In-person in Walnut Creek & online across california
EMDR Intensives
For trauma and anxiety—deep, nervous-system-informed healing in a focused format
Is traditional therapy not quite reaching the places you hoped it would?
You’ve gained insight, built skills, and done meaningful work. And still, something feels unresolved—because not everything that needs healing lives in words. Some experiences are held in the nervous system, asking for a deeper, more embodied approach.
You don’t have the time to devote to weekly therapy sessions
If life already feels full, committing to long-term weekly therapy may not be realistic or supportive right now. EMDR intensives offer a focused alternative—allowing you to step into meaningful work over a shorter period of time, without dragging the process out. For many people, this concentrated format feels more contained and easier for the nervous system to integrate.
You’re seeking deeper, more concentrated healing
You may understand your history and still find yourself reacting in ways that don’t match who you are today. These patterns often come from experiences that shaped the nervous system over time—not from a single event. An intensive allows us to work gently with these deeper layers, supporting change that feels both meaningful and embodied.
You’ve already tried traditional therapy
If you’ve spent time in talk therapy, you’re likely thoughtful, reflective, and invested in growth. And still, some reactions or emotional states may persist—not because therapy “failed,” but because certain experiences live beyond language. EMDR intensives help process what hasn’t yet had the chance to fully integrate, without needing to repeatedly tell your story.
You want a carefully paced, nervous-system–informed approach
You don’t need to identify with any particular diagnosis to benefit from working with the nervous system. In this practice, EMDR intensives are collaborative, attuned, and paced with care—prioritizing safety, choice, and integration so the work unfolds in a way that feels supportive rather than overwhelming.
You’re in the right place.
EMDR intensives can help you accomplish in one session what may take months in traditional therapy.
What is an EMDR intensive?
An EMDR intensive is a series of extended therapy sessions designed to allow deeper, more focused trauma processing than is typically possible in weekly therapy.
In this practice, intensives usually include 15–20 hours of therapy, broken into 3, 4, or 5-hour sessions scheduled over the course of several weeks or a few months. This format allows us to build meaningful momentum while still giving your nervous system time to rest and integrate between sessions.
Before we begin, you’ll receive a guided preparation workbook to help clarify your goals, identify important themes or experiences, and set intentions for the work ahead. This helps keep our time together focused and meaningful.
How can an intensive help with Trauma?
For single-incident trauma—such as an accident, medical event, or specific distressing experience—intensives allow us to stay with the memory long enough for the brain and body to fully process it.
Rather than touching the edge of the experience and stopping each week, we can work through it more completely, often reducing emotional charge, triggers, and reactivity.
How can an intensive help with Complex Trauma?
When painful experiences happened over time—through relationships, chronic stress, or repeated overwhelm—the impact often shows up as patterns:
emotional reactivity
shutdown or numbness
people-pleasing or over-functioning
persistent self-criticism
difficulty feeling safe or settled
These aren’t personality flaws. They’re nervous system adaptations.
An intensive allows us to carefully work through layers of these experiences without rushing. Because we have more time, we can move at a pace that prioritizes stabilization, choice, and integration—supporting shifts that feel embodied, not just understood.
How can an intensive help with Chronic Anxiety?
Chronic anxiety often isn’t just about current stress—it’s the nervous system staying in protection mode. Weekly therapy can build insight and coping skills, but intensives allow us to target the underlying memories and patterns keeping your system activated.
By processing the root experiences driving hypervigilance or overwhelm, many clients notice:
decreased baseline anxiety
less reactivity to triggers
improved emotional regulation
greater access to calm and grounded choice
What makes this different?
An intensive isn’t about pushing harder or doing more therapy in one day. It’s about creating the right conditions for your nervous system to complete what it couldn’t at the time—within a carefully paced, collaborative structure.
For many clients who have already “done therapy,” this format feels like the next step: deeper, more efficient, and profoundly integrative.
1
Pre-Intensive Consultation
We begin with a 40–50 minute consultation to discuss your goals, explore what you’d like to focus on, and determine whether an EMDR intensive is a good fit. This is also a chance for you to ask questions and learn more about the process.
2
Intensive
Session
Most clients complete 15–20 hours of therapy in 3–5 hour sessions spaced over several weeks or months. These longer sessions allow for deeper, focused work. You’ll also receive a preparation workbook beforehand to clarify your intentions and keep the work focused.
3
Post-Intensive Follow-Up
After the intensive, we meet for a follow-up session to support integration, reflect on what shifted, and discuss any next steps for continued support.
What you get
✓ Evidence-based treatment
✓ Intensive prep guide & customized treatment plan
✓ Comfortable, inviting space
✓ A partner on your journey to healing
Your Options
Choose the right format for you.
All formats are designed to balance focused trauma processing with time for nervous system integration between sessions. The schedule can be tailored to your capacity, availability, and therapeutic goals.
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Typically scheduled 1- 2 times per week, weekly
Gradually build toward 15–20 total hours of therapy
A good option for those who prefer a steady pace with regular integration time between sessions
Investment: $3,750-5,000 (Fees are calculated at a rate of $250 per hour -
Can be scheduled once or twice per week, or spaced bi-weekly or monthly depending on your needs
Continue until we reach 15–20 total hours of intensive work
Investment: $3,750-5,000 (Fees are calculated at a rate of $250 per hour
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Often scheduled bi-weekly or monthly, though they can also occur once or twice per week for a more concentrated timeline
Continue until 15–20 total hours of therapy is completed
Investment: $3,750-5,000 (Fees are calculated at a rate of $250 per hour
Imagine finally getting to…
Resolve deep wounds.
Move beyond understanding into real, lasting change.Imagine responding to life’s challenges with greater calm, feeling less triggered by the past, and experiencing more freedom in your relationships and choices.
Experience accelerated healing.
Make meaningful progress in a focused format that allows your brain and body to process what weekly therapy may only begin to touch.
Overcome the obstacles that keep you stuck.
Release the emotional weight of past experiences so you can move forward with more freedom, healthier relationships, and greater trust in yourself.
Find the healing you’ve been seeking.
faqs
Other intensive questions? I’ve got answers.
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EMDR helps the brain process and integrate experiences that have become “stuck” in the nervous system. Using bilateral stimulation (such as guided eye movements or tapping), the brain can reprocess difficult memories so they feel less triggering and more like something that happened in the past rather than something still happening now.
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Instead of meeting for 50 minutes each week, EMDR intensives involve longer sessions—typically 3–5 hours—scheduled over several weeks to allow for deeper, uninterrupted trauma processing. This format helps the brain stay engaged in the work long enough to move beyond surface understanding and into meaningful change.
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Intensives tend to work well for people who are motivated for deeper work and want to focus on specific memories, patterns, or areas of anxiety that feel stuck. We explore this together during a 40–50 minute consultation to make sure the intensive format feels supportive, safe, and appropriate for you.
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EMDR intensives can help with experiences that continue to impact how you feel, react, or relate to others. This may include past trauma, chronic anxiety, panic, intrusive memories, relationship wounds, persistent self-doubt or shame, people-pleasing, and feeling easily triggered or overwhelmed. They can also help shift long-standing patterns that developed over time and still affect your sense of safety, confidence, or emotional regulation today.
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Before your intensive, you’ll complete a guided preparation workbook designed to help clarify your goals, identify important experiences or patterns, and set intentions for the work. This preparation helps us use our time together more effectively and keeps the intensive focused on what matters most to you.
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The next step is to schedule a free 40–50 minute consultation. During this conversation, we’ll talk about your goals, explore whether an EMDR intensive is the right fit, and answer any questions you may have about the process.