EMDR INtensives in Ann Arbor and online throughout Michigan
Invest in yourself and feel better, faster
What is an EMDR Intensive?
EMDR Intensives are not necessarily more intense; instead, they are an accelerated way to deliver treatment for people who want faster results and lasting change. It’s a targeted approach to symptom reduction. EMDR Intensive Therapy allows you to condense your therapy and progress into a shorter time frame. Instead of going to weekly sessions for months, treatment occurs in half days or full days over the course of one to five sessions. Often clients experience a lessening of symptoms after just the first day. EMDR Intensives help people journey deeper and feel better faster.
An EMDR Intensive might be a good fit for you if …
You want to experience deep therapeutic work that can change your life
You’ve had a very painful experience that is still affecting you today.
You want to release pain from early life experiences and deepen connection to your body.
You love your current weekly therapist but want to work for a focused time with a trauma therapist to desensitize specific memories.
You don’t want to be in therapy for months or years.
You have an opening in your schedule like a summer break, sabbatical, or medical leave, and you want to use some of your time to replenish and refresh.
You want to prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for a big life event like a wedding, becoming a parent, starting a new job, or moving to a new city.
You can feel better faster. EMDR Intensives are highly concentrated and focused so you can make faster progress and see lasting change.
How therapy works
What does an EMDR Intensive Program look like?
Pre-Intensive Interview
Before you choose your intensive program package, we meet for a 90-minute intake session to determine the goals of the EMDR Intensive and prepare for the experience. We will identify the painful memories, beliefs, emotions, or images from which you are seeking relief as well as identify resources and strengths you will use during the intensive. The pre-intensive interview can be on-line or in-person. At the end of the pre-intensive interview we will choose a program that is a good fit for your schedule and needs. I will provide you with an EMDR intensive workbook to facilitate your journey, to be filled out no later than two (2) days prior to the first day of the intensive. This workbook includes assessments and activities to prepare for the Intensive and allows you to keep a record of your progress on your treatment goals before, during, and after our sessions. The 90-minute Pre-Intensive Interview costs $255.
During the EMDR Intensive
EMDR Intensives are half day (3 hours) or full day (6 hours per day with an hour break) and run for 3 consecutive days. You and I will discuss what your goals are and what works best for you. EMDR Intensive sessions take place at my office in Ann Arbor or virtually. After reviewing and developing resources, we will collaborate on your treatment plan, choose the targets and goals you would like to address, and begin processing. I incorporate “parts work” (IFS) and “body work” (sensorimotor psychotherapy) into the intensives. We’ll take breaks as needed.
During the intensive itself, you will be focusing on noticing the physical sensations, emotions, thoughts that arise when you focus on recalling the traumatic experience so that you allow your body and brain to process the overwhelm from the traumatic experience to shift your relationship to it so that it feels less intense and you are able to feel safe and connected in the present moment.
On days when you have an intensive, you may be tired afterward. The most important thing is not to be busy the day after the session and to plan activities that relax you, such as spending the day quietly, going for a walk, meeting friends, or exercising. Because you have a lot to process during a session, it can also help to write down your thoughts in Part II of the EMDR Intensive Workbook.
EMDR Intensives are a powerful option for ongoing traumatic stress (natural disasters, domestic violence, first responders, medical incidents, etc.) and extremely effective for recent events and traumas (assaults, car wrecks, divorce, etc.). Attachment-based EMDR Intensives are also empowering for clients who want to clear childhood trauma and heal attachment wounds.
EMDR intensives are a flat daily rate of $1020 per day ($510 per half day). Because I cannot schedule other clients during this time, there is a 50% deposit required to hold a spot for an intensive.
Post-Intensive Interview
A 60-minute interview to debrief the experience and reflect on areas of insight, relief, and transformation. The post-intensive interview provides an opportunity to discuss your next steps for continued growth and healing. The closing session is scheduled for 3-4 weeks after the intensive. The cost of the post-intensive interview is included in the package.
Benefits of EMDR Intensives
EMDR Intensives help people feel better, faster. EMDR Intensives are also cost effective. They are highly effective accelerated therapy and often require less time and overall cost than weekly therapy.
Days, Not Months: Find lasting, life-changing healing in a matter of days rather than months or years.
