Why Choose a Therapy Intensive?
Why Choose Intensive EMDR Therapy?
Intensive Therapy is a form of therapy that is more structured and more in-depth than traditional forms of therapy. This type of therapy is best suited for those with complex trauma or severe mental health issues that might be difficult to treat in conventional therapy. Research has shown that intensive therapy improves recovery and promotes long-term well-being.
What is Intensive Therapy?
Intensive Therapy is a type of therapy that takes place more frequently and is often a more profound healing experience. These types of treatment are often meant to be shorter-term and more intense than traditional forms of therapy. Depending on the person's unique struggles, this type of therapy can be a better fit than conventional therapy. Intensive therapy can be used to treat any mental health concern or life struggle. However, it is most commonly used for people who are experiencing complex trauma or severe forms of mental illness. EMDR Intensives are great for those already in traditional weekly/bi-monthly therapy and looking for EMDR intensive work as an adjunct to their current therapy. Our intensives first focus on assessing client readiness, connecting the client to advanced mind-body preparation skills, and then trauma reprocessing.
EMDR Phases 1-2, history taking and preparation, are all about assessing your readiness for EMDR, learning about your history/symptoms, teaching you about your nervous system, and helping you regulate your nervous system through coping skills. Therapists practicing through an intensive format do not skip any of the EMDR phases.
Intensive Therapy vs. Traditional Therapy
Therapy intensives are highly focused, short-term therapy programs designed to address specific mental health concerns in a condensed timeframe. In contrast to traditional weekly therapy sessions, intensives often involve multiple hours of therapy per day over several consecutive days or weeks.
Format of Sessions
Traditional Therapy: Traditional therapy typically consists of one-hour weekly or biweekly sessions. It allows clients to engage in regular discussions and reflections on their thoughts, feelings, and challenges. This structured approach allows for consistent therapeutic progress over time.
Therapy Intensives: Intensive therapy involves longer sessions, typically several hours at a time, and generally convenes several consecutive days. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Intensives consist of these extended sessions, lasting up to five hours over multiple days. This structured approach enables clients to concentrate deeply on their trauma recovery without the time limitations that often accompany traditional hour-long therapy sessions, which typically are scheduled on a weekly or bi-monthly basis.
How Fast Will I Feel Better?
Traditional Therapy: Traditional therapy is often utilized for a duration ranging from several months to several years, depending on the unique struggles and challenges each patient faces. This timeframe is highly variable, as it is influenced by the nature of the issues being addressed and the individual's progress. In some cases, individuals may find it necessary to engage in consistent therapy sessions for the remainder of their lives to manage their mental health and overall well-being effectively. This ongoing support can be pivotal in helping them navigate the complexities of life and maintain a balanced state of mind.
Intensive Therapy: Intensive therapy is a therapeutic approach that occurs over a shorter duration, typically consisting of more frequent sessions scheduled within a condensed timeframe. This focused method can lead to quicker symptom relief for individuals actively seeking support and improving their mental health and well-being. Through this increased frequency of sessions, clients often find themselves making significant strides in their progress.
Outcomes with Traditional Weekly Therapy versus Therapy Intensives
Traditional Therapy: Traditional weekly therapy typically involves sessions that last about an hour and occur once a week. This format allows for steady progress, with clients gradually exploring their issues, developing coping strategies, and building a therapeutic relationship over time. The extended timeline can benefit individuals who need time to process their emotions and thoughts between sessions. It's also well-suited for those who prefer incremental changes and may feel overwhelmed by more intensive interventions. However, the slower pace can sometimes mean that resolving deep-seated issues or complex trauma might take months or even years, depending on the individual's needs and the nature of the problems being addressed.
Intensive Therapy: Therapy intensives, such as those that incorporate EMDR and other trauma-focused approaches, are designed to achieve significant therapeutic goals in a condensed timeframe, often equivalent to several months of traditional therapy. These intensives might consist of multiple sessions over several days or a week, focusing intensely on specific issues. This format is particularly effective for addressing acute trauma or specific phobias, allowing clients to make substantial progress quickly. The intensive nature of the therapy helps to maintain the momentum of emotional processing, minimizing the time between sessions and potentially reducing the overall treatment time. However, it requires a strong commitment from the client and can be emotionally demanding during the intensive period.
