The emergence of accelerated resolution therapy for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder: A review and new subgroup analyses

Introduction: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic, disabling psychiatric disorder prevalent among civilian and military personnel in the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK). Current trauma-focused psychotherapies may place high emotional demands and lengthy treatment commitment that may hinder successful treatment completion for some patients. Accelerated resolution therapy (ART) is an emerging trauma-focused psychotherapy that is briefer than most current treatments. Materials and Methods: This review describes the ART clinical protocol and theoretical underpinnings, its relationship to current treatments and formal established treatment guidelines and empirical research data. Also presented are new subgroup data for the use of ART among clients with PTSD and concomitant traumatic brain injury (TBI), and among US Special Operations Forces (SOF) personnel with extensive combat-related trauma exposure. Treatment response was defined as ≥10-point reduction on the 17-item PCL-M (PTSD Checklist). Results: In subgroup analyses, mean treatment with ART consisted of approximately four sessions. Among 202 US service members/veterans, intention-to-treat response rates (assuming no response for non-completers) by TBI status were as follows: no TBI (58.1%, n = 105), mild TBI (60.4%, n = 48), moderate/severe TBI (46.9%, n = 49). Among 141 US service members/veterans, intention-to-treat response rates by SOF status were as follows: non-SOF (54.3%, n = 116), SOF (60.0%, n = 25). Conclusion: The ART protocol aligns closely with established first-line trauma-focused psychotherapies and clinical guidelines. It appears to provide frequent clinical relief of symptoms of PTSD in an average of four sessions among military personnel with challenging clinical presentations, including concomitant TBI and extensive operational combat-related trauma.