EMDR Intensives

Perhaps you are needing help dealing with trauma – right now – and don’t want to wait and spend months in the traditional, weekly model, of therapy to feel better? Perhaps your schedule just doesn’t allow for the weekly interruption of time spent ​both in therapy, and on self-care following appointments?
If so, our EMDR Intensive may be the best choice for you.

Who can benefit from an Intensive?

• If you want therapy, but weekly sessions sounds more overwhelming than supportive. For many people the weekly model of traditional therapy doesn’t fit into their actual lives.
• If you are motivated for change and just ready to work through something.
• If you have been avoiding addressing an upsetting experience from the past but you know it’s affecting your life, your happiness, and maybe your relationships.
• If you have experienced relationship trauma, from childhood or adulthood or both – and you want to work through it to relate differently or stop being in pain.
• If you experience anxiety or depression and believe it’s connected to something in your past, either recent or distant past.
• If you have experienced an incident such as a car accident, assault, natural disaster or witnessed violence or an overwhelming experience that is causing you distress.
• If you have been through something overwhelming and you are experiencing nightmares, flashbacks, and set backs.
• If you are frequently “triggered” and have over-reactions (including numb reactions) and would like to change that somehow because it’s interfering in your life.
• If you are struggling after a year plus of Covid, and noticing changes in yourself like losing parts of who you are and wanting to be more fully yourself.
• If you have been to therapy, and have talked through the difficult parts of your life, and you really don’t feel much better.
• If you are a health professional, therapist or caregiver of some kind and recognize you have symptoms of trauma. Give yourself a turn.

What are the benefits of an EMDR Intensive?

• You may find relief and reach your goals sooner than weekly or every other week appointment.
• Relief from distressing thoughts, distressing feelings and distressing body sensations associated with trauma.
• Relief from nightmares or flashbacks, or feeling jumpy and reactive after past trauma.
• Getting triggered less often, less intensely, and in some appropriate cases not at all.
• Feeling your capacity to make decisions, to even recognize choices that you didn’t see before.
• Increasing confidence and feeling empowered.
• The possibility of a restored relationship with yourself. Which often leads to healthier relationships with family and friends and colleagues.
• You can save time and money overall.
• You can use EMDR as an adjunct therapy to couples therapy you might be doing, or work with a primary talk therapist.

When an EMDR Intensive is not recommended:

• If you have been diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder
• If you are currently chemically addicted
• If you have attempted suicide in the last year
• If the primary concern is OCD that is not trauma related
• If your schedule won’t allow time off after the intensive. This time period is essential for full healing, recovery and integration of the therapy process.
• If your therapist assesses that EMDR Therapy is not the best modality of treatment, or that this is not a safe time with enough stabilization and support for you to benefit from an Intensive at this time.

**Having complex trauma or trauma during childhood does not rule you out of an EMDR Intensive. It does mean you will likely benefit from a few of them, at your own pace with support over time. This is actually an effective treatment approach, with an experienced and highly skilled therapist in complex trauma, EMDR Therapy, and Intensives.

What to expect in the EMDR Intensives

The EMDR Intensives consists of three parts: An Assessment Appointment, an Intensive Processing Session, and a Follow up Appointment.

• The Intensive Program begins with an Assessment Appointment a few days prior to the Intensive Processing Session. This appointment time is used to review intake paperwork and assessments, discuss the concerns bringing you to treatment, address your questions and identify any negative belief systems that may have reinforced the old patterns of thinking and feeling.
• Intensive Processing Sessions are available either half-day and full day formats. The half-day appointment is typically from 9:00am-1:00pm, while the full-day format is 9:00am-5:00pm with an hour break for lunch. Your Intensive Processing Session begins by developing resources to increase your sense of calm, security, and control to keep you in your window of tolerance. The initial 45-60 minutes will be spent creating these resources to support you both in and following your Intensive.  Reprocessing the trauma with EMDR will last for 2.5 to 3 hours in the half-day format, and 4.5 to 5 hours in the full day format, with breaks for self-care as needed. The remaining 15-30 minutes are spent closing the session and assessing for additional needs.
• ​The Intensives concludes with a 90 minute follow up appointment the week after your processing session. Additional EMDR therapy appointments may be necessary to achieve your treatment goals.

Note: additional sessions beyond the Follow-up Appointment are not included in the Intensive  fee; recommendations are individualized based on your specific needs. In complex cases, especially with multiple traumatic events, additional intensive work will be recommended.