EMDR Intensives for women located in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and soon, South Carolina!
Coming in January, 2024, I will be offering EMDR intensives as a form of efficient, accelerated trauma therapy.
My EMDR intensives, held online, are structured like accelerated mini-retreats, giving you an intensive therapy experience.
If you’ve put off scheduling therapy because you can’t stand the hassle of another weekly appointment and want to consolidate a therapeutic experience in a brief window of time, one of these premium therapy packages might be the perfect choice for you.
Curious?
Who should consider EMDR intensives?
Maybe you’ve put off seeking therapy because it’s just too much of an ongoing time commitment on top of your full-time job and kid responsibilities.
Maybe you’re on maternity leave and finally have the time away from work to do your personal work to be the kind of person and parent you want to be.
Perhaps you’re a woman in midlife who’s ready to make big changes but can feel old fears holding you back.
Maybe you had a traumatic birth experience and it’s impacting feeling connected to your baby or toddler.
EMDR intensives are highly structured, accelerated therapy experiences that can allow you to dive deep into a therapeutic experience in a very limited amount of time.
They’re not the right choice for everyone, but if you’re someone who is highly self-motivated and perhaps has found that talk therapy just isn’t doing it for you, an EMDR intensive could be just right.
EMDR intensives can be a great option for people who are ready to work hard over a short period of time, and who desire to do change work, rather than seek OR in addition to supportive weekly therapy.
EMDR intensives are on your terms
Customized to your needs and your timeline, EMDR intensives give you a flexible new way to access support within your busy schedule WITHOUT another weekly commitment.
Your time is a commodity and precious. Spend it efficiently and wisely on something that is aligned with your treatment goals and on your own timeline.
EMDR intensives will provide you with takeaways to continue your work without weekly meetings.
What does the data say about the efficacy of EMDR intensives?
Intensive application of trauma-focused therapy seems to be well tolerated in clients with PTSD, enabling faster symptom reduction with similar or even better results, while reducing the risk that patients drop out of trauma therapy 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 economics of EMDR intensives is compelling: even compared to other trauma therapy, the intensive format may decrease overall 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.
FAQ’s about EMDR intensives with Leah Rockwell, LPC, EMDR therapist
Who can benefit from EMDR?
EMDR addresses the psychological and physical symptoms stemming from adverse life experiences. What are these? Learn more about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) score here. EMDR therapy is not just for trauma; it is also utilized for performance enhancement and to get at the anxieties or faulty beliefs that may interfere with our optimal functioning.
Why an intensive instead of a normal 50-minute psychotherapy session?
EMDR intensives allow the opportunity to progress through your symptoms in a more succinct and honed way without the interruption of a 50-minute session. An intensive format may decrease overall treatment time is not lost 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 healing, or d) assisting the client in regaining composure at the end of the session.
If I’m already a weekly client, can I participate in an EMDR intensive?
Yes. EMDR intensives for current clients are available in modified formats and pricing.
If I already have a primary therapist, can I do an EMDR intensive as adjunct therapy?
Yes. Perhaps you’ve a felt sense that something profound has yet to change, but you’re not quite sure how to shift all the way into a new experience of yourself with your current therapist. Maybe you now understand new things on an intellectual level, yet your body is still confused, so you’re curious about how adjunct EMDR intensive therapy can help to access a felt difference in your body of what your mind already knows. We will identify what format is best for you during your initial consultation; EMDR intensives are not for everyone.
What can I expect to accomplish in a half-day intensive?
A half-day intensive offers a multitude of resources and can help to either increase performance and enhance confidence, or significantly decrease the devastating effects of single event trauma (e.g. negative cognitions, disruptive dreams, disturbing emotions and body sensations). While significant healing can occur in one half-day intensive, Complex PTSD (developmental, ongoing relational trauma sometimes referred to as “little t” trauma) deserves more treatment than one half-day intensive. Many of my clients experiencing Complex PTSD may continue to work on their trauma histories through monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly half-day intensives. A half-day EMDR intensive may offer you a taste of what EMDR therapy could be like for you before diving into weekly EMDR therapy.
What can I expect to accomplish in a 3-day weekday or weekend intensive?
Participating in a 3-day (weekday or weekend) EMDR intensive may create impactful change more efficiently and expediently than just weekly, 50-minute sessions or even one half-day intensive. We will identify which format is best for you during your initial consultation. Please note that weekend intensive fees are significantly higher, given that these are premium times for the therapist to provide the EMDR intensive. I offer one weekend intensive per quarter, only.
