2000). Searching for the meaning of meaning: Grief therapy and the process of reconstruction. Death Studies, 24(6), 541–558.

  • Boelen, P. A., & van den Bout, J. (2005). Complicated grief, depression, and anxiety as distinct post-loss syndromes: A longitudinal study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 86(2–3), 205–214.

  • Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2007). Attachment in Adulthood: Structure, Dynamics, and Change. Guilford Press.

  • Shapiro, F. (2017). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures. Guilford Press.

Laura Geftman
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How Accelerated Resolution Therapy Helps with Relationship Anxiety