New Talk Therapy Shows Promise for PTSD

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New Talk Therapy Shows Promise for PTSD
By RICK NAUERT PHD
Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D.
July 30, 2012

University of South Florida (USF) researchers report that brief treatments with Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) substantially reduces symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

ART is a form of talk therapy that uses back-and-forth eye movements as an individual fluctuates between talking about a traumatic scene, and using the eye movements to help process that information.

In ART, the eye movements are thought to be conducive to sorting out problems quickly through increasing the integration of activities in the left and right sides of the brain. The eye movements also seem to help an individual process information by producing a deep feeling of relaxation.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), PTSD has become an epidemic in the United States. Recent NIH statistics show more than 7.7 million American adults and as many as 31 percent of war veterans suffer from PTSD. They experience mild to extreme symptoms, often with greatly impaired quality of life and physical and psychological functioning.
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