EMDR Intensives

What is Intensive EMDR Therapy?

EMDR Intensive Therapy is an individualized, short-term approach allowing for a dedicated period of time to focus on specific targets. Determining targets or goals for the intensive is collaborative with expert guidance aimed at providing impactful relief or change. This approach allows you to journey deeper and find healing more efficiently. An intensive entails three 3-hour sessions over multiple days, during a condensed period of a week or a weekend. 

The EMDR Intensive Program is a personalized approach that can eliminate weeks or months of living with symptoms related to trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, attachment wounds, etc. 

What does it include? 

1. Initial 20-minute virtual consultation to ensure we are a right fit for each other. 

2. 90-minute virtual interview to assess for candidacy, as well as target unpleasant beliefs, body sensations, emotions, or images from which you are seeking relief. We will also assess whether intensive EMDR is right for you now.

3. Personalized 50-page treatment workbook, which allows you to work on your treatment goals before, during, and after our intensive sessions and allows me to customize your treatment program. 

4. A tailored treatment program with targeted treatment goals. Therapy is done in-person in my Dupont Circle office for either three 3-hour sessions on M/W/F or F/Sa/Su or two 3-hour sessions (F/M)

5. Virtual 90-minute post-treatment follow up session to assess and support your adaptation to positive changes from treatment. We will reflect on what feels better, what changed, and what still needs attention. I will provide you with resources for ongoing learning and growth. 

Some clients decide they want to continue with ongoing EMDR therapy with me. Some clients return to their primary therapist to continue their work. Others do not need ongoing therapy.

Why choose an EMDR intensive? 

• EMDR intensives are personalized plans that are designed to help you work through negative core beliefs and associated events/ memories along with the emotions, symptoms, and body sensations experienced at the time. 

• Intensives also support you in gaining access to the positive core beliefs you have and instilling them to help resource you. 

• Because of the powerful effect of EMDR therapy, intensives can accelerate the healing process.

• Rather than dealing with things on a weekly basis over an extended period of time, you can often work through many targeted issues intensively and fast track the healing and relief you seek as you look to move forward with your life. 

The intensive format might suit you if:

• You are a current, weekly client who is needing extra, focused support to accelerate your progress.

• You are a new client who just prefers to work intensively.

• You’ve been meaning to get into weekly therapy for a while now, but your schedule has been so hectic and demanding that a weekly therapy appointment feels more overwhelming than supportive.

• Something has happened that has shown you that you need help right now, and you don’t want to spend months doing weekly sessions or sitting on a waiting list.

• ​You have a clear space to do therapy work for a short period, such as annual leave, university holidays, family  leave and would like to undertake a chunk of it then.

• ​You want to try to do a large amount of therapy work before an approaching deadline like moving, going on holiday, a reunion, starting a new job etc.

• ​You have been attending counseling, but an issue related to trauma has arisen which your current therapist does not feel trained to manage.  You can attend an EMDR intensive as an adjunct to your counseling and then continue your work with your original therapist.

• You’ve already tried talk therapy. It was helpful, but you didn’t get to the root of the problem.

• ​You’re tired of working so hard to “cope.”

• You don’t want to wait to feel better. You’re sick of dealing with “it” – whatever “it” is.

• You are currently working with another “talk therapist” and feel EMDR may support your current treatment whether accelerating therapy or addressing stuck points. The Intensive Program is ideal for target goals in adjunct to your current therapy process.

• You experienced a recent traumatic event. Obtaining EMDR Early Intervention in the first three months following a traumatic or distressing event can help the brain “digest” the event which often overwhelms the brain’s natural healing process. By doing so, it can help prevent PTSD developing by promoting resilience.