What is an
EMDR intensive?
Due to the way EMDR therapy works to naturally heal, the ability to accelerate the healing process helps most people address deeper treatment concerns, without having time in between sessions, and so people feel better faster. What would happen in a typical EMDR session can happen more quickly and intensives allows for months’ worth of work to happen in a few days for most clients.
Even the busiest people can take time for healing and not juggle the demands of finding time for weekly therapy. There has been an increased demand for focused, intensive treatment and the research is showing that it can bring relief to suffering and reduce the need for symptom management in between sessions. Having a safe, designated space to focus on a client’s needs and not having other life demands and distractions, pulling focus and energy away from healing, is supportive to the healing process.
Life
Changing
An intensive is an investment in yourself, your health, your overall wellbeing. EMDR has long been recognized as a safe and effective evidence-based treatment. An EMDR intensive is multiple EMDR sessions integrated into more condensed time, which can be more cost effective when considering the time investment and cost of weekly therapy. Most clients find the intensive format life changing and note a difference in energy levels, interpersonal interactions, improved focus and performance, healthier self-esteem and improved compassion for self and others. I have truly seen the difference that intensive time can make with healing and would say- why not chose this option if you can.
Improve your performance and reach
your maximum potential
EMDR has been used in the sports, arts and performance fields to help treat blocks, public speaking phobias, address the trauma of an injury or series of injuries and setbacks, as well as to strengthen the flow state and enhance peak performances. To identify and resolve limiting beliefs, anxiety and fears through EMDR treatment opens athletes, professionals and people in creative fields and leadership roles up to fulfill optimal performance. Often there is a past experience or experiences that get stuck and create mental blocks and this can be treated with EMDR therapy.
Many times, such blocking experiences are not seen as traumatic, and this leads to more frustration and confusion. These blocks can be identified in many ways, through the intake and evaluation process and using somatic focused EMDR. Understanding interpersonal neurobiology often strengthens a client’s ability to have self-compassion for an injury, a setback, a stressor they cannot just think themselves through. By understanding the nervous system and different state responses (that happen below conscious awareness) people feel more empowered to heal. We can often see that the response of our body has guided us to a place that needs support. For example, many athletes struggle with a freeze response in their nervous system and then are not able to perform in their optimal state.
Would an intensive be
a good fit for me?
If you answer yes to any of these
- you are wanting deep work that can transform your life
- you are wanting to address traumatic memories and move through the work instead of re-opening the memories and experiences in multiple weekly appointments
- you have experienced a traumatic event or painful experience that is impacting your daily living
- you have been in therapy and have been feeling stuck
- you have a busy calendar and limited time for your needs
- you have been wanting therapy but not wanting to go week after week and are unsure how long it would take to get the change you are hoping for in treatment
- you live in an area where you have limited access to the care you need .
- you have recently experienced or will be experiencing a significant life change and want support
- the demands of travel make it hard to connect for weekly or regular appointments and you are needing therapeutic support
- you are not performing to best of your abilities, are experiencing a slump, the yips, the twisties, are not sure what has happened to your performance or why, and are anxious or afraid to re-enter the competitive arena after an injury, surgery, or time away for other needs
There is a screening process to make sure that an EMDR intensive is the best fit for each client. It is not crisis work and is not appropriate for all treatment needs, yet for most people it offers incredible results.