Combining Accelerated Resolution Therapy with Other Therapeutic Approaches
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is a powerful and structured modality known for creating fast, transformative results, particularly in trauma and anxiety-related disorders. However, therapy is rarely one-size-fits-all. Many therapists and clients alike wonder: Can ART be effectively combined with other therapeutic approaches? If so, how?
The short answer is yes. ART can integrate seamlessly with other modalities to enhance healing, promote emotional resilience, and support long-term growth. This article explores the rationale, benefits, and practical implications of combining ART with other therapeutic approaches.
Understanding the Foundation of ART
Before diving into integration, it's important to understand what makes ART unique. ART is a brief, directive therapy that uses eye movements, voluntary image replacement, and memory reconsolidation to reduce emotional reactivity associated with distressing memories.
Unlike traditional talk therapy, ART doesn’t require clients to retell their trauma in detail. Instead, it focuses on changing the images and sensations connected to the memory, which significantly reduces distress — often in just a few sessions.
Because of this, ART is especially effective for trauma, phobias, anxiety, complicated grief, and even chronic pain — issues that are often deeply rooted in the nervous system and stored implicitly rather than cognitively.
Why Integration Makes Sense
While ART is powerful, some clients benefit from a multifaceted approach that addresses various layers of their emotional experience. Integration with other therapeutic models can:
Build insight and self-awareness alongside symptom resolution
Reinforce cognitive and behavioral changes
Support attachment healing and inner parts work
Provide tools for ongoing emotional regulation and resilience
Rather than seeing ART as a stand-alone cure-all, many clinicians view it as a central tool that works in harmony with other interventions.
ART and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is widely used to help clients challenge unhelpful thoughts, behaviors, and beliefs. However, CBT can sometimes fall short when emotional responses are rooted in trauma or body-stored memory.
When combined with ART, CBT can provide the cognitive structure and reframing tools that support the emotional shifts ART creates. Clients often begin to naturally reframe beliefs once emotional charge is removed via ART, and CBT can then reinforce and maintain those healthier cognitive patterns.
For example, a client may use ART to neutralize the emotional pain of a bullying memory. CBT can then help them examine the belief that they’re “unworthy” and replace it with more empowering thoughts.
ART and Internal Family Systems (IFS)
IFS helps clients explore their internal “parts” — such as protectors, exiles, and managers — that develop in response to pain, trauma, and unmet needs.
When integrated with ART, IFS offers a rich inner roadmap. ART can be used to help clients process intense emotions or scenes connected to exiled parts, while IFS can facilitate understanding and compassion for those parts.
This combination allows clients not only to heal from the pain but also to connect with and integrate their parts in a way that supports long-term self-compassion and emotional regulation.
ART and Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic therapy focuses on unconscious processes, relational patterns, and past experiences that shape a person’s current behavior.
In many psychodynamic frameworks, clients may gain insight into their trauma or emotional wounds, but still feel stuck emotionally. That’s where ART can serve as a game-changer.
By resolving the emotional “charge” from implicit memories or unresolved trauma, ART can make space for deeper psychodynamic work to unfold. As clients process trauma through ART, they often become more open and emotionally available for introspective and relational work.
ART and Mindfulness-Based Therapies
Mindfulness-based therapies like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) or Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) help clients become more aware of their thoughts and feelings without judgment.
ART sessions often include grounding techniques and mindfulness elements (such as noticing bodily sensations). When paired with formal mindfulness training, clients gain a fuller toolkit for managing distress and cultivating present-moment awareness.
This synergy is particularly beneficial for clients struggling with anxiety, stress, or emotional dysregulation.
ART and Somatic Therapies
ART inherently works with the body’s responses — including sensations, muscle tension, and nervous system reactions. For clients who already benefit from somatic experiencing or body-centered therapies, ART can deepen the healing by unlocking body-stored memories in a safe and structured way.
Combining ART with somatic work may be especially effective for trauma survivors whose symptoms include chronic pain, sleep disturbances, or dissociation. Therapists can use ART to reduce symptom intensity and somatic techniques to help the client integrate and anchor the shifts.
ART and Schema Therapy
Schema therapy targets deeply ingrained beliefs formed in childhood. Many of these beliefs — like “I’m not good enough” or “People can’t be trusted” — are emotionally charged and hard to shift through talk therapy alone.
ART can help clients emotionally resolve the memories that fuel these schemas, making them more malleable. Once the emotional intensity is reduced, schema techniques like imagery rescripting and limited reparenting can take hold more effectively.
When Integration May Not Be the Best Fit
While ART can complement many modalities, there are times when integration may not be ideal. Some clients benefit most from brief, focused ART sessions without additional narrative or cognitive work — especially those in acute crisis or with severe PTSD.
Others may need to build foundational trust and emotional safety before diving into memory work. In those cases, establishing rapport through a relational or attachment-based model may be the priority before ART is introduced.
Additionally, integration should never be forced. The client’s readiness, goals, and preferences should always guide the therapeutic direction.
Choosing the Right Therapist
If you're curious about combining ART with other forms of therapy, it’s important to find a clinician trained in both ART and the modalities you’re interested in.
A therapist who understands the nuances of integration can tailor sessions to your unique needs, offering ART when needed and drawing from other models when it’s time to explore beliefs, relationships, or internal patterns.
Ask potential therapists about their experience with integration, how they determine which tools to use, and what you can expect from the process. A flexible, client-centered approach is key.
Is This Approach Right for You?
Blending ART with other therapeutic modalities isn’t for everyone, but for many clients, it offers a powerful pathway to holistic healing. If you've tried traditional talk therapy and still feel stuck, or if you want faster relief from emotional distress while deepening your insight and resilience, ART integration may be a good fit.
Remember: therapy isn’t about choosing one “perfect” approach — it’s about finding what works for you. Combining modalities can give you more entry points for healing and more tools for building the life you want.
Ready to take the next step?
If you're interested in working with a therapist who integrates ART with other powerful approaches, click here to complete my intake form and schedule a consultation. Let’s explore what healing could look like for you.
Peer-Reviewed Sources
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Kip, K. E., D'Aoust, R. F., Hernandez, D. F., Taylor, J., Girling, S. A., & Diamond, D. M. (2020). Evaluation of Accelerated Resolution Therapy for treatment of pain secondary to symptoms of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. Pain Medicine, 21(5), 862–873. https://doi.org/10.1093/pm/pnz260
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