Before moving forward with an intensive, you will be asked to complete an online screening questionnaire. This will provide some necessary information to determine if an intensive may be beneficial to help you move towards your goals. Intensives may not be the advisable model of therapy for all individuals.

We will schedule 2 hours to determine the goals of your EMDR Intensive and prepare for the desensitization and reprocessing portion. During this time, we will look deeper at portions of your history, identify the distressing symptoms from which you are seeking relief, and clarify your desired goals. Some attention may also be given to teaching emotion regulation skills that may be beneficial throughout the intensive program and beyond.

The intensive block is 3 hours and is focused on building up your felt sense of peace, calm and connection while reprocessing the disturbing material that brought you to this intensive. Because we will focus on the deep work during concentrated consecutive hours, EMDR Intensives are a powerful way to experience the healing benefits of EMDR therapy at a faster rate than traditional therapy models.

Following your last intensive block, we will schedule an optional 60 minutes to debrief the experience and identify and reflect on areas of insight, relief, and transformation. We will determine areas that may require additional future attention and discuss your next steps for continued growth and healing.

An EMDR Intensive includes one 3-hour intensive block. Significant progress alleviating distress related to single or recent-event trauma can be experienced with one intensive block. Depending on factors such as your attachment history, longevity of symptoms and distress, recurring difficult relational patterns, limited healthy connections and resources, and compounded trauma, additional intensive blocks may be recommended.  Add-on intensives can be arranged at the start for back to back processing days or at a later time. Some may desire to continue their healing work through monthly or quarterly intensive blocks. We will work together to determine what works best for you. Additional intensives are $150/hour. Three-hour blocks are recommended.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the distressing symptoms and emotions that are the result of disturbing life experiences. Clients frequently report no longer feeling stuck in past issues or experiences, all while building positive mental resources and healthy behaviors for the future.

During EMDR, the client attends to emotionally disturbing material in brief doses while simultaneously using Bilateral Stimulation (BLS) generally in the form of eye movement, back and forth tapping, or auditory tones. Trauma can overwhelm a person’s brain and nervous system, locking down emotions, cognitions, and other parts of the disturbing memory. Through therapist’s guidance, BLS “unlocks” the brain’s natural ability to heal, allowing clients to reprocess traumatic information until it is no longer disturbing and psychologically disruptive. After successful treatment with EMDR therapy, affective distress is relieved, negative beliefs are reformulated, and physiological arousal is reduced. This often results in increased insight regarding previously disturbing events as well as long-held negative thoughts about the self. Thus, clients can move beyond the traumatic symptoms and/or harmful coping strategies.

EMDR therapy uses a three-pronged protocol: (1) the past events that have laid the groundwork for dysfunction are processed, forging new associative links with adaptive information; (2) the current circumstances that elicit distress are targeted, and internal and external triggers are desensitized; (3) imaginal templates of future events are incorporated to assist the client in acquiring the skills needed for adaptive functioning.

An EMDR Intensive is a powerful way to accelerate the healing that you would experience in a typical EMDR session. Rather than going to counseling for 45-60 minute sessions weekly or twice a month, you would set aside multiple-hour blocks of time for intensive therapeutic work. It is a concentrated way to get the power of EMDR without having time in between sessions. Intensives help people journey deeper and feel better faster. Intensives are designed for those motivated to focus on change.

Intensive application of trauma-focused therapy seems to be well tolerated in patients with PTSD, enabling faster symptom reduction with similar, or even better, results, while reducing the risk that patients drop out prematurely. Learn more here and here.

Intensive EMDR treatment is feasible and is indicative of reliable improvement in PTSD symptoms in a very short time frame. Learn more here.
An intensive program using EMDR therapy is a potentially safe and effective treatment alternative for complex PTSD. Learn more here.

The economy is compelling: even compared to other trauma therapy, the intensive format may decrease treatment time, because of time not spent on a) checking in at the beginning of each session, b) addressing current crises and concerns, c) focusing on stabilizing and coping skills that the client won’t need after trauma healing, or d) assisting the client in regaining composure at the end of the session. Learn more here.

EMDR Intensives are designed for people that are motivated to experience relief now.  If you’re ready to see things change in your life and your relationships but you don’t want to wait months or years for that to happen – an EMDR Intensive may be right for you. Intensives are great for individuals who are preparing for an upcoming change and desire to go into a new situation as a healthier version of themselves. If you have a specific topic, trauma, or stressor that you want to address – this can be the focus of your EMDR Intensive.  The dedicated time will be customized specifically to you and your goals.

EMDR intensives are known to benefit individuals who have experienced the following and more:

• PTSD
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Negative relational patterns
• Childhood abuse
• Painful childhood experiences
• Medical trauma
• Recurring self-doubt
• Loss
• Personal injury 
• Exposure to or experience of a single-event trauma

Intensives are best suited for those who have a capacity to self-regulate following distressing experiences. 

