EMDR Intensives: A Focused Approach to Healing Trauma and Attachment Wounds

In my last post, I introduced EMDR therapy as a powerful tool for healing trauma at the root. If you’ve found yourself curious about what EMDR could offer you but feel ready to make immediate progress- or unsure how to carve out time for consistent therapy, an EMDR Intensive may be a good option for you.

EMDR Intensives are an accelerated format of therapy designed to help people process recent trauma, attachment wounds, or long-standing emotional patterns in a more focused and contained way. Maybe you’e experienced a recent event or loss thats left you feeling less like yourself than usual. Or, you’re noticing some longstanding emotional or relational patterns, or beliefs about yourself that you’re struggling to find relief from. Instead of spreading this work across months or years, we create a dedicated window of time. Often, this looks like one or more extended sessions to go deeper, more quickly.

What Is an EMDR Intensive Like?

Each intensive is tailored to you. Before we meet, you’ll complete a thorough intake process where we explore your goals, personal history, and the patterns you’d like to shift. On the day of your intensive, we’ll begin with grounding and resourcing practices to help your nervous system feel safe and supported. From there, we move into EMDR reprocessing using your unique “target map”- a roadmap of memories or beliefs linked to your present-day concerns.

Sessions typically last 3 to 4 hours in one day.

• For recent traumatic events:

  • One or two of these extended sessions is often enough to bring significant relief and resolution.

• For longer-standing patterns or more complex, attachment-related trauma:

  • We may meet for several days in a row or schedule 3–4 hour sessions weekly over a short period of time.

In all cases, the structure is designed to maximize healing while minimizing overwhelm.

Why Are Intensives So Effective?

Recent research supports what many clinicians and clients already know intuitively: concentrated trauma therapy can be highly effective- sometimes more so than traditional weekly sessions.

• One study found that intensive EMDR led to significant symptom reduction without an increase in adverse effects, even for clients with complex trauma histories (van Woudenberg et al., 2018).

• Another found that intensive treatment can yield similar or greater improvements in fewer hours of therapy (Greenwald et al., 2015).

In my own work, I’ve seen how deeply clients benefit from having protected space to focus, process, and integrate. It can feel like a reset, or a significant turning point in how you relate to yourself and your story.

Who Are EMDR Intensives For?

EMDR Intensives can be a great fit if:

• You’ve done therapy before but feel stuck around a certain issue

• You’re navigating a major transition, recent loss, or traumatic event

• You’re a high-functioning person who wants focused support without long-term weekly therapy

• You’re a therapist, provider, or caregiver and need dedicated time for your own healing

• You want to address relational trauma, attachment wounds, or inner blocks to clarity and self-worth

Intensives are also ideal for those who travel often, live outside of Illinois or Washington (where I’m licensed for ongoing therapy), or want to make meaningful progress on a shorter timeline.

A Note on Nervous System Care

Because I work somatically and relationally, I hold your nervous system at the center of this work. EMDR can stir up a lot - memories, emotions, even physical sensations. I build in plenty of time for regulation and reflection. You’ll leave with tools and insights to continue integrating what comes up, and I offer optional follow-up sessions to support your ongoing healing.

Ready to Begin?

If you're feeling a pull toward this work, or even just curiosity, I invite you to reach out. We’ll start with a free consultation call to make sure it’s a good fit. Whether you’re feeling stuck, raw, or simply ready to understand yourself more fully, EMDR Intensives might be the next step.

Book a free consultation call here.