Before and after an ART session: a printable sheet

Before an Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) session, the main jobs are to tell me about your health and medications, confirm how long the session will be, and keep the rest of the day light. Afterward, feeling tired or stirred up is common. In the published ART trials, after-effects such as low mood or poor sleep were uncommon and not serious. This sheet also says when to contact me and when to call 988 or 911 instead.

Before the day

• ☐ Tell me about any eye condition or past eye surgery, migraines, vertigo, heart or breathing problems (including asthma), or a head injury. ART’s developers list these as things to weigh before starting.
• ☐ Tell me about every medication you take. Some, such as anti-anxiety medicines and benzodiazepines, may blunt the response to ART. Please don’t stop or change a medication on your own; talk to your prescriber first.
• ☐ Confirm the session length. ART sessions often run longer than a standard 50-minute appointment, and we agree the length in advance.
• ☐ If you are using insurance, call your plan and ask about any limits on session length. See ART and insurance.
• ☐ Keep the rest of the day light if you can. Try not to book a demanding meeting, a hard conversation or a long drive straight afterward.
• ☐ If it would help, arrange for someone to drive you, or to be around that evening.
• ☐ Nothing to prepare or rehearse. You don’t have to tell me the details of what happened. A word or two about what you want to work on is plenty.

On the day

• ☐ Eat something beforehand and bring water.
• ☐ Wear comfortable clothes. Bring your glasses if you need them to see clearly.
• ☐ No alcohol or recreational drugs before the session.
• ☐ Allow a few minutes spare so you are not arriving in a rush.
• ☐ If we have agreed on a video session: you must be physically in Texas, in a private room, with a charged device and a phone number where I can reach you if the connection drops. For a first course of ART, I generally recommend meeting in person.
• ☐ During the session, if you need a pause, say so.

Right after

• We close each session by checking how you are before you leave. You won’t be sent out mid-process.
• Feeling tired, emotional, quiet or physically wrung out is common. ART can bring up strong feelings and body sensations while you work.
• Sit for a few minutes before you drive. Drink some water and have something to eat.
• There is no homework. You don’t need to practice anything between sessions.

That evening

• Keep it simple and familiar: an easy meal, a walk, a shower, an early night.
• Go easy on alcohol. It can make sleep and mood worse the next day.
• You don’t owe anyone an account of the session. “It went fine, I’m tired” is a complete answer.
• Images or memories may drift up. Notice them, let them pass, and use a grounding exercise if you need one. See grounding techniques.
• If sleep is unsettled, see sleep habits after trauma.

The next few days

Common, and usually passes

• Tiredness, or feeling flat or low for a day or so
• Sleep that is lighter or more broken than usual, or more vivid dreams
• Feeling more on edge or anxious than usual
• Thinking about the session, or old memories coming to mind

Low mood, disturbed sleep, more anxiety and more nightmares were reported in the ART trials, where they were rare and not serious, and the low mood that was reported passed before the next session. The VA/DoD guideline makes the same general point about trauma-focused therapy: symptoms can rise during processing, but the increase is typically temporary and not severe.

Contact me if

• After-effects last more than a few days, or are getting worse rather than easing
• Nightmares or poor sleep keep going
• You are struggling to manage work, home or the people around you
• Something new has come up that you want to talk about before the next session
• You are drinking or using more than usual to cope
• You are thinking of cancelling or stopping. Tell me, so we can talk it through rather than you simply not coming back.

Reach me through the contact page.

Call 988 or 911 if

• You are thinking about suicide or about harming yourself: call or text 988 (veterans: call 988, then press 1)
• You feel you cannot keep yourself safe: call 988, or 911 if you are in immediate danger
• Someone else is in danger, or you have physical symptoms such as chest pain or trouble breathing: call 911

My notes

• Next session date and time: ____________________
• Session length agreed: ____________________
• In person or video: ____________________
• Things to mention next time: ____________________