Intensives are not suitable for highly dissociative clients. I recommend “parts work” therapies and doing EMDR therapy at a slower pace than in an intensive format. 

For your safety, intensives are not recommended if there have been any suicide attempts or serious suicidal thoughts with intent or specific plans within the last year. 

Even if an intensive is not right for you at this time, significant progress can still be made through traditional therapy. There are many skilled therapists that offer the traditional therapy model.

While the pre-intensive and post-intensive interviews are offered in virtual or in-person formats, the multi-hour intensive blocks are only offered in-person at our Muncie, Indiana location. 

If a client chooses to use a virtual format for their pre-intensive and post-intensive sessions, clients must be located in the state of Indiana at the time of the session. This is a requirement of the Indiana State Health Professions Board. Clients must also be in a stationary location with adequate privacy to limit disruptions.

Pre-intensive and post-intensive sessions may be offered Mondays through Fridays from 8am-5pm subject to availability. Intensive blocks are only offered on select Thursdays and Fridays between 8am- 5pm at this time. Weekend and evening hours are not available.

If you have regularly been seen by a Freedom Work therapist in the past 3 months, you may be able to schedule intensive blocks to assist in feeling better faster. Intensives can be scheduled in 2-4 hour blocks which can especially be helpful when in the processing phases of EMDR. Let’s talk more about whether this model is best for you.

Great question! This depends on your goals for the EMDR Intensive. All EMDR Intensives require the intensive planning session and one 3-hour intensive block. Depending on factors such as your attachment history, longevity of symptoms and distress, recurring difficult relational patterns, limited healthy connections and resources, and occurrence of compounded trauma, additional intensive blocks may be recommended.  Significant progress alleviating distress related to single-event trauma can be experienced with one 3-hour intensive block. 

Most clients will desire additional intensive blocks to keep moving towards their goals of healing. Some clients decide to schedule intensive blocks on a monthly or quarterly basis until they feel they have made the desirable progress. The fee for each additional intensive is $150/hour and is charged on the day that the intensive occurs. The structure is flexible and we will work together to determine what works best for you.

Absolutely! EMDR Intensives work very well as adjunct therapy. Perhaps you and your therapist notice that you are stuck and need help removing blocks associated with past trauma. Maybe you have gained significant insight through your current work, but you notice that your body and emotional responses indicate that your past is continuing to negatively impact your present functioning. I would ask that you sign a Release of Information so that your current therapist and I can collaborate to best serve you.

Clients seeking adjunct therapy are encouraged to start with the Foundations EMDR Intensive Program to fully understand your story, needs, and desired outcome. However, If you are aware that a particular trauma or recent event is hijacking your process with your established therapist, we can develop an alternative plan. Some clients desire to continue adjunct intensives while continuing to meet with their weekly therapist. Intensives may be scheduled monthly or quarterly while you continue working with your primary therapist.

The customized client workbook as well as the pre-intensive interview will discuss ways to best prepare for your intensive. Multiple hours of deep therapeutic work can be exhilarating but can also be exhausting. You may want to consider your childcare options to be most attentive to your needs prior to and following your Intensive. Clients may need the ability to postpone a demanding work or activity schedule immediately following an EMDR Intensive. 

I always encourage clients to consider items that will allow them to be most present during sessions: comfortable clothing, a favorite journal, nutritious snacks or even a comfort item. I will have hot drinks and water available on site. 

Some people think of Intensive days as a personal retreat. For those days, you can unplug, take time off work, plan for your favorite meal, get a babysitter, take long walks or even stay in a hotel. This time is completely dedicated to you so you can focus on healing, reflecting, resting and reconnecting. 

Please note that some medications (for example, benzodiazepine) may reduce the effectiveness of EMDR. Consult with your physician to address changes in your medication regimen.

EMDR Intensives are not a billable service and are not submitted to insurance. Therefore, EMDR Intensives are self-pay only and superbills are not provided. When completing your paperwork, you will be asked to submit your credit card information into our secure electronic health records system (Simple Practice). You may also choose to input your Health Savings Account card information. The payment processing system used with our EHR is called Stripe. 

Intensive planning sessions, intensives, and post intensive assessments are billed at $150/hour. Fees are charged on the day that the services occurs. 

Please note that $150 of the Foundations Intensive Program fee is charged at the time of scheduling your pre-intensive session. This amount is non-refundable if you choose not to proceed with your Intensive program. Because intensives are multiple hours set aside specifically for you, you are required to give at least 48-hours notice if you need to cancel or reschedule. If you do not give 48-hours notice or do not show for your scheduled intensive sessions, you will be charged $50 per hour set aside for you. You will be given an opportunity to reschedule your intensive based on availability. Any cancellation fees charged will not offset your program total.

Let’s schedule a time to talk!  I’m happy to answer any questions and explore your unique situation to see if an EMDR Intensive may be helpful for you. Consultations are $150 and can be scheduled between 8am-5pm Mondays through Fridays based on availability.  To schedule a consultation, reach out to admin@freedomworkcc.com.