I’m so excited to now be offering Therapy Intensives! After experimenting with offering 3-hour intensive sessions to a few long-time clients, I quickly knew this was the direction I wanted to move my practice. Having the spaciousness of extended time allows for so much more depth of healing, unfolding, process, and integration. Clients are experiencing significant transformation in just one intensive session, and I am excited to be offering this as a new service because I am seeing it lead to exponential healing and growth for clients.
A Therapy Intensive is an accelerated form of therapy designed to help clients go deeper and get results faster. I offer three to five hour sessions per day for one to three days. Instead of attending therapy one hour per week for a year, why not carve out a few days for Therapy Intensives? It’s a cutting-edge approach to help people feel better faster.
Many people think of Therapy Intensives like a retreat. For that week you can unplug, take time off work, get a babysitter, or even stay in a hotel or Airbnb. This time is completely dedicated to you so you can focus on healing, reflecting, and reconnecting.
Intensives are “trending” and cutting edge because they are TRANSFORMATIVE. Many therapists are transitioning to this model because people are seeing dramatic improvement and progress toward their goals through intensives.
In traditional, 50 minute therapy we usually spend the first 10-20 minutes of each session reconnecting and catching up, then we have about 20 minutes for deep work before we begin to wrap up and transition out of the meeting. When we do an intensive, we don’t need time to catch up! We get 2-3 hours of uninterrupted deep work. That’s 6-9x more time! Imagine how much more progress you could make. You wouldn’t have to wait a week in between every session in order to take the next step toward healing.
The structure of 50 minute sessions per week was designed by insurance companies and not by therapists who have their client’s best interests at heart. Imagine if you were going in for surgery and after 1 hour the surgeon says, “Well, we’ve reached our time limit for today. I’ll stitch you up and we’ll pick this up next week.” That’s a terrible idea! Once you’re “in it” you don’t want to pause or return to daily life – you want to move through to the other side. Intensives allow us to do exactly that.
Intensives are a bigger financial investment up front but you get much more value in a shorter period of time. It’s cost-effective compared to going to weekly therapy for months or years and you don’t have to wait to see results. It’s perfect for people who are ready for change now.
Of course, therapy and therapy intensives are not a quick-fix.
Healing and growth are a lifelong process. But doing a therapy intensive can help you feel better faster and make significant progress in a short period of time.
WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM THERAPY INTENSIVES?
There’s a growing demand of clients who want intensives for a number of reasons. Therapy Intensives are perfect for people that are ready and motivated to do the work and go deeper than is possible in 50 minutes. They’re ready for relief now. If you’re ready to see things change in your life and your relationships but you don’t want to wait for that to happen next year, a Therapy Intensive may be right for you.
If you have a specific issue, trauma, or stressor that you want support with, this can be the focus of your Therapy Intensive. The dedicated time will be customized specifically to you and your goals.
If you’re not seeing as much progress as you’d like in traditional therapy or you’re feeling stuck, a Therapy Intensive may be able to help get you unstuck and get more momentum.
Therapy Intensives can also be a great fit for people who have a hard time fitting a weekly appointment in their schedules due to work, travel, or other commitments. Intensives offer a format of therapy that may be a better fit for their lives.
WHY SHOULD I DO A THERAPY INTENSIVE INSTEAD OF A NORMAL 50-MINUTE THERAPY SESSION?
Therapy Intensives are more effective and efficient than normal 50-minute therapy sessions. Typically in a 50-minute session, there are at least 10-20 minutes of “check-in” at the start of the session and usually, 5-10 minutes spent on “closing up” or “checking out” at the end of a session – Leaving only 20-30 minutes for deep therapeutic work. Therapy Intensives are different. A 3-hour Therapy Intensive allows for 2.5 hours of depth work. That’s the equivalent of five 50-minute sessions or more than a month of therapy – in a single day!
WILL WE JUST TALK FOR THREE HOURS?
No. Intensives with me are not the same as “talk therapy.” Spending three days simply talking with a therapist may help you feel understood and validated, but it will probably not translate into lasting life change.
In intensives, we will use a method of therapy that helps us do deep work, such as Internal Family Systems (parts work), Brainspotting, or Hakomi, so that we can help you have deep, sustained healing and inner shifts that lead to real changes in how you show up in the world. Experiential, somatic-based therapies like these are extremely effective on their own, but in an intensive they are a powerhouse approach for producing lifelong change.
Exactly what we do in your intensive will be catered specifically to you – your needs and your preferences for ways of working. We may even incorporate gentle movement, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT or Tapping), chakra work, sound therapy, or guided meditation to help with grounding or integration.
HOW MANY INTENSIVE DAYS SHOULD I SCHEDULE?
Great question! This depends on your goals for the Therapy Intensive. Some goals can be reached in a Half Day Intensive (3 hours), but other goals are more complex and may require a 3 Day Intensive. I can help you determine the number of days that would work best for your therapy goals.
IF I ALREADY HAVE A PRIMARY THERAPIST, CAN I DO AN INTENSIVE AS ADJUNCT THERAPY?
Yes! Therapy Intensives work very well as an adjunct therapy. I would ask that you sign a Release of Information so that your current therapist and I can collaborate/coordinate to best serve you.
Because we will be doing internal, experiential work such as Internal Family Systems or Brainspotting, on a particular issue, this is often a great complement to more traditional styles of therapy.
CAN I DO INTENSIVES AND ALSO SEE YOU FOR WEEKLY THERAPY?
Absolutely! I think this is a great option for many people. In an Intensive we will have time to get a lot of deep work done and you can still have your regular appointments to process things coming up in your life, work, relationships, etc.
CAN I DO AN INTENSIVE ONLINE?
Yes! I offer intensives both in person in my office in downtown Carrollton and online.
WHO IS NOT A GOOD FIT FOR AN INTENSIVE?
If in the past year you have experienced a mental heath crisis, have been hospitalized for a mental health issue, have attempted suicide or had significant suicidal ideation, or have experienced psychosis, a Therapy Intensive with me is probably not a good fit for you. The deep nature of the work of an intensive could be destabilizing.
If you are in a current situation that would benefit from weekly or biweekly support, a stand alone intensive is probably not a good fit, although in some cases it could be a good complement to regular therapy.
If you’re not sure, schedule a consultation call to discuss.
CAN MY INSURANCE HELP PAY FOR THERAPY INTENSIVES?
Therapy Intensives are not covered by insurance. However, if you have out-of-network benefits, your insurance company may reimburse a portion of the Therapy Intensive. It’s best to call the customer service number on the back of your insurance card to learn the details about your specific plan. Make sure to ask questions like: Do I have a deductible for out-of-network services? Have I met my deductible? Do you reimburse CPT billing codes 90837? What is the rate of reimbursement for 90837? What is the allowable amount for reimbursement?
Here is a helpful resource: The Complete Guide to Out-Of-Network Reimbursement.
I am not in network with any insurance companies, but I can offer you a superbill to submit to your insurance company, or, in many cases, I can file out-of-network for you.
WHEN ARE PAYMENTS DUE?
A 50% non-refundable deposit is due at the time you book your Therapy Intensive. The remaining 50% is due on the first day of the Intensive Session.
CAN I USE MY HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNT OR FLEX ACCOUNT FOR INTENSIVES?
Yes, you can use a pre-tax Flex or Health Savings Account to pay for therapy.
WHAT IF I’M INTERESTED IN A THERAPY INTENSIVE BUT I’M NOT 100% SURE?
Let’s schedule a time to talk! I’m happy to answer any questions and explore your unique situation to see if a Therapy Intensive may be helpful for you.