It’s a New Way of Doing Therapy
I recently completed a comprehensive training on EMDR Intensives as a new offering for my practice. Up until now, clients who wanted to experience the benefits of EMDR would sign up for the traditional 50-minute session model. While clients who participate in EMDR often get incredible results, there are some disadvantages to the traditional model.
In a 50-minute session, clients usually spend 5-10 minutes discussing stressors and events that occurred between our last session and this one. Sometimes that includes the aftermath of ongoing processing through dreams, thoughts, etc. Then we set up an EMDR target for processing and depending on the intensity of the target, we might not clear the target out to a 0 before needing to close down the session with the use of our container or other resources. It’s not uncommon to spend 5-10 minutes at the beginning of the session and another 5-10 minutes at the end of the session, to appropriately ensure that a client is grounded and ready to transition out of the session. Therefore, we can lose 20 + minutes of good processing time just with the constraints of the weekly 50-minute session.
EMDR Intensives
Intensives offer the opportunity for extremely focused clinical time without interruptions from multiple weekly events that can derail the therapeutic session. Clients who want to progress faster, and/or don’t have time to carve out for weekly sessions, can now sign up for an intensive that creates a very focused agenda and treatment plan. Clients who participate in intensives have pre-intensive homework with multiple assessment scales to streamline their therapeutic goals. These clients will also participate in an interactive treatment plan workbook before, during, and post the Intensive.
Intensives offer extreme value because of the increased individual time spent with the therapist one on one without interruption of the processing. They are offered at a higher rate than a 50-minute session as clients make exponential progress, and there is more clinician pre-intensive preparation and collaboration with the client for the intensive work.
Intensives for Current Clients or Another Therapist’s Client
One benefit of an intensive is the opportunity to work with another therapist’s client who can be referred for an intensive to work on specific goals and then returned to their regular therapist for ongoing follow up post intensive. I’ve had the opportunity to work collaboratively with therapists in the past and their clients have really made incredible progress with EMDR processing.
Current clients who appreciate more of a talk therapy session on a regular basis to work through relational situations can also participate in an EMDR intensive to work on a specific trauma or relational trauma.
Three Options
I’ve designed my Intensives into different options so clients have the opportunity to choose which works best for their schedule. Intensive are offered in Half Day 8 hour packages or 3 Day 14 hour packages. They can be done during regular business day hours, evenings or over weekends, depending on a client’s specific need. I can offer the intensives in person in my Eagle Idaho office or virtually.
Those who desire to come to the beautiful state of Idaho will experience all the benefits of the intensive combined with the gorgeous outdoor playground of the Bosie recreational area. Both options are beneficial and produce great results. Yet if you really want to get away and concentrate on your mental health…I highly recommend a weekend retreat in person.