We offer EMDR Intensives at both Coast to Coast offices in Boca Raton, FL, Seattle/Spokane, WA, and Denver, CO.

EMDR has been extensively researched and proven effective for treating many issues (see the list below). It helps us process memories that have created negative beliefs about ourselves and the world and shaped our emotional reactions.

EMDR can produce faster and more long-lasting results than weekly talk therapy sessions because instead of just problem-solving daily symptoms and patterns, EMDR addresses and heals the root of your symptoms.

CTA – Contact us to learn if EMDR is the right solution for your healing journey.

EMDR intensives allow us to condense 9-12 months of individual therapy sessions into a 3-10 day span. They may seem more expensive than traditional weekly sessions but are cost-effective as they require less time overall. We find intensives are a more efficient use of time, as each hour is a full hour, not 50 minutes, and the first 5-20 minutes of each hour isn’t spent on “catching up” or venting about issues that occurred since the last appointment. Our clients are also not dealing with missed appointments due to daily living issues.

Additionally, clients don’t experience therapy fatigue, where they become discouraged by slow progress or frustrated because they have just made progress or opened a traumatic memory only to be told at the end of a weekly 50-minute session that time is up.

To learn more about the benefits of intensives, click here to schedule a consultation with our staff.

Research shows that EMDR accelerates treatment for a variety of issues and that the intensive format is effective. Most people that therapy must be only one hour per week, yet there are no studies indicating this timeframe is effective. EMDR is a therapy that enables your brain to turn on its natural healing system to reprocess memories in a timeframe that lasts at most for three days after your sessions. While everyone reprocesses memories at a different rate and has a difference tolerance level, we find the majority of people can process for 3-5 hours per day. This allows for a great deal of work to be done without interruption – although clients do take breaks as needed.
When you are doing weekly therapy, part of the session is spent on checking in from the previous week and dealing with issues that have arisen. Then the therapist takes time to set up for the processing This may take 10-20 minutes out of the hour session (and consider that most clinical hours are only 45-55 mins). With the intensive format, your brain remains in that optimal processing space for the entire duration of your treatment with no time lost on discussing your week, traffic, work, or other issues that have arisen. Your brain remains in the processing mode is allowed to process the memory uninterrupted to completion. This speeds up your brain’s ability to heal, allowing quicker relief of symptoms and faster return to a healthy, happy, productive life.

Additionally, intensives allow you to remove daily stressors and responsibilities and focus solely on your healing.

While these are not requirements for an intensive, we have found that they are helpful in allowing you to get the most out of this experience.

Before Your Session:

• Positive prior therapy experience
• Support system – at least one person who knows you’re doing an intensive and can be called upon for support throughout
• Positive coping skills – i.e. mindfulness, breathing techniques, exercise, hobbies, etc.
• No active substance use – substances have been known to slow down EMDR processing
• Willingness and desire to change
• Personal Goals – think through some goals you have for this experience and share them with your assigned therapist

During Your Sessions:

• Your mindset coming to an intensive is the foundation of your therapeutic success. Remain open and willing to be uncomfortable. While we hope you have time to relax and get refreshed in between sessions, the therapy sessions themselves will challenge you. Your assigned therapist will meet you where you’re at and create a safe healing environment. However, you will get as much out of this as you’re willing to put in.

In Between Sessions:

• The rest of your day will be spent on your own to process, reflect on the work we have done, and relax and recoup for the next day. This is still part of the therapy! You may want to nap, read, walk, swim, or exercise during this time, so pack accordingly. Self-care is a critical part of any therapy, especially in this intensive format. For these reasons, we suggest treating this as a retreat and not staying at home or going to work, but instead scheduling enjoyable activities such as yoga, walks, massages, etc., and limiting your stress as much as possible.

Your intensive is an individualized retreat, as everyone’s needs are different. The length of each session depends on several factors – how you process, how long your brain can process, your self-care in between sessions, and the intensity of the trauma processing itself, to name a few.

