My Journey to offering Therapy Intensives
How My Own Trauma Work Shaped My Approach
When I first began my own trauma work as a client, therapy looked a little different than it does today. Insurance companies weren’t restricting sessions to the rigid 53-minute model. Add-on codes were still permitted, and it was fairly standard for EMDR sessions to last 90 minutes or more.
That extra time made all the difference.
In those longer sessions, I didn’t have to rush through processing or leave just as we were getting to the heart of something important. There was space to fully drop in, explore, and then come back to the present before walking out the door. For trauma work, that pacing was everything.
Why Longer Sessions Work for Trauma Healing
Trauma doesn’t follow a clock. It can take time to feel safe enough, regulated enough, and focused enough to engage deeply with the memories and emotions that surface in therapy. In my own healing, the extended format meant:
More time to build emotional safety before starting the hard work
Fewer interruptions in processing — no “half-finished” breakthroughs
Space for grounding and integration before ending the session
When I became a therapist myself, I carried those lessons forward. I saw clients struggling with the limitations of the traditional weekly, 50-minute session — especially those working through complex trauma, dissociation, or deeply ingrained patterns. We’d just be hitting the critical point in EMDR or parts work, and it felt like it was time to attempt to contain, ground, and stabilize enough to go back out into the world.
How Therapy Intensives Create Space for Transformation
Therapy intensives offer what my own early sessions gave me: time. Instead of months of inching forward, an intensive allows for hours of focused work in a matter of days. This model can help clients make significant progress in a shorter time frame, especially when:
You’ve felt “stuck” in weekly therapy
You have a busy schedule or live far away
You’re ready to address a particular life event or theme head-on
In intensives, I blend EMDR, parts work, and somatic approaches. There’s time for deep processing, for pausing when something unexpected surfaces, and for integrating the work so clients leave feeling more whole — not raw or ungrounded.
Why I Believe in the Therapy Intensive Model
I believe in therapy intensives because I’ve lived the difference they can make. I’ve been on the other side of the couch, feeling the relief of not having to rush, of knowing there’s enough time to go where we need to go. Now, I get to offer that same opportunity to my clients - attuning to what their needs are and not what the medical model says is standard.
Healing doesn’t have to be drawn out over years. When given the right environment, tools, and time, profound change can happen in a matter of hours or days. Therapy intensives create that space — and I’m grateful every time I witness the transformation they bring. Reach out to us today to see if therapy intensives are the right fit for you.