The Benefits of EMDR Intensives
EMDR Intensive Therapy in Colorado Springs
Why EMDR Intensives?
I used to do EMDR just as I was trained, in regular weekly sessions. It usually took about 6 to 12 months to complete the process.
It was effective and people got great results, but at times it could feel hard to get through everything. Between the time spent checking in and closing down in each session, leaving only 30 minutes or so of actual processing time, and the intermittent weeks that life would happen and EMDR was put on pause to address a more immediate concern, each target memory or trigger could take 3 to 5 sessions, or more, to complete.
I stumbled upon the intensive format for EMDR sessions entirely by accident.
I always customize therapy to each client's specific needs with an individualized treatment plan that's tailored just for you. It just so happened that a particular client of mine was stretched for both time and financial resource, while also experiencing some debilitating daily symptoms from a recent trauma that were severely impacting her life and had to be addressed.
We needed an out of the box solution that would work to address all of these needs.
I offered the option of meeting once a month for an extended session instead of meeting in weekly sessions, with the goal of processing an EMDR target to completion. This format relieved the time and money stress that were making therapy seem inaccessible. We agreed on an email update in the week leading up to our monthly session to minimize the time we needed to spend on catching up at the beginning of the session, freeing us up to dive right into the work when we met.
The results were astounding.
In a single extended session, we were able to complete EMDR processing of an entire memory or trigger which ordinarily could take a month to fully process
We also had enough time to incorporate relaxation exercises at the beginning of the session that minimized some of the stress of processing trauma, as well as deeply reflect on new insights gained and how to maintain them at the end of our time.
The discomfort of sitting with a partially processed trauma for a week until we could meet again was completely eliminated
The extended session made it feel like we had all the time in the world to slow down the processing if needed, or stop and process new insights that really cemented positive changes, without the pressure of the clock ticking down.
We finished the process of EMDR in just 4 sessions.... in just 4 meetings once a month, versus 6 to 12 months of weekly sessions, to achieve a radical change that made it possible to fully engage in life again
This client was left amazed each time we met that an event that had been so distressing at the beginning of our session could feel so completely neutral and resolved by the end of the session after such a brief period of time. We would joke that their spouse needed a heads up that they were on their way home with a completely different outlook and emotional state than they left the house with earlier that day. Surprise! A different person full of healing and hope is coming back in the door.
At that point I started offering the option of extended sessions to every client engaged in EMDR, truly convinced that longer EMDR sessions lead to deeper healing in less time.
The results have consistently been the same with each client... our time to completion of EMDR is drastically reduced, while the healing effect is enhanced more deeply. For those clients that opt to attend longer intensive sessions more frequently weekly, biweekly, or over consecutive days, it can take even less time to complete the EMDR process.
In fact, it can take as little as 3 days.
What the Research Says About EMDR Intensives
I've since found that the benefits of EMDR Intensives are well evidenced by research.
A significant number of research participants completely lose their PTSD diagnosis after intensive treatment (National Institutes of Health)
EMDR Intensives accelerate the healing process, and can successfully treat trauma when weekly EMDR has been ineffective in the past (Frontiers in Psychology)
By increasing treatment frequency, outcomes for PTSD are significantly improved and results are well maintained over time (American Psychological Association)
Intensive therapy offers a high quality treatment that more than pays for itself as treatment time is decreased due to time not spent on: checking in at the beginning of each session, addressing current crisis and concerns, focusing on coping skills that aren't needed after trauma treatment, assisting the client in regaining stability at the end of session (Trauma Institute & Child Trauma Institute)
Benefits of EMDR Intensives
I've consistently observed and gotten feedback from my clients who complete EMDR Intensives that they:
Greatly reduce time spent in therapy
Avoid feeling overwhelmed by emotion in the healing process
Eliminate stressful time between sessions
Resolve single incident trauma quickly
Make therapy more cost effective in the long run
Skip long wait times to start with a new therapist
Overcome feeling stuck in ongoing weekly therapy
Experience a month or more worth of therapy in a single session
Maintain their results over time without a recurrence of symptoms
It is pretty magical to experience!
How EMDR Intensives Work
The first step is a free phone consultation so that I can get an overview of the issues you're seeking to address and answer any questions you have. I'll send you a packet of information with all the details to review before our call.
If you're interested in moving forward with intensive therapy after the consult call, we'll schedule an intake session. The intake session is separate from the intensive package and allows us to define your goals for an intensive, craft a specific plan, and build a great working relationship. If you decide to schedule an intensive after the intake, the cost of the intake will be applied to the cost of your intensive package. If we decide an intensive is not the right fit for you, you'll have a treatment plan and some suggestions for moving forward to take with you from our session.
Intensives are highly customized and personalized just for you. In the intake session, we'll decide on an intensive format that works best for your individual needs, preferences, budget, and problems to be addressed.
Whatever format we agree on, you'll get so much more than EMDR. I put my 25 years of experience as a licensed therapist into designing your intensive with a variety of approaches, depending on what will best meet your needs.
