Intensive Therapy & EMDR - Is It For You?
Ok first let’s talk about the elephant in the room - what exactly is intensive therapy?
Intensive therapy is a type of therapy that utilizes various therapeutic modalities in a longer format. This longer format in theory allows people to make greater progress in shorter amounts of time. Intensive therapy can vary from a 3-hour session to a multi-day experience.
Personally, I utilize Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) to support clients with processing their past that has led them to where they currently are now. So, it’s a lot of bilateral stimulation with the intent to support your brain with unwinding its unhealthy network of memory connections.
Why Intensive Therapy?
Well if you really like to torture yourself intensive therapy can be really great! And I’m just somewhat joking. Intensive therapy is exactly what it says - intense!
So, other than being a person who is a glutton for punishment, why would you want to do longer sessions?
1. It’s so much faster!
Therapy can feel like it takes forever to see results. So, with longer, focused sessions, we can make more progress in a lot shorter amount of time. While you do have to commit possibly a few days, a lot of people can make an immense amount of progress and potentially be completely done with therapy at the end of the session(s). As a side note, intensive therapy being faster means less of a time commitment from you, which can definitely help people with busier schedules.
2. It’s cheaper in the long run
So, I’m not saying I’m a cheapskate, but I’m definitely one of those people who use math to make sure I’m getting the best deal. I want the most bang for my buck. So let’s look at the math. If you see me once a week for an hour for 48 weeks throughout the year, you’d be paying $10,800. However, if you take a weekend at the premium rate for 12 hours, you’d spend $4,050. Which is under half the cost! This time can also be comparable depending upon what you’re working on because you’re 100% focused on what brought you to therapy instead of having to deal with the things that will come up throughout the year that divert you from working on your goals.
3. Feeling more support and engagement from therapist
For day sessions, you are literally the only client that a therapist is seeing. There are no other clients that they are rushing from, hard sessions that they had prior or after your session, or a race to get you in and out with the limited amount of time. Instead, you have the therapist completely focused on you and have a sacred space without anyone intruding upon it.
Why Would You Not Want Intensive Therapy?
Ok, I’ll be honest, there are reasons you may not want intensive therapy. So let’s look at why you may not want to participate in intensive therapy.
1. Upfront Cost / No Insurance
Ok, so I told you how you can save money in the long run, but it can sometimes be easier to pay weekly than everything up front. Also, due to the format, you aren’t able to utilize insurance. This can hurt; however, I will mention that some of my clients prefer not utilizing insurance due to not wanting the insurance to have access to their chart notes that I write from sessions. They prefer their insurance to have no connection to what they’re dealing with.
2. Exhausting! Both mentally and physically!
Look, an hour session is exhausting, so having a day of therapy is so exhausting you’ll typically be done after our session and not be able to do anything else. This also means if you have a partner or family, then you would need to explain to them that you won’t be mentally there for them during this time. While this does happen in the weekly sessions as well, it can seem more intense since this is all in one to three days instead of being spread out through the year.
3. Connecting to your therapist
Therapists can be either hit or miss for people. Intensives mean you need to connect with the therapist fairly quickly so you trust them with your issues. If you’re able to make that connection, then you may also miss them afterward. Both of these, though, can be part of weekly therapy as well, so make sure you like your therapist!
When Is Intensive Therapy Right For You?
Intensive therapy is for you when you are ready to give your mental health priority over everything else and want results. I know it can seem like a huge commitment, but if you’re ready for major changes fast, then this is for you.
If you fall into this category and are in Arizona, Florida, Indiana, or Massachusetts, then give us a call or schedule a free consultation. If you aren’t in one of those states, feel free to reach out and I’ll try to help you find a therapist who is doing intensive therapy or EMDR where you are.