Some days will be longer than others – our goal is to have quality over quantity in each session. If your brain becomes over tired, effective processing stops, so sometimes, the most effective tool is to take a break and allow your brain to rest. Our therapy team will meet you where you are each day and determine the best use of time based on your needs and daily capacity.

Unfortunately, EMDR intensives are not currently covered by insurance.

We also don’t use insurance at Coast to Coast for the following reasons, including prioritizing protection of:

Your Information:

• Maintaining your confidentiality is of the utmost importance. When billing insurance, we cannot guarantee the same level of confidentiality as many insurance companies require more disclosure to justify the services provided. Any information that is disclosed ends up on your permanent medical record.

Your Diagnosis:

• A diagnosis is required for an insurance company to cover the cost of therapeutic services. Whatever diagnosis you receive becomes a part of your permanent record, which can impact areas such as life insurance, health insurance premiums, background checks for certain occupations, and more.
• If you do meet the criteria for any mental health diagnosis, we want that to stay confidential and protected from outside entities.
• We believe that a diagnosis should not be a permanent label; instead, it is a tool to best guide your treatment and support the healing of your individualized needs.

Your Treatment:

• At this time, insurance companies operate within a weekly-therapy model. This means they do not allow providers to do more than one hour of therapy daily. This does not fit with an intensive model, which calls for 4-6 hours of daily therapy.

At Coast to Coast, we find intensives are a good fit for:

• Individuals with busy schedules who struggle to find time for weekly sessions
• Parents who struggle to find consistent childcare for weekly therapy
• Individuals who worry about processing their trauma in small doses amid daily responsibilities, as is the case with weekly therapy
• People who are ready to take a deeper dive into their healing
• Individuals who are looking for a more efficient option for therapy
• Individuals who want to feel better quickly, so they can enjoy life now and not wait a year.

Special considerations we’ve noted:

• Substance abuse history – for best results, we require a minimum of 30 days of sobriety prior to the beginning of your intensive. EMDR is a brain-based therapy that works with your brain’s ability to heal itself. Substances can interfere with processing.
• Recent or active suicidal intent – because we are not an in-patient treatment center, we need to ensure that you are safe on your own between sessions. History of suicidal thoughts or attempts should be discussed in further detail with your assigned therapist prior to your intensive.
• Must be 18 years old or older to receive treatment with our team

None of these considerations are disqualifiers, but they should be discussed during your intake call to determine if we are the right fit for your needs. Ensuring your safety is our main concern.

If you need to reschedule your EMDR intensive, you will be put back on the waiting list, and we will provide dates based on availability.

If you need to cancel, you can cancel 30 days before your intensive and will receive your deposit back minus $500. This covers the cost of your pre-treatment assessments, intake calls, and the time your therapist has set aside for your intensive.
If you must cancel less than 30 days before your intensive, your deposit is not refundable.

We do understand that sometimes life and unexpected things happen, so while this is our policy, please contact us so we can discuss this further if necessary.

• If you are interested in scheduling an intensive with us, please complete an inquiry using our form, or email us at insightcounselingintensives@gmail.com
• We will contact you once we receive your inquiry to schedule a free 30-45-minute pre-treatment assessment. On this call, we will discuss your current symptoms and struggles, a brief history, your goals, and other necessary information to ensure that we are the right fit for you and your needs.
• If we both agree that Coast to Coast is the right fit, we will send you information to complete a trauma assessment online; your number of recommended days for your intensive will be based on this test.
• Once we receive that assessment, we will contact you again to discuss the recommended dates and schedule your intensive.
• A 50% deposit will be required to secure your appointment dates. The remaining 50% will be paid on the first day of the EMDR intensive.

We typically have a waitlist, so we recommend contacting us sooner rather than later if you want to schedule. If we have a cancellation, we will inform you and try to schedule you sooner.