Accelerated Resolution Therapy for Attachment Issues in Relationships

Relationships
Written By Laura Geftman

Understanding Attachment Issues

Attachment theory explains how early interactions with caregivers shape our relational patterns throughout life. Secure attachment fosters trust, emotional regulation, and healthy intimacy, while insecure attachment—anxious, avoidant, or disorganized—can lead to difficulties in forming and maintaining relationships.

Attachment issues may manifest as fear of abandonment, excessive clinginess, emotional withdrawal, difficulty trusting partners, or heightened sensitivity to conflict. These patterns can hinder relational satisfaction and perpetuate cycles of anxiety or conflict.

ART addresses the root of these patterns by helping clients process attachment-related trauma and reframe maladaptive beliefs that maintain insecurity.

How Attachment Issues Affect Relationships

Attachment issues can create persistent relational challenges:

  • Fear of abandonment or rejection: Individuals may experience intense anxiety about losing a partner or being unloved.

  • Difficulty with intimacy: Avoidant attachment may cause withdrawal or emotional detachment.

  • Overdependence or hypervigilance: Anxious attachment can lead to overanalyzing interactions or seeking constant reassurance.

  • Conflict escalation: Attachment-related fears may intensify misunderstandings or disagreements.

These patterns can be deeply ingrained, often requiring targeted intervention to break cycles of relational distress. ART provides a structured, effective approach to heal attachment wounds and foster healthier connections.

What is Accelerated Resolution Therapy?

Accelerated Resolution Therapy is a brief, evidence-based psychotherapy designed to help individuals process traumatic or emotionally charged memories quickly. Through guided eye movements and imagery rescripting, ART allows clients to revisit distressing experiences safely while reprocessing emotional responses and reframing beliefs.

For attachment issues, ART can:

  • Reduce the emotional intensity of past relational trauma

  • Reframe self-critical thoughts and maladaptive beliefs

  • Promote emotional regulation and resilience

  • Enhance relational confidence and intimacy

How ART Addresses Attachment Trauma

ART works by targeting both the emotional and cognitive aspects of attachment-related difficulties:

  • Processing unresolved emotions: ART enables individuals to release fear, shame, anger, or sadness tied to past attachment experiences.

  • Reframing negative beliefs: Self-blame, worthlessness, or fear-driven expectations are replaced with adaptive, healthier perspectives.

  • Regulating the nervous system: ART helps reduce hyperarousal and physiological stress responses that perpetuate anxiety in relationships.

  • Encouraging adaptive relational behaviors: ART supports assertiveness, trust, emotional openness, and boundary-setting.

By integrating these approaches, ART facilitates meaningful healing and long-term improvements in relational functioning.

Imagery Rescripting for Attachment Memories

A central technique in ART is imagery rescripting, allowing clients to revisit emotionally charged attachment experiences safely.

Through guided eye movements and visualization, ART can:

  • Reduce emotional intensity associated with early attachment trauma

  • Promote self-compassion and understanding of relational patterns

  • Reframe harmful beliefs and assumptions about self-worth or trust

  • Encourage confidence and security in present and future relationships

By transforming these memories, ART helps clients break maladaptive cycles and form healthier relational patterns.

Enhancing Emotional Regulation and Trust

Attachment-related difficulties often involve heightened emotional reactivity. ART supports emotional regulation by:

  • Decreasing fear and anxiety in relational contexts

  • Reducing overreactive or avoidant responses

  • Strengthening confidence in expressing emotions and needs

  • Encouraging secure and balanced interactions with partners

Clients often report improved trust, greater intimacy, and reduced fear of rejection after ART sessions.

Rebuilding Self-Esteem and Relational Confidence

Insecure attachment can undermine self-esteem, making individuals feel unworthy of love or support. ART promotes self-worth and confidence by:

  • Releasing internalized negative messages

  • Cultivating self-compassion and self-acceptance

  • Encouraging autonomy and healthy boundary-setting

  • Supporting emotional resilience in relationships

These changes enable clients to engage in relationships with a sense of safety, clarity, and confidence.

ART Compared to Traditional Therapy

While traditional talk therapy can help address attachment issues, ART offers unique advantages:

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

  • Direct focus on attachment trauma and relational patterns

  • Integration of cognitive, emotional, and physiological processing

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

ART is particularly effective for individuals struggling with persistent attachment-related anxiety, conflict, or maladaptive patterns.

Who Can Benefit from ART

ART is suitable for individuals experiencing relational difficulties related to attachment, particularly those who:

  • Struggle with fear of abandonment, mistrust, or intimacy issues

  • Experience hypervigilance or emotional withdrawal in relationships

  • Seek rapid, evidence-based relief without medication

  • Want to break longstanding cycles of relational distress

By addressing underlying attachment trauma, ART promotes secure, resilient, and fulfilling relationships.

What to Expect in an ART Session

During an ART session, a therapist guides clients through sets of eye movements while focusing on attachment-related memories or emotional patterns.

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

Long-Term Benefits

ART provides lasting benefits for individuals with attachment issues:

  • Reduced anxiety and emotional reactivity in relationships

  • Improved ability to trust and form emotional bonds

  • Enhanced self-esteem and relational confidence

  • Stronger emotional regulation and adaptive coping

  • Increased satisfaction and stability in relationships

By addressing both emotional and physiological dimensions, ART fosters long-term relational health and personal growth.

Taking the First Step

Attachment difficulties can affect every aspect of relational life, but healing is possible. Accelerated Resolution Therapy offers a rapid, evidence-based approach to help individuals process attachment trauma, release negative patterns, and build secure, fulfilling relationships.

If you struggle with fear, mistrust, or insecurity in relationships, ART can guide you toward emotional balance, confidence, and healthier connections.

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.

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

  • Bowlby, J. (1988). A Secure Base: Parent-Child Attachment and Healthy Human Development. Basic Books.

  • Cassidy, J., & Shaver, P. R. (2016). Handbook of Attachment: Theory, Research, and Clinical Applications.Guilford Press.

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

Laura Geftman
Next

Using ART to Release Trauma from Toxic Relationships