EMDR Intensives: A Different Way of Healing

“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” – Rumi

If you’ve ever felt that your healing journey moves too slowly, or that just as you begin to touch something important the session ends, you are not alone. Many people find themselves longing for more time, more space, and more depth in therapy. This is why EMDR intensives exist.

What Is an EMDR Intensive?

Instead of meeting for the traditional 50-minute session each week, an EMDR intensive offers several hours — sometimes a half-day, a full day, or even multiple days — devoted entirely to specific unresolved memory, time period, or recurring theme in your life.

Think of it as stepping out of the rhythm of everyday life for a while, and entering a space where your only job is to be present with your story, your emotions, and your capacity to heal. As Carl Jung once wrote, “I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.” Intensives create the conditions for that becoming to unfold.

Why Choose an Intensive?

Consider these questions:

• Have you ever wished for more time in a session, just as you were reaching something important?

• Do you feel like your healing could move more quickly if you weren’t bound by the clock?

• Are you carrying a burden that you’d like to address in a more concentrated, contained way?

Many people choose EMDR intensives because they want to step into their healing more fully, without the stop-and-start that weekly therapy sometimes brings. Others find that a single intensive helps them move through a painful memory that has lingered for years.

As Sigmund Freud once observed, “Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways.” An intensive provides the space for those emotions to be felt, witnessed, and released.

What Does an Intensive Look Like?

The process begins with a 90 minute intake session, where we explore your history, your goals, and your readiness. On the day of the intensive, you’ll spend several hours in structured EMDR work, with breaks for reflection and integration. Afterward, we meet again for a follow-up session to support your ongoing care.

Some formats include:

• Half-Day (3 hours): A gentle but focused dive into one theme or memory.

• Full Day (6 hours): A deeper journey, allowing space for multiple layers of experience.

Who Might Benefit?

EMDR intensives are often helpful for:

• People who want to move through trauma in a shorter time frame.

• Busy professionals or parents who can’t commit to weekly therapy.

• Those already in therapy who wish to complement their work with a focused, healing retreat.

• Individuals facing transitions — endings, beginnings, or moments of profound change.

  
  

As Viktor Frankl wrote in Man’s Search for Meaning: “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” EMDR intensives offer a doorway into that transformation.

Is an Intensive Right for You?

Only you can know if you’re ready for this kind of work. It may help to ask yourself: What would it feel like to set aside a day — just for me, just for healing? What might become possible if I gave myself the gift of focused time, attention, and care?

If something inside you stirs as you ask these questions, it may be time to explore an EMDR intensive.

Curious to Learn More? I offer EMDR intensives in New York City for individuals and couples who are ready for a deeper, more concentrated experience of healing. If this speaks to you, I invite you to email me for a consultation.