When a loved one dies, it messes you up. It is not only about sadness-it is about the emptiness and confusion and the waves of emotion that strike, when you have the least expectations of them. To some people, grief dissipates with time. To some, it follows like a depression. A question that people want to know is what is an effective way of healing when the pain is not eased.
That is where A.R.T., or Accelerated Resolution Therapy, comes in. It is an advanced approach that allows people to heal their inner emotional wounds, such as grief and loss. In this article, we will see what ART is and how it relieves the feelings of grief and loss.
What Is ART?
ART is a new form of psychotherapy. It is fast, well-planned, and geared toward helping individuals get rid of trauma and emotional distress. Having been initially created to deal with PTSD, ART has been reported to display miraculous outcomes in the realm of anxiety, depression, and grief.
In contrast to standard talk therapy, ART involves a combination of tools such as guided imagery, memory reconsolidation, and eye movement recording (more accustomed to EMDR). The brain reprocesses painful memories to feel relieved.
In simple words, you may no longer forget the loss, but the pain with the memory fades.
How ART Works with Grief
Grief does not simply refer to a loss. It can be most psychologically intense with guilt, regret, anger, and even trauma, particularly when the loss is abrupt or complicated.
During ART sessions, you are not required to dwell on all the aspects of your loss by incessant talking. Rather, your therapist will make you go through certain visualizations and eye movements, assist your brain in “numbing out” the intense emotional load attached to the memory.
As another example, a grieving individual may feel guilty because he or she feels that they did not do enough to save the parent. ART allows them to redefine that memory, reduce the emotional pain, and find a path toward peace, without losing the memory and connection to the loved one.
Why ART May Work with Grief – The Reason
Grief is highly individualistic, and everyone has a different experience. However, there are a few reasons ART may prove a very effective tool:
- It’s fast: Certain individuals feel relieved just after 1 to 5 sessions. It is much faster than many traditional procedures.
- It’s focused: ART focuses on a specific feeling or memory that is impeding you.
- It’s gentle: Speaking every detail is not needed. This is useful to people who cannot talk too painfully.
Above all, ART enables your brain to reconsider memories, without rewriting the story. You still respect the person you lost, but the memory should not ruin your everyday life anymore.
Who May Take Advantage of ART on Grief?
Grief is deeply personal, and no two people experience it the same way. But ART can be a powerful tool for several reasons:
- People with experience of traumatic or sudden loss
- People with the problem of survivor’s guilt or internal unwarranted feelings
- A person who needs to tie up some loose ends and cannot do it by himself/ herself
- It is also effective for children and adolescents, particularly when they are not able to express their feelings through words.
Bottom Line
Grief will never go away, but it does not have to define your whole life. The Accelerated Resolution Therapy is an easy, rapid, evidence-based process of getting rid of crippling grief, finding peace, and starting to live again.
Whether you are bearing the burden of your loss and it is just too much of a burden to bear alone, understand that healing is achievable, and ART may be your pathway to take the next step.
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