ART Might Be the Trauma Treatment Veterans Need to Turn their Lives Around
When I discovered Accelerated Resolution Therapy could process trauma in one to five sessions, it caught my attention immediately. Not because it was a miracle cure, but because of what that timeline means for someone who's been stuck. I know what it's like to sit in therapy talking in circles, unable to break through because your own trauma blocks the path forward. Knowing quickly whether something is working instead of investing months or year can be the difference between giving up and finding your way forward.
Research shows up to 83% of patients drop out of traditional PTSD therapies before their fifth session. Meanwhile, ART has a 94% completion rate among veterans.
I came across Accelerated Resolution Therapy the same way I find most resources I share with our community: scrolling through news stories on our BlueSky account, looking for anything that might help.
I'd never heard of it before, but what caught my attention was the timeline: one to five sessions to process traumatic memories and reduce PTSD symptoms. Traditional therapy can take months or years.
The Merry-Go-Round Problem
If you've been in therapy for trauma, you know the frustration I'm talking about. Sitting there talking in circles, trying to get to some conclusion your therapist is guiding you toward, but not being able to reach it. And it’s not due to a lack of intelligence or insight, and it’s also not because your therapist lacks skill.
I've been there. I knew I wanted to get better and to make progress, but I felt stuck. Then I blamed myself for it, even though it wasn't my fault. It’s your trauma and pain stopping you from getting where you need to go.
That self-blame makes everything worse. You start comparing yourself to other survivors who seem further along in their journey. Seeing them on social media living happily and getting all the things I told myself I wanted but couldn’t get was like torture. There were marriages, first-homes purchased, families started, and more. Each new happy face felt like an indictment of my own ability to move on or forward.
I remember thinking, "Why can't I do this? Why is this taking so long?"
The result is anger, bending to the weight of hopelessness and feeling overwhelmed by the feelings of helplessness. If you’re anything like me, you don’t want to go to therapy anymore when you reach this point. Then you stop going.
What Happens When You Hit That Wall
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Here's what typically happens: We fall through the cracks or quit that therapist and try another, only to run into the same problem. That cycle can lead to worse or potentially deadly mental health episodes. They did for me.
Research shows that up to 83% of patients drop out of traditional evidence-based PTSD therapies before their fifth session. Meanwhile, a 2013 randomized controlled trial found that ART demonstrates a 94% completion rate among veterans with combat-related PTSD.
That difference matters when you're exhausted and losing hope.
Why Speed Matters
ART works differently than traditional talk therapy. You don't have to verbalize the details of your trauma to participate, which is something that a lot of veterans are adverse to because it’s too difficult to go through the traumatic experiences again. The therapy uses eye movements, similar to EMDR, combined with visualization techniques to help your brain reprocess traumatic memories.
The goal is to detach the emotional charge from those memories. You don't have to relive them out loud in order to heal.
For MST survivors who face unique barriers to disclosure, this matters.
But here's what really stuck out to me about that timeline: How quickly a patient would know whether it’s working for them instead of investing months or years before realizing something else might be a better fit.
The Questions This Raises
ART was recognized as an evidence-based treatment by SAMHSA back in 2015. That's nearly a decade ago.
Why aren't more veterans hearing about it?
This post isn’t here to be combative about the VA's pace with new treatments, because I also don’t know the extent of the processes in place to introduce them to veterans. But I do know what it's like to advocate for yourself when what you're being offered isn't working.
I had to do this for my own medication (something that came out at the end of 2022 and saved my life). The VA still doesn't offer it in their formulary. I was in a completely different mental state three days after starting it, and that was after a month of a community care provider going to bat for me.
How many people have fallen through the cracks because something new hasn't been considered or isn’t known about yet?
What You Can Do
If ART sounds like something worth exploring, here's what I want you to know:
Ask your provider about its effectiveness and availability. Ask them to do the research on implementing it as a tool, or request a referral to community care where you can access this treatment if its available in your area.
You have the right to ask for alternatives when what you're being offered isn't working.
One of the driving forces behind starting The Silenced Voices of MST was helping veterans find as many resources and treatment options as possible. I want you to have the same chance at recovery that I did, and I stumbled upon mine accidentally.
A Final Word
There's a quote from Vanilla Sky that spoke to my heart when I wasn't well: "Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around."
When I finally got better, that quote became real for me. I've lived every minute since that morning with it in my mind.
ART could be a chance for many out there that continue to suffer from their trauma.
All anyone needs is a chance to give it their all and see if something works. And if it doesn't work perfectly, take what does work and add it to your toolbox. Leave the rest.
Don't give up on yourself. You deserve to feel better and take your power back.
And remember: even after a significant breakthrough, life won't be perfect. But you'll be equipped to handle life's curveballs instead of being completely bowled over by them.
If you're a higher-functioning veteran who found this helpful, share it with your network. Someone who needs a reason to hope might see it. My goal with sharing resources is to demonstrate how veterans have significantly improved from alternatives and advocate for the VA to implement more treatment options.