EMDR Intensives: Deeper Healing, Shorter Timeframe

Focused trauma therapy for adults ready to work without losing momentum between sessions. Murrieta, CA & online across California.

Therapy Intensives in Murrieta & online across California

Book your free 20 min phone consult

WHY AN INTENSIVE?

Intensives take what makes EMDR work and remove the barriers that slow down progress.

An Intensive is a condensed treatment format where you complete multiple hours of EMDR therapy in one day or across several consecutive days — rather than spreading it out over weeks or months of 50-minute sessions.

EMDR is already an evidence-based trauma treatment, recognized by the World Health Organization and the American Psychological Association. The intensive format takes what makes EMDR effective and removes the barriers that slow progress down.

When you can stay with your process without stopping, your nervous system has the chance to complete what it's working on. No week-long gaps. No losing the thread between sessions. Many clients find they make faster progress in a condensed format than they did in months of weekly therapy.

Intensives can also be more cost-effective — fewer total hours in treatment and less time away from work or family.

Is an EMDR Intensive Right for You?

AN INTENSIVE MIGHT BE A GOOD FIT IF:

Your schedule makes weekly therapy difficult. You travel frequently, work irregular hours, or have caregiving responsibilities that make consistent weekly appointments hard to maintain.
You have a specific target. A single traumatic event, a performance block, or body sensations that haven't shifted through talk therapy alone.
You lose momentum between sessions. You get somewhere meaningful in therapy, then life happens, and by the next week, you're starting over.
You want concentrated focus. Some patterns need uninterrupted time to fully process; stopping and starting over can get in the way.

AN INTENSIVE MAY NOT BE THE BEST FIT FOR YOU IF:

You're new to therapy and want more time building trust and safety.
You need a slower pace to feel safe and grounded.
You're working with complex dissociation that requires careful, gradual stabilization

Not sure? We'll figure it out together in the consultation call.

lets chat

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EMDR Intensive Format and Options

6 total hours | 3 hours of EMDR treatment
Best for:
- Single-event trauma (car accident, assault, medical trauma, sudden loss)
- Specific performance blocks or confidence issues
- Reducing distress from intrusive thoughts or body sensations
- Jumpstarting work on a focused target
While meaningful progress can happen in one half-day, clients with Complex PTSD often benefit from multiple sessions scheduled monthly, quarterly, or as needed.
Weekday: $1,620 | Weekend: $1,863
12 total hours | 9 hours of EMDR treatment across 3 consecutive days
Best for:
- Complex or layered trauma (developmental trauma, multiple traumatic events)
- Patterns that need sustained attention without gaps
- Clients who lose momentum in weekly therapy
- Deep work that benefits from staying engaged over multiple days
Weekday (Mon–Wed): $3,240 | Weekend (Fri–Sun): $3,726

Each intensive includes: a 90-minute planning session, a personalized companion workbook, focused EMDR treatment time, access to my resource library, and a 90-minute integration session. Find out more about formats and investment here.

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EMDR Therapy Intensives In Temecula, CA (FAQS)

Intensives are effective for:
Trauma & PTSD:
- Single-event trauma (assault, accident, medical trauma, sudden loss)
- Intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, nightmares
- Hypervigilance and avoidance patterns
- Body-held trauma that hasn't shifted through talk therapy
Performance & Confidence:
- Public speaking anxiety, stage fright, test anxiety
- Creative blocks or imposter syndrome
- Athletic performance barriers
- Negative self-beliefs ("I'm not good enough," "I'll fail," "I'm too much")
Relational & Developmental Wounds:
- Attachment injuries or relationship trauma
- Patterns of shutdown, people-pleasing, or reactive anger
- Shame or self-criticism that keeps resurfacing
Somatic & Anxiety Symptoms:
- Chronic tension, panic, or physical symptoms with emotional roots
- Distressing body sensations connected to past experiences
Intensives work best when there's a specific target — a memory, belief, sensation, or pattern you can name. They're less effective for vague goals like "I just want to feel better."
No. EMDR doesn't require you to relive trauma in detail. We work at the pace your system can handle, with built-in resourcing and breaks. The goal is processing, not flooding.
We build a grounding toolkit during the planning session, and we take breaks as needed. You’re in control, if say "stop," we stop. The intensive format gives us time to work with your system, not push through it.
‍For a half-day intensive, most clients schedule it on a day off or take a half-day. For 3-day intensives, you'll want the treatment days clear. I recommend light scheduling the day after — some people feel tired or emotionally raw as processing continues.
Yes. Many clients do intensives as adjunct work while continuing with their primary therapist. With your permission, I can coordinate with them to support continuity of care.
I'm an out-of-network provider. I can provide a superbill for you to submit for reimbursement, but coverage varies by plan. Intensives are often coded differently than weekly sessions, so check with your insurance before scheduling.
This is common, especially for Complex PTSD. Many clients with complex systems schedule follow-up half-day intensives monthly, quarterly, or as needed. We'll assess after your first intensive and create a plan that makes sense for you.
You'll receive a personalized companion workbook after scheduling. It includes grounding exercises, goal-setting prompts, and what to expect. We'll also spend the 90-minute planning session building your resourcing toolkit.
Comfortable clothing, water, snacks, and anything that helps you feel grounded (a journal, a comfort object, headphones for breaks). If we're working online, a private, quiet space where you won't be interrupted.