What is EMDR Therapy Intensives?
An EMDR intensive is a focused, extended format of EMDR therapy, condensing what might normally happen over weeks or months of weekly sessions into a shorter, more concentrated timeframe. Instead of 50-minute weekly sessions, an intensive might involve several hours in a single day, or a few consecutive days, giving your nervous system the time and space to process without constantly starting and stopping.
I offer EMDR intensives for clients who feel ready to move at a faster pace, or whose schedule makes weekly sessions difficult to maintain consistently. The core approach, processing memories through bilateral stimulation, is the same EMDR you'd experience in a standard session. What changes is the format, giving you sustained, uninterrupted time to work through what's been holding you back.
Who Are EMDR Intensives For?
EMDR intensives are a good fit if you're feeling stuck in weekly therapy and want to build real momentum, or if you're processing something specific and would rather work through it in a concentrated way rather than spreading it out over months. They're also a great option if your schedule makes consistent weekly sessions difficult, work travel, an unpredictable calendar, or living somewhere without easy access to regular therapy.
Intensives are also a great fit if you're already working with a therapist you love who isn't able to provide EMDR themselves. Rather than switching therapists altogether, an intensive lets you access EMDR specifically while continuing your existing therapeutic relationship, supporting the work you're already doing rather than replacing it.
There's no wrong way to use this format, it's built around what actually works for you.
What To Expect
Consultation
We'll start with a free 30-minute call, where I'll answer any questions you have about the intensive format and we can figure out together if it's the right fit.
Intake & Treatment Planning
In a 50-minute session, we'll identify the specific memory or issue you want to work on and plan out how we'll use the time during your intensive, so the actual work feels focused and intentional from the start.
The Intensive
This is the extended session itself, available as little as a 2-hour session and up to half-day, full-day, or multi-day options depending on what you're working through. This is where the EMDR processing happens, with breaks built in as needed, at a pace that feels safe and manageable.
Optional Follow-Up Session
A 50-minute session, available if you'd like additional support processing or integrating what came up during your intensive.
Benefits of EMDR Intensives
Intensives offer sustained, focused time that weekly sessions often can't. Instead of processing a memory for 20 minutes and then having to pause until next week, you get uninterrupted time to move all the way through it, which can lead to faster relief and deeper resolution.
Many clients find that a 2-3 hour intensive accomplishes what might otherwise take weeks of weekly sessions combined. With a typical weekly EMDR session, time has to be set aside at the beginning to check in on your week and at the end to close the session and make sure you leave feeling grounded. In an extended session, the additional time goes directly toward reprocessing, the actual heart of EMDR work, rather than being split between check-ins and wind-down.
This format also works well for people who find it hard to "get back into it" each week. Some clients spend the first part of a weekly session simply reorienting to where they left off. An intensive removes that friction entirely, once you're in it, you stay in it.
Because intensives are scheduled around a specific block of time rather than an ongoing weekly commitment, they also offer more flexibility for people balancing travel, work, or a busy schedule, without sacrificing the depth of the work itself.
Is an EMDR Intensive Right For Me?
An EMDR intensive might be a good fit if you have a specific memory or experience you're ready to focus on, if you want to build momentum faster than weekly sessions allow, or if your schedule makes consistent weekly appointments difficult. It can also be a good option if you're already working with a therapist you love who isn't able to provide EMDR themselves.
Intensives aren't necessarily the right fit for everyone. If you're still building trust in the therapeutic process, prefer a slower pace, or aren't sure yet what you'd want to focus on, weekly sessions might feel more comfortable as a starting point, and that's completely okay too.
If you're not sure which format is right for you, we can talk it through together during a free consultation.
The Investment
Because intensives condense weeks or months of therapy into a shorter, more concentrated period, they're billed at a different rate than weekly sessions.
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Extended Session (2-3 hours): $500-$750
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Half-Day Intensive (4 hours): $1,000
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Full-Day Intensive (6 hours): $1,500
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Multi-Day Packages available upon request
EMDR intensives are offered both in-person and online. Out-of-network insurance benefits may apply, and I partner with Thrizer to make reimbursement easier.
If cost is a concern, we can talk through what format might work best for your budget and goals during your free consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
You don't have to wait months to feel real relief. An EMDR intensive gives you the focused time and space to process what's been holding you back, now, not eventually.