EMDR
What is EMDR Intensive Therapy?
EMDR Intensive Therapy is a powerful way to accelerate the healing that you would experience in a typical EMDR session. Rather than going to counseling for an hour session once a week, you would set aside a specific chunk of time - 3 hours or 3 days - for intensive therapeutic work. It is a concentrated way to get the power of EMDR without having time in between sessions. It helps people journey deeper and feel better faster.
How does it work?
Prior to the EMDR Intensive, we meet for a Pre-Intensive Interview to determine the goal of the time. We will look at what your life looks like now (your support system, stressors, ways you cope, and places that you want relief, growth, or to take a big step forward). During the EMDR Intensive we do 2 things: 1) Make the painful stuff in your life hurt less and 2) Help the good stuff feel even better. We do this with EMDR Reprocessing as well as resourcing activities like guided meditation, sand tray, or artwork - incorporating the bilateral stimulation used in EMDR. Depending on where you are in your journey, we may spend time on your earliest relationships in life (i.e. attachment). For others, the focus is more future oriented. This process can be very personal and customized to you. After the EMDR Intensive, we meet for a Post-Intensive Interview to reflect on the elements that were most meaningful to you and how you want to infuse that into your life moving forward. I emphasize sharing insights with the important people in your life, so they can partner with you and celebrate your progress!
Why do an EMDR Intensive?
You want to experience deep therapeutic work that can change your life
You had a very painful experience that is still impacting you today
You have done EMDR before and found it helpful for your healing and wellbeing
You want to prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for a big life event like a wedding, becoming a parent, a medical procedure, starting a new job, or moving to a new city
You already go to weekly therapy and you feel stuck or on the verge of a break through.
Are EMDR Intensives for everyone?
Because of the accelerated nature of EMDR Intensives, they are not for everyone. Some challenges are best supported through a slower approach, such as complex dissociative disorders. In those cases, going slow is the fastest, most effective way toward healing. In our initial consultation, we will discuss your specific goals and the pros and cons of doing intensive work. If it appears you would be better served through a slower approach (EMDR set at 1 hour sessions) or a completely different approach, I’ll do my best to help you find a referral.
EMDR Intensives can help:
Survivors of sexual trauma
Painful childhood experiences
Religious Trauma & Spiritual Abuse
Medical trauma or chronic illness
Neurodivergent and/or Highly Sensitive adults who want to process overwhelming or overstimulating experiences
And More…
Pre-Intensive Interview
A 90-minute session to determine the goals of the EMDR Intensive and prepare for the experience. We will identify the painful memories, beliefs, emotions, or images from which you are seeking relief.
Personalized treatment workbook
The workbook includes assessments and activities to prepare for the Intensive. The workbook allows you keep a record of progress on your treatment goals before, during, and after our sessions.
Customized treatment program
The EMDR Intensive sessions take place at the office in Colorado Springs or virtually, and are scheduled for 1-3 days for 6 hours each day. Includes targeted treatment and resourcing activities customized for you.
Post-Intensive Interview
A 90-minute session to debrief the experience and reflect on areas of insight, relief, and transformation. Discuss your next steps for continued growth and healing.
Are you ready to start your healing journey?
Investment Options
Starting at $1600
1 Day
8 hour program
1 Pre-Interview (90min)
1 Post Intensive Interview (90mins)
6 face-to-face hours (total)
Resources, assessments, & personalized treatment workbook
Available Tue- Sun
*weekend pricing is higher
Popular
Starting at $2700
2 Days
11 hour program
1 Pre-Interview (90mins)
1 Post Intensive Interview (90mins)
9 face-to-face hours (total)
Resources, assessments, & personalized treatment workbook
Available Tue- Sun
*weekend pricing is higher
Starting at $3875
3 Days
14 hour program
1 Pre-Interview (90mins)
1 Post Intensive Interview (90mins)
12 face-to-face hours (total)
Resources, assessments, & personalized treatment workbook
Available Tue- Sun
*weekend pricing is higher
Frequently Asked Questions about EMDR Intensives
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Intensive application of trauma-focused therapy seems to be well tolerated in patients with PTSD, enabling faster symptom reduction with similar, or even better, results, while reducing the risk that patients drop out prematurely. Learn more here and here.
Intensive EMDR treatment is feasible and is indicative of reliable improvement in PTSD symptoms in a very short time frame. Learn more here.
An intensive program using EMDR therapy is a potentially safe and effective treatment alternative for complex PTSD. Learn more here.
The economy is compelling: even compared to other trauma therapy, the intensive format may decrease treatment time, because of time not spent on a) checking in at the beginning of each session, b) addressing current crises and concerns, c) focusing on stabilizing and coping skills that the client won’t need after trauma healing, or d) assisting the client in regaining composure at the end of the session. Learn more here
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Brainspotting and EMDR leverage some of the same mechanisms. However, Brainspotting tends to be more gentle, and research suggests that its effects are deeper and longer lasting than EMDR.
Brainspotting can be a good fit if you have tried EMDR and it didn’t feel like the right fit.
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In person at my office in Colorado Springs or online. EMDR intensive sessions are similar to going on a personal retreat. It’s best to allow time outside of sessions to be unscheduled or filled only with self-care activities like exercise, body work (acupuncture or massage), and creative expression – drawing, painting, cooking. For those traveling to Colorado, I love to share a list of “Favorite Things” to help you make the most of your time outside of session.
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The intensive format means that a large chunk of time is reserved and held especially for you in advance. A 50% non-refundable deposit is due at the time of booking (after the intake) to reserve your intensive time, and the full balance is due on the day of the intensive. A 14 day notice is required to cancel your intensive, otherwise you remain responsible for the full cost of the intensive. I do my best to work with you to reschedule if needed when life happens and a cancellation is unavoidable.
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Sometimes clients find the intensive process so powerful that they finish one and want to process something else in another. We can schedule additional stand alone intensive sessions that are 3 hours in length at the rate of $900. These intensive sessions do not include additional workbooks, pre-intensive sessions, or post-intensive sessions.
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Sadly, Insurance does not cover the cost of EMDR Intensives.
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EMDR Intensives give you the results you would get from months of therapy in a much shorter period of time. If you add up the cost of weekly therapy, an EMDR Intensive is actually more cost effective. Instead of waiting months, you can get the same results in a few days.
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Of Course! Adjunct EMDR Therapy is when two therapists partner together to give comprehensive, high-quality care for a client. During Adjunctive Therapy, a client who has been working with a primary therapist will begin to work with a secondary therapist for a specific amount of time on a specific concern. The sessions can be concurrent - meaning that the client meets with each therapist during a specific period of time - or the client may take a brief pause with their primary therapist while they meet intensively with an EMDR Therapist. We love collaborative care and would love to help you and your current clinician out!