I grew up in a family of helpers. We took in foster kids, and even as a very young child, I remember this one particular woman who visited our home every month to check in on them. I always wondered about this kind-hearted but serious-minded woman. She wanted to know if the kids were adjusting well, eating right, and if they needed anything else to thrive while they stayed in our care.

I was beyond elated to learn that what this woman did had a name. She was a helper, an advocate, the embodiment of a safe refuge for children who didn’t have a voice—she was a social worker. Thanks to her visits, I immediately knew what I wanted to do with my life. I was meant to be one of the helpers. Social work chose me at that moment, and I answered the call as an adult, becoming a certified mental health therapist.

For me, therapy is an incredibly important part of living well because it can help people address the issues they’re most challenged by. I love watching my clients connect the dots on issues they’ve struggled with and how they work to overcome them. There’s something to be said when a person evolves from simply surviving to thriving!

Today, I work with Generation X and Millennials struggling with trauma and anxiety. I’m passionate about this population of individuals for several reasons. Millennials are the first generation who have insisted on discussing mental health and have brought mental health issues to the forefront of our society, keeping this much-needed conversation going.

The conversations Generation X and Millennials have about their mental health vary but are essentially the same. Both are open about what they struggle with on a day-to-day basis—their families, careers, hopes and dreams, and secret fears of not accomplishing them. Their conversations are incredibly valuable and necessary, and for the Millennials, in particular, they don’t shy away from addressing the things that leave them feeling most vulnerable. They recognize the value in looking squarely at the most uncomfortable topics so they can be resolved or managed well.

Both groups talk about trauma and anxiety because they recognize how these are barriers to accessing their full potential. They long to enjoy fulfilling lives, but oftentimes, my clients are stuck in cycles of overthinking, which is a space I am well familiar with because I’ve spent time living there myself. My clients are taught the skills necessary to get off the figurative ledge. They go from catastrophizing and overthinking to actually looking for evidence they can use to challenge their negative thinking.

But as candid as some clients are, there are those for whom the trauma is too painful or shameful to divulge. These individuals may hold onto their secrets tightly, fearing judgment or misunderstanding, and as a result, they may miss out on the healing opportunities available to them. Throughout my multi-decade career, I’ve learned about and practiced many different therapeutic techniques and modalities, and by far, the one that best meets the needs of clients like this, is Accelerated Resolution Therapy, otherwise known as ART.

ART teaches people how to think about events from their lives in a new way, resulting in quick relief from anxiety and trauma. It’s a form of short-term psychotherapy, and it doesn’t need long, drawn-out sessions. It also doesn’t require sharing deep and personal information if you don’t want to. The therapeutic process can be very self-protective when you don’t have to go into total depth and disclosure of your experience.

This innovative approach enables you to remain in your self-protective zone while simultaneously finding relief from your pain and the accompanying images. Ironically, it also serves as a defensive strategy for the ART clinician. For the therapist, this method reduces the likelihood of experiencing secondary or vicarious trauma. While clinicians are trained to manage difficult, traumatic, or painful narratives, the human element is undeniably present, and clinicians can struggle with these emotions at times. Providing relief in a manner that protects both the client and the clinician is truly remarkable.

ART focuses on resolving painful emotions and/or traumatic memories by using eye movements that mimic REM sleep. Your therapist guides the eye movements as you watch their hand move back and forth. These eye movements serve the purpose of something called cognitive restructuring around experiences. That means the memory remains intact, but the thoughts and feelings about the memory get sorted through and reorganized so they feel less traumatic or anxiety-provoking.

Another aspect of ART is using visualization and guided imagery to help the client process difficult emotions and physical feelings. These techniques are beneficial as the goal is to keep you from reliving traumatic experiences. There’s nothing like the freedom of leaving the past in the past.

ART helps you to heal by resolving anxiety and trauma in more efficient and less injurious ways. You are always in control during these sessions while your therapist serves as your guide and facilitator through the process. With an individualized relationship between you and your therapist, it’s so much easier to build a deeper understanding of how you’re affected by anxiety or trauma. This can lead to a faster resolution of your pain, giving you a chance to live your best life and have peace of mind in the process. 

Taking part in ART is a life-changing opportunity to create the life you’ve always dreamed of. It might sound too good to be true, but this year I encourage you to explore this as an option if you desire a completely different experience in therapy. After all, no one wants to be in therapy forever. Remember, transformation is never impossible when you dare to embrace what’s possible.

Kimberly Yates, LCSW-R is the founder and owner of Yates Psychotherapy in Hartsdale, New York. Kimberly’s social work career spans 29 years of dedicated work in settings such as the non-profit sector, NYC hospital settings, and private and public schools in New York. In addition, she has also been in private practice for the last 15 years, where she specializes in anxiety and trauma in Generation X and Millennial clients.

She loves using Accelerated Resolution Therapy to get her clients moving from surviving to thriving. Kimberly is a new author who released Unmasking Anxiety: Thought Process Journal for Anxiety Relief in June of 2024. Since then, she has released four other books. Kimberly resides in Westchester County and has a trained pet therapy dog who loves working with anxious children. Her Instagram handle is: k_yatestherapy and her website is: www.yatespsychotherapy.com.