What is a counseling intensive?
Therapy intensives are long session formats of several hours to full-day, or multi-day treatment events. During an Intensive, you will be my only client each day. I am offering intensives for anywhere from 3 hours to 4 days, if needed for complex trauma or complicated grief. This will be determined by your goals and needs in conjunction with my clinical judgment.
EMDR Intensives can help clients to process information faster and heal quicker. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy is an integrative psychotherapy approach that has been extensively researched and proven effective for the treatment of trauma. EMDR helps us process negative feelings and change the way we think about ourselves and our memories. Because of the powerful healing effect of EMDR therapy, Intensives can produce faster results than weekly sessions using standard talk-therapy techniques. Rather than dealing with things on a weekly basis for months or possibly years, you can often work through many issues intensively and efficiently to get the healing and relief you are looking for. One of the quickest and most effective ways to overcome our struggles and reduce/eliminate symptoms is through EMDR Intensive Therapy. With EMDR intensives, we will work together for 6 hours a day.
Grief intensives offer a chance to receive education about grief and focus on your needs as you go through the grieving process. Creative therapy elements can be included. EMDR can be used, if appropriate, to help clients deal with traumatic images and experiences, as well as troubling beliefs that may arise in situations with complicated and violent deaths. Grief intensives offer more dedicated time, as well as a respite from daily life, for those that are dealing with a more complicated loss or multiple losses.
Where will it be held?
Shorter intensives can be held at my therapy office in Providence or at The Sanctuary, my therapy cabin located on Gunter Mountain in Marshall County, only 45 minutes away.
Longer intensives will be available at The Sanctuary, a beautiful therapy retreat cabin located in a peaceful and private setting. This allows clients a chance to work in comfortable surroundings, enjoy coffee or tea, and sit on the porch overlooking the woods. If desired, lodging and breakfast are available for an additional fee.
How much does it cost?
When I reserve time for your Intensive, I will be reserving the entire day for you. The daily rate is $1,200/day or $1400/day on weekends. The half day rate is $600 or $700 on weekends. A 50% deposit will be required to confirm your Intensive reservation, and the remaining 50% will be paid on the last day of the Intensive. This fee includes a 50 minute intake session to prepare for our time together. A 50 min. follow up session is available if desired for $150. Lodging and Breakfast at The Sanctuary is $175 per night.
How Much Time Will I Need?
It depends. During your intake consultation, we will discuss what you would like to work on and the goals you would like to achieve through the Intensive. At that time you and I will make a determination regarding how much time will be needed.
What will a typical day look like in an Intensive?
Typically, sessions will begin around 9 am, with a lunch break around noon and ending around 4 pm, though that schedule is entirely flexible to accommodate the work being pursued. Depending on the nature of the processing, breaks will be taken as needed. Grief Intensives may have breaks with creative activities or scheduled quiet times to do continuing bonds activities. The amount of time we will be working each day will fluctuate depending on the work we are doing. The nice part about Intensives is the flexibility afforded to tailor fit the work to what your system needs at the time. A one-hour lunch break will be taken each day. Intensives offer the opportunity to work together in a more thoughtful manner than hourly sessions allow.
Can I continue regular therapy sessions afterward?
Many clients can complete an Intensive and then return to their lives ready to simply move forward. Some clients will benefit from having a working relationship with a therapist who can help them deal with things if they are only working on certain aspects of their treatment in the Intensive (pre-verbal trauma work for example). Some clients will need to schedule several intensives to fully process and heal their stories and in these cases a weekly therapist to help manage things between Intensives may be recommended or required. This will be thoroughly assessed and discussed in the intake.
What if I need to cancel?
If something comes up and you are unable to attend your Intensive, please contact me as soon as possible to discuss rescheduling. Rescheduling will not affect your deposit or payment. If you need to cancel your Intensive entirely, any deposit money already paid will be returned minus a $1,000 scheduling fee if the cancellation is made more than 30 days before your scheduled Intensive. Deposits are fully non-refundable if the cancellation is made within 30 days of the scheduled Intensive.