By Danielle A Slee, LPC

​ART (Accelerated Resolution Therapy) is a fairly new evidence-based approach to trauma informed care that a lot of people haven’t heard about. Not to be confused with Art Therapy, ART is more similar to therapy methods like EDMR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). One of the biggest complaints with EMDR is that a client can feel emotionally flooded due to dealing with multiple traumas at the same time; Laney Rosenzweig, the creator of ART, wanted to find a way to help clients with this problem.

Becoming a licensed professional counselor is not an easy process. Congrats to these four for doing it over the last several months! Read on to see what their journey entailed.

Wow, hard to believe but April 2024 marks the ten year anniversary of the formation of our practice! The journey into entrepreneurship and mental health care has been wild, but it's wonderful to reflect on the growth and success that our team has encountered along the way. 

Anxiety disorders are very common in our culture. The fast pace of life, multiple roles that we play, and pressure to keep up with multiple demands at the same time can easily result in a diagnosable anxiety disorder.  The most common anxiety diagnosis is called generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which includes chronic worry about a variety of different topics, feeling on-edge and restless, feeling tense and having trouble relaxing. You also might notice sleep and appetite disturbances, and that your thoughts are sped up with GAD. ​

Depression is sometimes perceived as a character flaw, being overly emotional, or just having a bad day. It's not. It's a real condition with treatment options, and real consequences when untreated. ​

EMDR is a therapeutic modality that stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It was developed by a therapist named Francine Shapiro in in 1989, when she noticed a healing effect from side to side eye movements for anxiety and mental distress. The approach has evolved in many ways since that time. I recently attended a 3-day EMDR training to learn how to use this modality with my clients, and I am so excited to share it, especially for those individuals with either complex or single-incident trauma in their history.  Complex trauma involves repeated exposure to abuse, neglect, life-threatening or terrifying situations. Single incident trauma, in contrast, occurs as the result of a one time traumatic event. EMDR is helpful for all types of trauma.

Let's give anxiety some consideration today. You've likely experienced it over and over. You may have heard about certain types of anxiety like phobias and panic attacks, or diagnoses like Generalized Anxiety Disorder or Panic Disorder. There are lots of levels and experiences of anxiety, and sometimes even different definitions of anxiety from person to person. Anxiety is essentially worrying, feeling afraid, overthinking, and sometime panicking.

The common thread is that anxiety exists and is real for all of us, because it stems from an innate human emotion...Fear.

​I regularly encourage clients to develop a "self-care" plan as a way to manage the challenges and difficulties that life regularly presents to each of us. Self-care can be anything that provides a sense of ease and comfort, and varies depending on each individual. Sometimes we identify things like exercise, meditation, joining social groups, reading, watching movies, aromatherapy, hiking.

Have you ever wondered whether you or a loved one has post traumatic stress disorder? While an assessment by a trained mental health professional or doctor is required to diagnose any mental health condition, I'd like to share a few tools that can help you sort out your own experiences and learn more.