Overcoming Trauma Quickly
Trauma can have long lasting impacts on mental health, often requiring years of therapy to recover from. However, specialized treatments like EMDR and ART showed big promises in significantly reducing trauma symptoms within just a few focused therapy sessions. Thus, by directly targeting distressing memories and activating the brain’s natural healing processes, these rapid therapies may deliver hope to those suffering from post-traumatic stress.
Reducing Trauma Symptoms in Short Sessions
Dealing with trauma can take years for some. However, techniques like eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy and accelerated resolution therapy (ART) enable people to start reducing symptoms in just a few sessions. These treatments work by directly targeting disturbing memories and activating the brain’s natural healing processes.
EMDR involves following the therapist’s fingers with your eyes while thinking about upsetting memories. This activates both sides of the brain at once, helping to resolve the emotions associated with the trauma. In a study, 80% of single-trauma victims no longer met PTSD criteria after just three sessions of EMDR.
How ART Works
ART similarly focuses people’s attention on traumatic memories while activating both hemispheres of the brain. The patient visualizes two sequential images — a safe place and the disturbing memory. After repeating this several times, the intensity of the memory typically fades.
Janice underwent ART to overcome a car crash she had witnessed. After just three sessions, she reported that:”The images no longer come into my mind unbidden. I feel much calmer and like myself again.”
Therapists Guide the Process
While these therapies can quicken recovery, a therapist’s guidance is crucial. They help patients understand how trauma affects the body and brain, prepare them for the process and interpret their experiences.
The therapist also monitors patients’ wellbeing during and after the sessions, watching for possible negative reactions. Signs that a client may need more support include difficulty sleeping, losing focus at work and withdrawing from others.
Trauma Recovery is Possible
For many survivors, thoughts of the trauma can dominate daily life for years. However, specialized therapies show that lasting relief is achievable, often within a few focused sessions. With a skilled therapist to monitor one’s progress and needs, trauma no longer has to define one’s existence. Recovery – and ultimately resilience – is within reach.
While traditional therapy can certainly help trauma survivors heal over time, specialized rapid therapies offer an alternative approach for those seeking faster relief from debilitating symptoms. With a skilled therapist to guide the process and monitor patients’ progress and needs, these accelerated treatments show that overcoming even severe trauma may be achievable within a concentrated period of focused work. For many people who have been suffering for years under the weight of trauma, specialized rapid therapies signify a light at the end of the tunnel – a path forward towards lasting recovery and a restored sense of self. With the right treatment and dedicated effort, overcoming trauma may be faster than once seemed possible.
