EMDR Intensive Packages

Everything You Need to Know About EMDR INTENSIVES

What are EMDR Intensives?

People want to heal faster and achieve lasting change. While EMDR therapy is renowned for how quickly it works to relieve symptoms and create meaningful breakthroughs, EMDR Intensive therapy takes it one step further. Intensives are multiple therapy sessions combined into a multi-day transformative experience. By building an intensive therapy program that combines sessions and utilizes effective therapeutic techniques, we're able to get months or even years worth of change in the course of a few days.

The Concept of EMDR Intensives

With the concept of EMDR Intensives, the aim is to provide clients with a more condensed and focused approach to therapy. Gone are the days where you would go to weekly therapy sessions to vent about your life and feel little actual change. Now, we’re able to combine the focus and effectiveness of EMDR therapy with cutting edge therapeutic techniques to bring you an intensive therapy program structured for quick, lasting change. By laser focusing on the issues that matter, the beliefs and experiences that have had a lasting impact on your mental well-being, we’re able to get effective healing for clients. With EMDR intensives we’re able to pull back the veil on the issues in your life, identify the root beliefs, and pull them out using the adaptive information processing (AIP) model as our guide. All of this occurs over the course of a few days.

The Role of Intensive EMDR Treatment

EMDR intensives play a vital role in the therapeutic process as they are a catalyst for change. When someone has felt stuck for some time, intensive EMDR therapy allows them to work through this stuck point in a matter of days–accelerating therapeutic outcomes and rapidly reducing symptoms. EMDR intensives are tailored to each individual's specific needs and goals, allowing them to focus on addressing underlying issues that have had a lasting impact on their mental well-being. By dedicating consecutive days to their healing journey, individuals can make rapid progress over the traditional therapy model.

EMDR intensives were designed specifically for individuals who want to work through stuck points in their process, crave more progress in healing, and are not finding their desired results with traditional talk therapy. EMDR Intensives can be used as an adjunctive therapy in conjunction with your current therapist or as a stand alone treatment. Whether you’ve had an issue for a couple years or your whole life, EMDR intensives are designed to help facilitate growth and healing where other modalities have not.

How Long is an Intensive?

The length of the EMDR Intensive program depends on how many days you would like to spend in processing. We offer 2 day, 3 day, and 5 day programs. For help deciding which program is best for you, reach out for a free, no pressure consultation call to discuss your options.

What are the Benefits of EMDR Intensive Treatment?

Lowering the Amount of Time In Therapy

EMDR intensives are amazing due to their speed and efficiency at accelerating healing and moving individuals through stuck points. This allows you to speed less time in weekly sessions and more time living your life.

Gain a Deeper Understanding & Faster Progress

By dedicating an extended period of time, typically lasting four hours or more, clients have the chance to delve deep into their distressing experiences and explore multiple targets and memories. This immersive experience allows for a thorough exploration that leads to a deeper understanding of the root causes of their mental health concerns and greater adaptive information reprocessing.

Less overall cost

By decreasing the time spent in therapy and gaining faster, lasting results you end up spending less money overall.

What Does the Research Say About the Effectiveness of EMDR Intensive Therapy?

Research supports the intensive application of trauma-focused therapy, particularly within EMDR Intensives. This approach proves well-tolerated and highly effective for individuals with PTSD, showcasing faster symptom reduction and comparable or superior treatment outcomes. Notably, intensive EMDR treatment is feasible, demonstrating reliable improvements within a short timeframe. Moreover, it stands out as a potentially safe and effective treatment alternative for complex PTSD. Financially, the intensive format may decrease treatment time compared to other trauma therapies, offering streamlined focus and omitting unnecessary elements (learn more here, here, here, here, and here).

Where are EMDR Intensives Offered?

Intensives can be completed either in our office in St. Louis, Missouri or online from the comfort of your own home throughout the entire state of Missouri (or Florida). For those living out-of-state, you may travel to Missouri to receive treatment if you wish. In mid-to-late 2025, we will be able to offer intensives online in other states as the Counseling Compact comes into effect.

What to Expect with an EMDR Intensive?

EMDR intensives are highly structured therapy programs built specifically to facilitate rapid change. We’ve worked meticulously in developing my EMDR intensive program so that everyone who goes through the process can achieve movement on the issues that matter most to them. Let’s explore the process of an EMDR intensive program including before, during, and after the intensive sessions.

Before the Intensive: Skill Building and Preparation

In the preliminary stages of EMDR intensives, clients focus on skill building and mental health preparation in order to optimize their therapeutic experience. The purpose of skill building and preparation is to empower clients with the tools they need to navigate challenging emotions and memories effectively during their processing sessions. By developing these skills before the intensive begins, clients can approach their experience with increased confidence

During this preparation phase, clients will complete pages in their personal EMDR intensive workbook which help us understand your history and underlying beliefs heading into the sessions. This information is reviewed during your 90 minute pre-intensive phone call roughly a week prior to your intensive session date.

Additionally, clients work with their therapist during the pre-intensive phone call to develop coping skills, emotional regulation techniques, and grounding exercises. These skills are crucial for managing the intense emotions that may arise during the intensive as well as regulating their nervous system between sessions. These skills may included calm place imagery and the installation of other resources.

During the Intensive: Day-to-Day Overview

During EMDR intensives, you meet with your therapist daily, either virtually or online. Your therapist works with you to identify and address specific targets and memories utilizing a variety of advanced EMDR techniques as well as bringing in complementary therapies such as parts work (Ego State therapy) and somatic interventions. Together, you explore the emotions, sensations, and beliefs associated with distress and feeling stuck, using bilateral stimulation techniques to facilitate processing. These bilateral stimulation techniques are in the form of tactile stimulation using "tappers" or self-tapping techniques.

Each day of an intensive consists of multiple therapy sessions spread out over 3-4 hours. The sessions are tailored to your individual needs and goals, focusing on different targets and memories as determined by both client and therapist. Throughout the intensive process, clients may experience a range of emotions as they delve deep into their traumatic memories. However, your therapist will be there with skills and resources to help regulate your nervous system and make the experience as seamless as possible. You’ll also take breaks as needed, including an hour lunch break.

After the Intensive: Reflections & Wrapping Up

Approximately 2 weeks after your last processing session, you’ll reconvene with your therapist for a 60 minute post-intensive follow-up call. This call allows you to discuss your experience of intensive therapy, highlight progress made since treatment, and explore areas for future growth and consideration. Many clients appreciate this post-treatment call as a way to reflect on their therapeutic journey and what they've overcome. After the call you're free to continue therapy with your current therapist, schedule an extended 3 hour session for any additional work you'd like to accomplish, or go about living your life with your newfound sense of relief.