Jacksonville counselors become certified in ART, psychotherapy to help those battling trauma

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A group of local counselors wrapped up three days of special training sessions Sunday to help people who have experienced trauma of any kind.

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It’s called Accelerated Resolution Therapy, referred to as ART.

Clients follow a trained therapist’s hand movements with their eyes, a form of bilateral stimulation of the brain.

ART leaders say clients are able to reconsolidate their memories. While they still recall the troubling event, they no longer experience unpleasant physical and emotional symptoms when thinking of it.

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Sandie Northcutt is a licensed mental health counselor in Jacksonville. She works in private practice at Integrated Behavioral Health Services and has worked in the mental health field for 12 years.

Northcutt showed up to her third and final training session of ART in Jacksonville, along with a classroom full of others who were ready to take steps that will help those struggling live healthier lives.

“It’s a great way to help them work through trauma very quickly and efficiently,” Northcutt said.

Northcutt received mental healing through ART on Saturday, another way she’s able to relate to her clients.

“A couple years ago, I had a very traumatic car accident,” Northcutt said. “So, I actually used that in my session. It helped disconnect the anxiety related to driving and to the car accident to where now I can look at the pictures and have no feelings. I’m just very neutral. It’s a story I can tell of something that happened.”

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Action News Jax also spoke with Diego Hernandez.

He’s a licensed clinical psychologist and the former clinical director of ART research at University of South Florida. He led the ART training sessions in Jacksonville over the three days.

“These types of therapies are really a game changer,” Hernandez said.

He said ART was first introduced in 2008 but has continued to be researched in recent years.

“This is one of several modern approaches that actually is focused on how memory is stored,” Hernandez said. “Traumatic and difficult memories are stored in the body very differently. That’s why people have flashbacks and get triggered, but we go after the memory so that you no longer have flashbacks and triggers.”

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Whether you’re suffering from anxiety, depression, phobias, PTSD, grief or any other type of mental health challenge, experts say ART can benefit you.

ART has helped health care workers, soldiers before deployment, police officers and many others across the world.

Northcutt said her husband retired from the military after 24 years, and she has watched PTSD affect the military community very strongly.

“Whenever I went into private practice recently, I noticed that there is a lot of trauma that is hidden in there with other disorders,” Northcutt said.

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She said she wants those struggling to know that help is out there.

“I believe that everybody needs a therapist or life coach,” Northcutt said. “Even therapists have therapists. I think the more that you reach out and ask for help and the more willing that you are to accept it, the better off it can be.”

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ART leaders say most clients report a total or near-total reduction of symptoms in an average of four sessions.

Therapists who complete the session will earn 21.5 CEUs and are immediately certified to use ART in their practice.

CLICK HERE to find an ART therapist near you.

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