Cost Effective: In the long run, Intensives are more cost effective because the therapy is concentrated and highly focused. The work is much more efficient and in the end requires less session time and less cost overall. Rather than opening up and closing things down each week, I only have to open things up once and so more session time is spent processing and healing. Instead of spending an hour a week unpacking a traumatic memory or negative self-belief only to have the session end right when you’re getting started, an intensive gives you the time and space to fully reprocess a memory within the time we’ve decided on together.
No More Weekly Appointments: Rather than scheduling your life around a weekly therapy appointment, simply start living the healthy life you desire. An Intensive can be that emotional reset you’ve been looking for.
More Free Time: Replace the time you would have otherwise spent seeing a therapist each week with quality time with your family, career advancement, or other personal development. Not only will you not be spending time in weekly therapy, you will also be healed from those life issues that had previously been holding you back.
No Waiting: Call me to schedule your free consultation ASAP rather than sitting on someone’s waiting list.
You Don’t Need to Live in Ann Arbor! My practice is located in Ann Arbor, MI, but that doesn’t mean you have to be. So long as you are in Michigan, clients can do an intensive online. Additionally, clients can travel from anywhere in the world to Ann Arbor to spend a few days with me in an Intensive and then return home to their daily lives – wherever that may be. If you will be traveling here for an Intensive, I can provide you with more detailed information regarding hotels, transportation in Ann Arbor, the airport etc…
“There is a difference between knowing and understanding.”
—Stephanie Foo, What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma
Are you ready to …
Feel like something is actually changing as a result of therapy
See change happen in days or weeks, instead of months
Resolve problems from the root instead of working harder to cope with the problem
Together we will ..
Identify the thoughts, beliefs, emotions and sensations you want to resolve
Create a customized treatment program with specific, targeted treatment goals on your preferred timeline
Assess the positive changes you experience and support your ongoing growth with personalized resources
Frequently asked questions about EMDR Intensives
FAQs
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Intensive application of trauma-focused therapy seems to be well tolerated in patients with PTSD, enabling faster symptom reduction with similar, or even better, results, while reducing the risk that patients drop out prematurely.
Intensive EMDR treatment is feasible and is indicative of reliable improvement in PTSD symptoms in a very short time frame.
An intensive program using EMDR therapy is a potentially safe and effective treatment alternative for complex PTSD.
The economy is compelling: even compared to other trauma therapy, the intensive format may decrease treatment time, because of time not spent on a) checking in at the beginning of each session, b) addressing current crises and concerns, c) focusing on stabilizing and coping skills that the client won’t need after trauma healing, or d) assisting the client in regaining composure at the end of the session.
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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. The amount of time we will be working each day will fluctuate depending entirely 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 (sometimes longer if needed) will be taken each day.
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That is the magic question and the answer is: 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 together will make a determination regarding how much time will be needed
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EMDR intensive sessions are similar to going on a personal retreat. It’s best to allow time outside of sessions to be unscheduled or filled only with self-care activities like exercise, body work (yoga, acupuncture or massage), and creative expression – drawing, painting, cooking. For those traveling to Ann Arbor, I love to share a list of “Favorite Things” to help you make the most of your time outside of session.
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My fees are $170 per hour. A 2 hour extended session is $340 and a 3-hour session is $510.
When I reserve time for your Intensive, I will be reserving that entire day for working with you. EMDR Intensives are a flat rate of 1,020 for a 6 hour day or $510 for a 3 hour half day. EMDR intensives require a 50% deposit to hold the dates of your EMDR Intensive and remaining amount will be collected at the end of the final day of your Intensive.
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I offer a limited sliding scale program for ten hours of therapy. The spots in the sliding scale program are currently full. Please feel free to inquire about the waitlist.
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Some insurance plans will reimburse a portion of the cost of an EMDR Intensive. Please know that the insurance company requires a diagnosis code as a reason for treatment. I recommend calling the customer service number on the back of your insurance card in order to get details about your specific plan. I’m happy to provide more information to help with this process.
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EMDR Intensives give you the results you would get from months of therapy in a much shorter period of time. If you add up the cost of weekly therapy, an EMDR Intensive is actually more cost effective. Instead of waiting months, you can get the same results in a few days.
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In person at my office in Ann Arbor or online throughout Michigan.