Intensive EMDR

Treatment for PTSD and Trauma

What is Intensive EMDR?

Intensive EMDR is a concentrated way of offering EMDR Therapy. It allows you to gain the benefits of EMDR at a quicker pace.

Regular EMDR sessions last for 60 or 90 minutes, weekly. Intensive EMDR involves longer sessions delivered more frequently, or a block of sessions over several days.

Why choose Intensive EMDR?

There are a number of benefits to Intensive EMDR. These include:

Some people may want to set aside a specific period of time to work through their trauma in one go, rather than spreading it across many months.
If people feel that a traumatic event is having a detrimental effect on their current wellbeing they may want to have a focused period of time to work through this at a quicker pace so they feel more able to return to “normal life”.
Working through trauma at a quicker pace can mean that you don’t have to return to traumatic events each week, but can aim to process the trauma over a shorter timeframe.
Psychologically it can mean not having to build yourself up to going back to traumatic events each week, and then readapting after the session. By having longer sessions you will have more time to process full memories, or to process a number of them in one go.
It can help with momentum and allow the trauma work to feel more contained.
It can make the process feel quicker because there will only be one “check in” at the start of the longer session, rather than each week.
Sometimes weekly therapy can be difficult due to work, travel, caring responsibilities, and motivation. Intensive EMDR means you can address your trauma needs in a discreet period of time that may be easier to block book.

Interested in Intensive EMDR? Visit my contact page to request an initial consultation.

Who will benefit from Intensive EMDR?

I will conduct a full assessment with you prior to agreeing Intensive EMDR. This is to make sure that the process is the best fit for you.

Intensive EMDR may suit you if:

You have clear trauma memories that you want to work through. This may be a one off trauma, or a number of traumatic events.
You feel emotionally stable and already have a number of coping strategies that you are using.
You have support from others outside of therapy, so that there is someone you can speak to about your experiences.
You are motivated to complete therapy and understand the emotional and physical demands that can come with Intensive EMDR.
You able to have time between sessions to rest and recover, including opportunities for physical activity.
You are able to make a commitment to a short period of concentrated time to focus on therapy.

When may it not be suitable?

Some people may require more support before completing Intensive EMDR. This could include building up coping strategies, or talking through complex trauma experiences to understand how best to use EMDR.

You may need more assessment or preparation if:

You have a complex PTSD presentation
You show signs of dissociation which needs to be addressed first.
You are using unhelpful coping mechanisms such as substance misuse or self-harm.
You have mental health needs such as psychosis or mania
You become easily tired or struggle to concentrate for long periods.
You have current life stressors that make it hard to focus on the trauma.

In these cases Intensive EMDR would not be ruled out. We may need a longer period of weekly sessions to support these needs before offering it.

How does Intensive EMDR work?

We will have a 50 minute assessment session before agreeing Intensive EMDR. During this I will ask questions about your current life, your traumatic experience, and your general current functioning. We will then agree a plan.

The next session we will complete the second phase of EMDR, which involves understanding your trauma and the memories you want to work on. We will also develop some coping strategies you can use in between sessions. I like to do this before the intensive sessions so that we both have a clear plan.

An intensive EMDR schedule will be designed around your specific needs. Some example schedules include:

A 3 hour session twice a week, for three weeks.
2 or 3 full days of therapy (with a lunch break)
Weekly sessions but with extra-long sessions (3 hours) when processing specific memories.

The schedule will depend on:

The goals of therapy (what you want to achieve from EMDR)
Your availability.
The type of trauma that is being processed.
The number of memories you want to process.
Your personal feelings about how much therapy you feel you can manage at a time.

In each intensive session there will be breaks and opportunities to leave the therapy space as needed. You are encouraged to bring food and drink with you.

You are likely to feel very tired after an intensive EMDR session. It is recommended that you do not return straight to demanding work or other emotionally intensive commitments.

You are encouraged to engage in gentle physical activities in between sessions. This may include walking, stretching, yoga or Pilates, or other sport you enjoy. Spending time with animals or loved ones can also help to ground you in the present.

Recovery time is important to think about, because your brain and body can continue to process information between sessions.

Research

Studies of intensive EMDR programmes focused on sessions over consecutive days rather than weekly have reported substantial improvements in PTSD symptoms, high rates of loss of PTSD diagnosis and low dropout rates. This has been found amongst the general population, Veterans , adolescents and young adults, and people with intellectual difficulties .

It is believed that Intensive EMDR works by providing repeated opportunities to process traumatic memories without long gaps between sessions, allowing treatment to build momentum and reducing the opportunity for avoidance to interrupt the therapeutic process.

Physical activity is often incorporated alongside intensive trauma-focused treatment, with programmes using activities such as walking, exercise or trauma-informed yoga to support movement, bodily awareness and stress regulation between therapy sessions. However, research suggests that while physical activity may provide useful benefits for wellbeing and regulation, the main improvements seen in intensive programmes is primarily associated with the EMDR treatment rather than physical activity being the factor responsible for better PTSD outcomes.

Links to the research studies are given below.

How do I book?

Please get in contact if you are interested in Intensive EMDR. I offer this outside of my normal therapy hours, so I often can arrange sessions without a waiting list.

We will have a 20 minute introductory call to discuss you needs, where we can discuss Intensive EMDR in more detail.