EMDR Intensive Sessions


Change is Possible.

Accelerate your Healing with EMDR Intensive Therapy.


Why Intensive EMDR?

EMDR Intensives are a unique offering that can help you find relief and results much faster than the weekly therapy model allows.

Intensive EMDR therapy is a treatment approach in which EMDR is offered in a series of longer sessions. The Intensive model allows us to forgo interrupted sessions and time spent on opening and closing every week, addressing your day-to-day struggles and concerns, and focus on stabilization and coping skills that will be less relevant when you have resolved your core issues. Intensives allow us to go deep, relax into the work, and access healing in a thoughtful, meaningful, and efficient way.

The research has been positive, showing that EMDR intensive can be highly effective for trauma symptom reduction and may reduce your overall treatment time. Progress can be made much more quickly in this condensed approach, so individuals can start feeling better in a matter of days instead of months.

Benefits

  • Schedule. This is a good option for people with demanding schedules or jobs that find it difficult to get away for a regular weekly session. It can save overall on lost work and life time.

  • Focused attention. EMDR intensives offer a sort of sacred and protected container in which you can focus on yourself and your healing without distraction or pull of your other roles and responsibilities. Weekly therapy requires transitioning mentally from your day to trauma processing and back again, which can feel jarring every week.

  • Efficient and cost-effective. Investments are greater up front, but intensives have been shown to be cost-effective in the long run due to the shorter overall duration of therapy.

  • Increased availability. EMDR intensives have shorter wait times. Increased availability allows you to skip the waitlists and get to work.

How does it work?

I work with people in one of two ways:

  • EMDR Intensives*: a series of 3 or 6-hour EMDR-focused sessions. I often also incorporate parts work, somatic, and cognitive interventions.

  • Series of ten 90-minute sessions

*Most people work with me for 2-5 full (6-hour) days or 4-10 half (3-hour) days; some need more, some less. Determining what is right for you comes down to your needs, capacity, motivation, and resources. When we speak on our consultation call, I will estimate the time I expect our work together will take based on the information you provide.

 
 
 

What to Expect

Logistics of your Session - Before, During, and After

Preparing for your EMDR Intensive

Intensives are an opportunity to lean into healing, so treating the days of and around your Intensive sessions as a personal retreat can deepen and amplify the work we do together. This can look like scheduling a massage, taking a long restorative yoga class, eating healthy food, staying hydrated, getting a couple of extra hours of sleep, unplugging for a few days, journaling, or doing a morning hike. It is important to give yourself time and care around this work. Bringing comfort items to sessions like extra layers, favorite snacks or drinks, or any comforting or meaningful personal items is welcomed and encouraged.


A typical Intensive day

We typically begin at 9 am and finish around 4 pm, although there can be some flexibility in start and stop times. We will take an hour for lunch and rest around noon. I encourage you to listen to your body and needs throughout our work together and take breaks as needed. Learning how to attune to your body and respond to your own needs by moving your body, having a snack, taking a moment to ground, or just sitting and breathing is often part of the healing process.

The course of EMDR Intensive treatment is different for everyone. Still, EMDR therapy is a highly structured and focused approach described here.


After your EMDR session

The EMDR experience is unique to each person. It is common to feel tired or drained for a few days following Intensive work, as we will be working with and clearing painful experiences from the nervous system, and it takes energy for the body to re-adjust. Usually, this lasts only a day or two.

Still, many others report feeling energized, clearer, or lighter after a session. One of the benefits of EMDR Intensives is that they give us much more space within which we have a better chance of bringing resolution to a target versus opening and closing a memory up repeatedly over multiple sessions due to time constraints. Clients often share their experience of being able to sit with big emotions and move through them when previously they felt stuck in their feelings or unable to access them at all. It is also common for clients to report feelings of relief, empowerment, a newfound sense of understanding or meaning, feelings of peace, and resolution.

Note any shifts or changes you notice and please try to practice self-care and self-compassion.


Frequently Asked Questions

+ Are EMDR Intensives a good fit for me?

EMDR intensives are powerful but certainly not for everyone. Some clients are better suited for an ongoing therapeutic relationship. EMDR intensives are not appropriate for those with:

  • active thoughts of suicide or harming others,
  • self-harming behaviors,
  • active addiction or abusing drugs or alcohol,
  • or highly dissociative individuals.

If this describes you, I recommend seeking a therapist you can meet with regularly to focus on safety and stability. Single incident traumas, incidents with a clear beginning or end (e.g., car accident, medical emergency, birth trauma, assault, etc.), are well suited for EMDR intensives.

If you have a history of complex trauma, including severe or chronic abuse or neglect, intensive work may feel overwhelming for your system and an ongoing therapeutic relationship may be a better fit. Others with a complex history may want to and feel ready to do focused and intensive work on reprocessing and releasing past trauma and stress. This is best done as a supplement to a long-term therapeutic relationship. Clients may need to have an established relationship with a primary therapist to be considered for EMDR intensive therapy.

+ What is the cost?

Learn about my rates here.

+ Are Intensives covered by insurance?

At this point, unfortunately, no. However, you may be able to get a portion covered. Learn more here.

+ What if I need to cancel?

Read about my cancellation policy here.

+ I have a primary therapist, can I see you too?

Many people come to EMDR during or after their experience with talk therapy.

+ Are you seeing people in person?

While the situation and necessary protocols related to the Covid-19 pandemic are fluid, I am currently seeing clients in person in my office. Great attention and care is taken toward precautions to ensure that the environment is fresh and safe for all clients as well as myself. Masks and/or Covid testing may be required.

While I emphasize in-person sessions for intensive work, I also offer sessions remotely for those who prefer or live out of town.

+ Do I need to live in Maine to do an Intensive session?

No! One of the lovely things about intensive work is that it can be done over the course of several days, rather that on an ongoing weekly basis for months or years. Clients are invited to travel to Maine for several days for a retreat style Intensive experience of your own design. This allows you to remove yourself from the daily responsibilities and distractions of your daily life so you can focus on your healing without distraction. And Portland is definitely worth a visit.

Willard Beach Sunset, South Portland, ME Photo credit: Benjamin Williamson