Accelerated Resolution Therapy and How it Helped Me.

"ART incorporates a combination of techniques used in many other traditional psychotherapies. ART works directly to reprogram the way in which distressing memories and images are stored in the brain so that they no longer trigger strong physical and emotional reactions. ART accomplishes this through the use of rapid eye movements similar to eye movements that occur during dreaming. Although techniques similar to these are used in other types of therapies, ART’s very specific and directive approach can achieve rapid recovery from symptoms and reactions that may have been present for many years" (The Rosenzweig Center for Rapid Recovery, 2016).

I was very skeptic when I first heard about Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART). I was introduced to it by my social worker from my four-week therapy program through Peter Lougheed Hospital. My first opinion on mental processing my childhood/adolescent trauma in my head in various "scenes", while following a light or object from left to right with my eyes seemed complicated with how full and foggy my brain was. Multitasking was no longer a skill I could do, and I have an educator background. Years of building up a work ethic and motivation was just disappearing in front of me, but a glimpse of hope came from the success rate. "So far studies are indicating that clients will feel relief from their symptoms within 1 to 5 sessions" (The Rosenzweig Center for Rapid Recovery, 2016).

I attended my appointment and during the session and it felt like it was the longest session I've ever been in. However, as soon as it was finished it felt like ten minutes. It had to have been one of the weirdest feelings I have ever experienced. It was two and a half hours.

Before my ART session, I had previously spent three days in the Crisis Stabilization Unit at Rocky View Hospital in the first week of November 2021 and was discharged to the Day Hospital program at Peter Lougheed Hospital. Experiencing pain from the Endometriosis every, single, day, emotional abuse from relatives for near enough two entire years on top of childhood trauma was enough to send me over the edge. You can try your hardest to be resilient until your physical state starts to reflect your mental state. I was experiencing seizures so often because my central nervous system would feel like it was under attack.

In the past four weeks I learned that it doesn't matter how old you are, you are always capable of reprocessing your brain. Your perspective on your traumatic experiences can be turned from unbearable pain into acceptance in the time it takes to fill a cavity at the dentist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP7dx03arxI

The ART of Rapid Recovery | Laney Rosenzweig | TEDxSpringfield

I remember in the mist of planning Drake and I's wedding and all the toxic, manipulation was going on within my family, my friends were over for a girls night. The person who started the game was the person in the group who had "their lives together the most" and everyone voted me. I commend myself for travelling, going to college, and finding the love of my life and getting married already in my short life time but I was forced to mature fast. Although I was happy, there was still something holding me back from growing into the person I was meant to be, and that was manipulation guilt. I was guilty for things I shouldn't have been, but with ART I am able to see that now.

There is no need to feel guilty for asking for help on creating boundaries with people you thought you once could trust and being assertive with your wants and needs. I needed some serious intervention with cognitive behavioural therapy, dialectal behavioural therapy, mindfulness, and maintaining wellness classes and I am sure glad I did. Do I feel ashamed for it? If I'm being honest, kind of. That's because of the stigma behind mental health but EVERYONE goes through shit. Let's go through it together and put a stop behind the "embarrassing" feeling by asking for help. Success doesn't stop the trials and tribulations of life. Demi Lovato struggles with Bipolar disorder, Chrissy Teigen suffered with postpartum depression, Rio Ferdinand, Robin Williams, the list goes on.

Beyond Silence, a Be Vocal: Speak Up for Mental Health film

Please take the time to watch the documentary in the clickable box above. This documentary really helped me not be ashamed of my mental health, and hope it inspires whoever it needs to, to reach out for help.

Thank you to the staff at the CSU in Rocky View Hospital and Day Hospital program online through Peter Lougheed. Life serves a whole new purpose now.

With love,

Sarah