Is An EMDR Intensive Right For You? 7 Questions To Ask Yourself

An EMDR Intensive is a concentrated form of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy that delivers treatment in an accelerated timeframe. Rather than the traditional weekly 53-minute therapy sessions often spread over months or years, an EMDR intensive condenses multiple hours of therapy into a short period, typically over 2-5 days. 

During an EMDR intensive, you would:

• Receive several hours of EMDR therapy each day (often 3 - 6 hours)

• Work through traumatic memories or distressing issues without the week-long breaks between sessions

• Experience deeper and more continuous processing of traumatic material

• Complete treatment phases that might otherwise take months (or years) in just days.

This format can be particularly beneficial for:

• People who struggle to stay present and find themselves dissociating during traditional therapy

• People who don’t have access to weekly therapy due to location or scheduling constraints

• Individuals who find that weekly sessions disrupt their processing by stopping just as they’re making progress

• People who struggle in traditional weekly 53 minute therapy due to chronic pain or chronic illness

• People who are dealing with specific, well-defined traumas rather than complex, ongoing issues.

EMDR intensives require proper preparation, including a thorough assessment and stabilization before beginning. They’re typically followed by an integration period and may include check-in sessions afterward to maintain progress.

The concentrated nature of intensives can lead to rapid symptom relief for some people, though the approach may not be suitable for everyone. 

Question 1: Are you feeling stuck in traditional therapy?

Traditional talk therapy sometimes reaches a plateau where you understand your issues cognitively, but still feel emotionally triggered. This can be a sign that you would benefit from an EMDR intensive. Oftentimes in traditional talk therapy, clients describe that they find themselves discussing the same issues repeatedly without feeling significant relief. Another concept to consider is that weekly therapy sessions might not provide enough momentum to process deeply ingrained trauma. Many of us living with complex trauma need more than the traditional 53 minute therapy sessions. And we can discover the benefits of healing in an intensive session.

If you have been in therapy for months or even years, and still experience strong emotional or physical reactions to triggers, it may benefit you to engage in an EMDR intensive. Additionally, if you are looking for a different approach that targets the neurobiological aspects of trauma storage, then it may be time to consider an EMDR intensive.

Question 2: Do you have a specific trauma/event you want to work through?

EMDR intensives work particularly well for processing specific traumatic memories or events. Having said that, even if you don’t have access to the specific memories, we can still make impressive progress in an EMDR intensive. Having access to even something like the way your body responds to trauma triggers, we can target those in an EMDR intensive. Having a clear target helps focus the intensive work. Some examples of clear targets include, but are not limited to: car accident, neck pain, assault, medical trauma, dog bite, car accident, or childhood incident, etc. 

Engaging in an EMDR intensive provides a format that allows comprehensive processing of a single event or a cluster of related events.  Complex or developmental trauma may also be addressed, but may require careful planning. In an intensive setting, this may look like slowing down a bit and spending more time in the preparation stage so that you have adequate resources to process the traumas.

Focusing on identifiable triggers or symptoms connected to specific memories makes EMDR particularly effective. This doesn’t have to be having access to complete memories, but can include something like neck pain, back pain, or other triggers.

Question 3: Is your schedule too busy for weekly therapy?

Weekly therapy can be very frustrating for those of us living with complex traumas. It requires that we engage in consistent time commitments over months or years. Intensives compress months of therapeutic work into a condensed time frame (typically 1 - 3 days). Intensives can be perfect for busy professionals with demanding schedules who can’t commit to regular weekly therapy sessions.

Engaging in an EMDR intensive eliminates the disruption of processing trauma and then having to “pause” for a week. Many of my clients find engaging in the 53-minute sessions very frustrating.  Attending weekly therapy, which is typically limited to 53 minutes, requires a lot on the part of the clinician and the client. For many of us with complex trauma, it takes the first 15 minutes to remind our central nervous system that we trust this professional, it takes another 5 - 10 minutes to get into the trauma material. Then we can only spend about 10 minutes in the actual trauma material because we need to wrap our memories back up and make sure we can return to the world.  Participating in an EMDR intensive can be more efficient for those who travel frequently or have unpredictable schedules.

Question 4: Are you motivated for deep, focused work?

EMDR intensives can require an emotional investment and a willingness to engage deeply in the work. The process can be mentally and emotionally demanding. Many of us with complex trauma have become very skilled at avoiding those challenging emotions. However, in an EMDR intensive, we need to be willing to stay with those difficult emotions. 

A concept to consider before you commit to an EMDR intensive is whether or not you are willing to commit to follow through even when processing becomes challenging. I don’t want this to scare you, because as the EMDR Intensive Therapist, it’s my job to stay on pace with your emotions. As well as to ensure we are not going too deep too fast. Sometimes, slow is actually fast when we are looking at healing. 

One of the things I talk to everyone of my clients about is self-care practices and grounding techniques. These become really important before, during, and after engaging in an EMDR intensive. Ultimately, one of my long-term goals is for you to engage in self-care so that you are not micromanaging your brain. This can allow your brain to continue healing from the traumas after the EMDR intensive. 

Question 5: Can you take a day or two for yourself?

EMDR Intensives typically run 4 - 8 hours per day for 1-3 days. When a client comes to me for an EMDR intensive, we create a plan for accomplishing the intensive work that will adhere to their life and scheduling issues. So each intensive may look a little different from a scheduling perspective.

When looking at an EMDR intensive, it’s important to be able to schedule time afterward for rest and integration. This ultimately means not returning to work or life responsibilities immediately after the intensive. It can also look at increasing hydration and consuming more protein after an EMDR intensive. 

When considering signing up for an EMDR intensive, it’s also important to ensure that you have environmental safety. That means you have a stable living situation and an absence of current crisis.  Another consideration is do you have the ability to minimize other responsibilities during this focused healing time.

Question 6: Are you feeling ready for change, even if it’s scary?

Healing can sometimes feel destabilizing as old patterns shift. I frequently warn my clients that the first time their central nervous system experiences safety, it can feel very unsafe. It takes more than a hot minute for us to stabilize in that sense of safety. It is important to prepare for emotional shifts that might feel unfamiliar but ultimately will create a positive shift for you.

I always want to caution the clients that I’m doing deep trauma work with, that as you begin to process the traumatic experiences that you’ve endured, your relationships may change. Additionally, I want the clients I work with to know and understand that healing isn’t always comfortable but leads to greater freedom. It’s important to consider if you feel internally ready to let go of trauma responses that have been with you for years. 

Question 7: Are you open to an accelerated healing process?

While traditional therapy often unfolds gradually, intensives can be a catalyst for more rapid change. Accelerated processing can sometimes trigger temporary increases in symptoms before improvement. 

It’s crucial to keep in mind that the brain can rewire and process trauma more efficiently than we once thought. There is significant evidence that research shows EMDR can produce significant results in a condensed timeframe. 

It’s important to consider if you are ready for potentially transformative shifts in a shorter period of time. Additionally, you don’t have to leave your weekly talk therapist. Oftentimes, other therapists refer their clients who have hit a plateau to me for an EMDR Intensive. Once we are done with the intensive, the client returns to their original therapist and resumes engaging in talk therapy. The only difference is that they have experienced significant symptom reduction when they return. 

If you answered yes to even a few of these, an EMDR intensive could be exactly what you need. 

If you think you are ready for an EMDR Intensive, please click the button below to learn more about the EMDR Intensives we offer.

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