Neurophysiological Mechanisms of Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)

Status unconfirmed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Depressive Symptoms, Stress Disorder, Acute, Prolonged Grief Disorder, Alcohol Abuse, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

In brief

In brief, ART is an innovative "mind-body" (body-centric) psychotherapy that makes use of established core components of trauma-focused therapy including imaginal exposure and imagery rescripting to promote memory reconsolidation, all facilitated as the patient is directed by the therapist to perform sets of lateral left-right eye movements similar to rapid eye movements (REM). The investigators propose to investigate how ART may directly influence heart rate variability (HRV), EEG power spectral densities, and sleep architecture in three aims. At the broadest level, the investigators postulate that both within individual ART sessions, and across the full course of treatment (e.g. up to 4 sessions), ART results in a profound shift from sympathetic (arousal) to parasympathetic (rest) nervous system balance, and that this shift can be reliably measured by neurophysiological assessment using electrocardiogram (ECG) and electroencephalogram (EEG) measurement.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT04121884

Run by

University of South Florida

People needed

40

Starts

2019-11-01

Expected to finish

2020-08-31

Last updated by the study team

2019-11-04

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Score of > 33 on the 20-item DSM-V PTSD Checklist (PCL-V) or
• Depression: Score of > 16 on the 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Depression Scale or
• Acute stress disorder: Presence of criterions A-E on the 19-item Acute Stress Disorder Scale or
• Complicated grief: Score of > 25 on the 19-item Inventory of Complicated Grief or
• Alcohol abuse: Score of > 10 on 10-item Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and
• Corroboration of the above symptomatology through verification of the corresponding subscale of the 125-item Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire (PDSQ).

You may not qualify if…

• Currently engaged in another psychotherapy regimen including currently engaged in ART or another eye movement therapy, such as EMDR;
• Have a major psychiatric disorder (e.g. bipolar disorder) deemed likely to interfere with treatment delivery;
• Currently in a formal substance dependence treatment program (alcohol and/or drug) anticipated to interfere with treatment delivery (e.g. through detox and symptoms of physiological withdrawal). All persons recruited for potential study participation will undergo a clinical intake assessment, with completion of ART intake form, by a licensed clinical therapist, to determine study eligibility.

Where it is running

• University of South Florida — Tampa, Florida, United States (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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