Combining Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) and Internal Family Systems (IFS) in Therapy
When seeking therapy, it’s common to hear about different therapeutic approaches, each offering unique tools for healing. Two increasingly popular methods are Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) and Internal Family Systems (IFS). Each has its own strengths, but when used together, they can create a powerful synergy, helping clients heal from trauma, manage emotions, and gain self-awareness more effectively.
In this article, we’ll explore both ART and IFS, explain how they work, and discuss how their combination can enhance the healing process.
What Is Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)?
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is a therapeutic approach designed to help individuals process traumatic memories and emotional pain quickly and effectively. ART is grounded in the principles of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) but is often faster and more focused. During ART sessions, the therapist guides the client through a series of eye movements while helping them revisit distressing memories in a controlled, safe way.
The magic of ART is in its ability to help clients reimagine traumatic events in a way that reduces emotional intensity. It can help clients shift their relationship to painful memories, so they no longer cause overwhelming distress. The process allows for relief from symptoms such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other trauma-related issues, often in a shorter amount of time than traditional talk therapy.
What is Internal Family Systems (IFS)?
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a therapeutic model that views the mind as made up of various “parts” or subpersonalities. These parts often have their own feelings, beliefs, and motivations. Some parts are wounded from past experiences, while others protect us from further emotional harm.
In IFS, the goal is to help individuals understand and heal these parts, rather than suppress or ignore them. Central to IFS is the concept of the “Self”—an internal core of calm, confidence, and compassion that we all possess. The Self is not a part, but rather the wise and caring leader of the internal system. Therapy focuses on helping clients reconnect with their Self to heal the wounded parts, manage inner conflicts, and achieve emotional balance.
How ART and IFS Work Together
While ART and IFS are different in their techniques and approaches, they complement each other beautifully. Here’s how these methods can enhance one another:
1. Healing Trauma through ART While Understanding the Parts in IFS
ART is highly effective in processing and reimagining traumatic memories, which is often crucial for clients with significant trauma. Meanwhile, IFS helps clients understand how different parts of themselves have responded to trauma. For example, one part might be the “protector” that tries to shield you from painful memories, while another part holds the deep pain of the past.
Using ART, clients can process the raw emotional charge tied to the memory, making it easier to explore the parts related to that trauma through IFS. This reduces the overwhelm that might arise when addressing particularly sensitive parts.
2. Building Trust with the Parts in IFS through ART
In IFS, parts that hold painful memories may be hesitant to open up or trust the process, fearing further emotional distress. ART can help relieve the immediate emotional burden of the memories, allowing these parts to feel safer, making them more willing to engage in IFS therapy.
ART’s ability to desensitize traumatic memories gives clients greater access to their internal world. Without the fear of being overwhelmed by emotions, clients are better able to connect with and listen to the parts of themselves that have been trying to communicate.
3. Accelerating Emotional Relief with ART and Deepening Self-Connection with IFS
ART is often appreciated for its rapid results, offering relief from trauma and emotional pain in a matter of sessions. Once the emotional weight has been lifted through ART, clients can deepen their self-awareness and emotional resilience through the IFS framework.
IFS helps clients identify patterns in their thoughts and feelings, providing a roadmap for continued healing and growth beyond symptom relief. The Self, when strengthened, offers ongoing inner guidance, helping to heal the parts and prevent further emotional distress.
4. Improving Emotional Regulation
One of the key benefits of ART is its capacity to help clients manage their emotional responses more effectively. By reprocessing traumatic memories, clients often feel less reactive and more in control of their emotions.
IFS complements this by helping clients understand where these emotional reactions come from. By working with the protective parts (like the “manager” or “firefighter” roles in IFS), clients can develop more compassionate responses to their emotions and learn to lead from their Self.
5. Resolving Inner Conflicts
ART can help neutralize the emotional charge behind conflicting feelings, which often arise from unresolved trauma. In IFS, these inner conflicts are often between different parts of the self, such as a part that wants to avoid a situation versus one that feels obligated to face it.
Once ART has processed the intense emotions tied to a conflict, IFS can facilitate a clearer and more productive dialogue between these parts, helping the client reach a resolution more easily.
A Holistic Approach to Healing
The combination of ART and IFS provides a holistic approach to healing that addresses both the emotional distress of past experiences and the internal dynamics that shape our present behavior. ART offers quick relief from the emotional weight of trauma, while IFS builds long-term emotional resilience by helping clients understand and heal the different parts of themselves.
Together, these approaches can empower clients to:
Release trauma-related emotional pain.
Foster a compassionate relationship with all parts of themselves.
Enhance emotional regulation and internal harmony.
Develop a strong sense of Self to guide future healing.
Conclusion
If you’re working through trauma or emotional difficulties, the combination of ART and IFS can be a transformative experience. ART helps reduce the emotional intensity of traumatic memories, making it easier to explore and heal the parts of yourself in IFS. By integrating these approaches, therapy becomes not just about symptom relief, but about creating lasting emotional balance, self-compassion, and inner peace.
This powerful combination offers a unique path toward healing, helping you not only feel better but also understand yourself more deeply. If you’re interested in exploring ART and IFS in therapy, talk to your therapist about how these methods can work together to support your healing journey.
