Using Art Therapy to Treat PTSD
ART can help you problem solve, improve your relationship with yourself and others, and gain insight into the difficult issues that you’re working through. It’s important to know that there is no right or wrong way to make art.
During the interactive portion of ART, the therapist helps you reduce any physiological distress that occurs during visualizing a traumatic memory. They do this by asking you to pause your recall processing and focus on bodily sensations.
What is ART?
ART is an accelerated form of psychotherapy that has been shown to be effective in treating PTSD. It was created in 2008 by Laney Rosenzweig, a family and marriage therapist who was trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). ART combines several evidence-based techniques to create a new treatment that is believed to work more quickly than other methods of trauma therapy.
During ART sessions, individuals may experience intense physical and emotional reactions while processing their traumatic memories. These responses are intended to help them overcome negative beliefs and emotions that are associated with their traumatic images or experiences, leading to reduced distressing symptoms.
ART sessions are highly interactive and involve the use of body scans to track how people respond. If a client feels their breath quicken or their chest tighten during visualization, the therapist will ask them to focus on their breathing until they feel relaxed again. This process helps clients remain in control during the session and prevents them from becoming overwhelmed.
How does ART differ from EMDR?
While both ART and EMDR use bilateral stimulation to help reprocess painful memories, ART differs from EMDR in several ways. ART uses specific directive guidelines and techniques to guide the treatment process while EMDR follows a more general set of treatment steps.
ART is more flexible and may be a better fit for introverts or individuals who feel uncomfortable sharing details of traumatic experiences in therapy sessions. While therapists do encourage clients to recall and visualize traumatic events, they do not require that they tell the story in detail or relive the trauma.
During interactive ART sessions, the therapist guides you to replace distressing imagery with visualizations that inspire positive emotion. The therapist also works to reduce any physiological reactions that you might experience while processing your memory using CBT techniques like in vivo exposure and imagery rescripting. ART is generally shorter in duration than EMDR and research shows that people who undergo ART therapy experience relief from PTSD symptoms after one to five one-hour sessions, on average.
What are the benefits of ART?
ART can be effective in treating a wide variety of conditions, including trauma-related problems like PTSD and other anxiety disorders. It can also help with co-occurring conditions like depression and neuropathic pain. Research shows that ART can be particularly helpful for people who struggle with difficulty focusing on their trauma memories or finding a sense of resolution.
During an ART session, the client will be guided to visualize a different resolution to their trauma through a process called imagery restructuring. This can help to lessen the impact of distressing memories and replace them with positive images that reduce symptoms of PTSD.
ART can be beneficial for people who are unable to commit to regular EMDR sessions because of scheduling or financial considerations. However, it may not be appropriate for people with eye or brain health concerns who are unable to follow the instructions involved in ART therapy. It’s also important to consider a therapist’s experience and training in ART therapy before choosing this method of treatment.
What are the drawbacks of ART?
As with most therapies, ART is not without its limitations. Because it is a newer therapy, more research on its benefits and side effects is needed. While it is safe to use for most people with PTSD, it may not be appropriate for everyone. If you have a severe history of trauma, or you are experiencing severe depression, anxiety, or a personality disorder, it’s best to seek out other treatments before considering ART.
Despite these issues, the overwhelming evidence backing up ART makes it a promising treatment for most clients with PTSD. It’s ability to reduce traumatic memories’ impact within one to five sessions is impressive, especially when compared to other frontline therapies that require weeks or months of treatment. Blending the introspective journey of Gestalt therapy and CBT’s pattern alteration, ART is a versatile tool that has impressive results. 77% of multiple trauma victims report freedom from PTSD symptoms after engaging in ART with an experienced therapist.