Additionally, from any EMDR intensive, you can expect to learn strategies to feel more grounded and regulated. However, complete “symptom resolution” or even moving through a set number of “targets” is never something that a therapist can guarantee. Your brain is your brain, and it works only on its own terms and schedule which is not something that you nor I can predict.
Can my insurance help pay for this program?
Yes, for parts of it. Many insurance companies reimburse a significant portion of the cost of psychotherapy, especially the initial intake session and a standard follow-up session. For insurance purposes, I am considered an out-of-network provider. It's best to determine the exact details of your policy ahead of time, including what benefits are available regarding out-of-network providers and if your insurance will reimburse several hours of therapy in one day or one week. I will provide you with a Superbill for all direct contact therapy services included in the program.
Why I recommend EMDR intensives
EMDR intensives, contrary to weekly therapy, give you access to a full therapeutic experience for trauma recovery in a “container” that we design together
As a former teacher and experiential programming facilitator in schools, I have always felt that we learn the most and are the most changed by mini-experiences that shift our worldview and our relationship with ourselves in the world. An EMDR intensive with me does just that.
Many people want to feel a shift when embarking in therapy, and though these shifts are incremental in weekly therapy sessions, they are far more palpable when they occur in a consolidated experience that is mindfully and intentionally put designed to maximize their efficacy.
In an EMDR intensive with me, we’ll go beyond “the work” itself to create a full therapeutic environment for you that primes you for the best possible experience in your EMDR intensive. Yes, it’s trauma therapy, but I will work with you to create a customized plan for before, during, and after your experience, including suggestions on how to set up your space, what to tell your family about what you’re doing, movement to incorporate into your program, and even nourishing recipes to prepare or to consume during participation in the EMDR intensive. Additionally, you will have suggestions for how to extend the work outside of our time together.
Healing from trauma is a full-body experience, and an EMDR intensive is part of what can facilitate this process. Rather than defining myself as simply your therapist during your EMDR intensive, I see myself as your guide on an intimate journey toward strength, resilience, and post-traumatic growth.
While no therapist can ever guarantee specific outcomes of therapy, you will leave an intensive experience with a new roadmap for which to approach old roads.
EMDR Intensive formats
Day-long intensive (weekday)
This intensive is comprised of an initial session, a one day retreat (morning and afternoon sessions), and a follow-up session one month later.
Ideal for someone who’s curious about EMDR, is well-resourced, perhaps wants adjunctive EMDR therapy, or who has had a recent traumatic event that they’d like to process such as a medical event, car accident, or another singular issue.
Day-long intensive rates start at $1,720 and include 6.5 face-to-face hours, a customized client guide to maximize your experience before, during and after, and a welcome package with customized treatment suggestions.
Day-long intensive (weekend)
This intensive is comprised of an initial session, a one day retreat (morning and afternoon sessions), and a follow-up session one month later.
Ideal for someone who’s curious about EMDR, is well-resourced, but simply does not have the time to commit to weekly therapy and wants to try EMDR therapy.
Day-long weekend intensive rates start at $2,121 and include 6.5 face-to-face hours, a customized client guide to maximize your experience before, during and after, and a welcome package with customized treatment suggestions.
3-day intensive during week plus one weekend day (Wed/Fri/Sat)
A series of every-other-day EMDR sessions with two sessions during the week and one on the weekend.
More info coming soon.
Paying for EMDR intensives
Each EMDR intensive experience begins with a stand-alone 90 minute “intake” session and ends with a stand-alone 60 minute session one month after the intensive experience. These sessions may be reimbursable by insurance utilizing CPT code 90837. It is up to the client to contact their insurance provider to make these inquiries.
The actual intensive experience is not reimbursable by insurance. Outside of the intake and closing sessions, payment in full for the EMDR intensive is required at time of service.
In considering this investment, it is helpful to compare that standard weekly therapy appointments cost approximately $1,145 over a two month period (8 sessions, 7 total hours of EMDR therapy) and a day-long EMDR intensive costs $1,720 for 6.5 total hours of therapy in one day-long experience. For some, paying for time NOT in weekly therapy and living with increased resilience and reduced symptomatology is a worthwhile investment.