Benefits of Therapy Intensives for Long-Term Healing
One of the most essential benefits of intensive therapy is faster symptom relief. When people are struggling with mental health concerns, they are usually willing to do anything to feel relief from their symptoms. Intensive therapy allows patients to heal and reduce symptoms more quickly.
Intensive therapy helps patients experience deeper processing of their trauma and emotions. More frequent, longer sessions allow patients to work through their concerns without much distraction. When patients are in traditional therapy, they can get distracted between appointments or forget to practice skills. Deeper processing is helpful, especially for Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma.
This type of therapy is also often more cost-effective than traditional therapy because people spend less money over time. Intensive therapy might require more upfront cost. However, with traditional therapy, patients will likely pay more over the months or years they are in treatment. Unfortunately, insurance does not yet cover intensive trauma therapy.
Intensive therapy strengthens neural pathways and neuroplasticity in the brain. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to rewire itself. Patients can learn new ways to regulate their emotions and thoughts in intensive therapy. Neuroplasticity helps to strengthen these new neural pathways and promote higher levels of healing. Because neuroplasticity changes the pathways in the brain, patients in intensive therapy are more likely to experience longer-lasting results.
Because patients typically see more progress more quickly in intensive therapy, they may also develop a sense of empowerment. When a person learns what they need to work on, they may feel more confident about moving forward. Furthermore, if a person is experiencing fewer symptoms of their mental health condition, they will likely have a stronger sense of self-worth.
This format of therapy is also an excellent fit for people coping with trauma and complex issues. This is because this form of treatment is more intense than traditional forms. Intense childhood traumas may be challenging to treat with traditional therapy because of their complexity. Our EMDR intensives method is also research-supported, with clients experiencing very substantial relief and improved functioning – that lasts. We believe that one of the quickest and most effective ways to reduce or eliminate your symptoms is by doing an EMDR intensive. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is the best research-supported trauma treatment because it is effective, efficient, and well-tolerated.
Intensive therapy offers flexibility that is not possible through traditional therapy. This might help people with scheduling conflicts who cannot participate in weekly therapy. Each therapist is trained in various EMDR protocols to treat a wide range of presenting concerns, and you will be paired with the best clinician to meet your individual needs.
Another benefit of intensive therapy is the increased momentum patients experience. When a person goes to weekly therapy, they often lose moments between sessions, which can make long-term healing more challenging. In traditional therapy, therapists can assign homework for patients to work on the skills they learned throughout the week. However, life can often get in the way of this, slowing down the healing process.
Intensive therapy often strengthens the relationship between the client and therapist. When clients and therapists can build strong bonds, they will make more progress in therapy. Clients need to be able to trust their therapist before they share trauma or other concerns with them.
Finally, intensive therapy can be a unique way to customize a person’s treatment. Because intensive therapy includes longer consecutive sessions, patients can focus on their specific goals. Intensive therapy is a form of therapy that is shorter in duration but can bring faster results. This type of therapy differs from traditional therapy because it is shorter, more flexible, and has a more profound healing journey. If people are in conventional therapy and are not seeing the results they are looking for, they can try intensive therapy. This form of therapy can also be cheaper over time than traditional therapy. Intensive therapy requires patients to spend more money upfront, while traditional therapy requires patients to spend money over a more extended period. Intensive therapy gives people the time and space to fully focus on healing without being interrupted by the outside world.
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If you're feeling symptoms of PTSD or CPTSD, don't suffer in silence. Take action today by seeking professional trauma therapy. With the right help and support from our trauma therapists in Colorado, you can overcome burnout and prevent it from taking a toll on your life and well-being. Don't wait any longer; prioritize your mental health with Two Rivers Therapy. Follow these simple steps on your journey toward recovery!
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Other Services Offered at Two Rivers Therapy
At Two Rivers Therapy, we understand you may be struggling with multiple problems. To best support our clients in achieving optimal mental health and well-being, we offer anxiety therapy, depression treatment, trauma therapy, therapy for teens, and therapy for the overwhelmed and overworked. In addition to these services, we also offer clinical supervision to receive guidance and support from someone who has more experience than you may. To learn more, check out our blog or About Us!
