How Long Is EMDR Intensive Therapy?
If you're considering EMDR Intensive Therapy, you may be wondering how many days of treatment you will need and what happens during those longer therapy days.
EMDR Intensive Therapy provides several hours of therapy each day over consecutive days in one week, rather than weekly sessions over months or years. Most intensives are 4 to 6 days. A complex history of childhood trauma may take several additional days, depending on the number of memories we target. During your consultation, we'll estimate how many days you need, and you decide how many days feel manageable for you. Intensives are typically scheduled 2–4 weeks after your consultation, and earlier dates are sometimes available.
The appropriate length of an intensive is individualized based on your history, symptoms, treatment goals, number and complexity of treatment targets, readiness for trauma processing, and how treatment progresses.
Dr. Curtis has more than 15 years of experience treating PTSD and complex trauma. She'll walk you through what EMDR Intensive Therapy looks like, how many treatment days may be right for you, and what to expect during your intensive.
What Makes EMDR Intensive Therapy Different?
Traditional EMDR Therapy is often provided in 50–60 minute sessions once per week. EMDR Intensive Therapy concentrates treatment into longer blocks of therapeutic work over consecutive days.
This format allows us to:
Maintain continuity
Rather than stopping because the therapy hour has ended, longer treatment blocks provide more time to work with trauma memories and the material that emerges during processing.
Address multiple treatment targets
Depending on your treatment plan, readiness, and how processing progresses, multiple trauma memories or related targets may be addressed during an intensive.
Maintain therapeutic momentum
Consecutive treatment days allow us to continue the work without waiting a week between sessions.
Individualize the pace of treatment
Intensive does not mean rushed. Breaks, grounding, stabilization, and integration time are incorporated throughout each treatment day based on your needs and response to processing.
Understanding Different EMDR Intensive Treatment Lengths
Most intensives are typically 4 to 6 days. A complex history of childhood trauma may take several additional days. The number of days is by your trauma history, current symptoms, treatment goals, readiness for processing, and the number and complexity of treatment targets guide the recommendation and not determined by diagnosis alone.
What to Expect:
Before the Intensive: A complimentary consultation to discuss your goals and determine fit.
Day 1: Assessment, treatment planning, and preparation, followed by the start of trauma processing.
Middle Days: Continued processing of prioritized trauma targets, with breaks, stabilization, and reassessment throughout each day.
Final Day: Continued processing as clinically appropriate, followed by integration, future-oriented work, and planning for follow-up care.
For current pricing and payment details, visit EMDR Intensive Therapy page.
How Many Days of EMDR Intensive Therapy Will I Need?
The length of an EMDR Intensive Therapy is individualized. Most intensives Dr. Curtis provides are 4–6 days, while a more extensive or complex trauma history may require additional days.
The recommended length depends on several factors, including your trauma history, current symptoms, treatment goals, number and complexity of treatment targets, readiness for trauma processing, and how treatment progresses.
The goal is not to fit your treatment into a predetermined package. Following the consultation, Dr. Curtis will recommend the amount of treatment time that appears clinically appropriate for your individual needs.
Treatment is reassessed throughout the intensive, and recommendations may be adjusted based on your progress and clinical needs.
What Happens During a Typical EMDR Intensive Therapy Day?
A typical intensive day includes several hours of therapeutic work, with breaks, grounding, reassessment, and integration incorporated throughout the day. The exact structure varies based on your treatment plan, readiness, and how processing progresses.
Check-In and Preparation
We begin by checking in about how you are doing, reviewing anything that emerged since the previous treatment day, and assessing readiness to continue processing. Grounding or additional preparation may be incorporated before beginning trauma work.
Morning – Focused Trauma Processing
We work with prioritized treatment targets using EMDR Therapy and other interventions as clinically appropriate.
Unlike a traditional therapy hour, the extended format gives us more time to follow the processing that emerges without having to stop simply because a 50-minute session has ended.
Breaks are incorporated throughout the morning based on your needs. Intensive therapy is not about pushing through distress. Your ability to remain present and regulated is continually monitored, and treatment is adjusted accordingly.
Lunch and Integration Break
A longer break provides time to eat, rest, move around, and allow your nervous system time away from active therapeutic work.
Afternoon – Continued Treatment
Treatment continues based on what emerged during the morning and your readiness for additional processing. This may include continued work with existing targets, additional memories or experiences, resourcing, or other clinically appropriate interventions.
End of Day – Stabilization and Closing
We allow dedicated time at the end of each treatment day to transition out of active processing, assess your current state, reinforce stabilization strategies, review what you may notice between treatment days, and prepare for the next day of the intensive.
How to Prepare for Your EMDR Intensive Therapy
Preparing for an intensive can help you protect the time and space needed for focused therapeutic work.
Before Your Intensive
Prioritize sleep and rest in the days leading up to treatment.
Follow any individualized recommendations discussed during your consultation and preparation sessions.
Arrange childcare, pet care, transportation, or other responsibilities ahead of time when possible.
Keep evenings during the intensive relatively light so you have time to rest and integrate the day's work.
Consider limiting unnecessary work or major commitments during your treatment days.
Bring any medications you normally need during the day and take prescribed medications as directed by your healthcare provider.
What to Bring
Water bottle
Comfortable clothing
Lunch, snacks, or a plan for lunch
Any medications or personal items you may need during the day
An optional journal or notebook
Most importantly, you do not need to arrive knowing exactly what to say, remembering every detail of what happened, or knowing how treatment will unfold. Assessment and treatment planning help us determine where to begin, and the work proceeds at a pace appropriate for you.
What Happens After the EMDR Intensive?
The end of an intensive is not simply the end of the last processing session. We review the work completed, assess your current symptoms and functioning, and discuss what may be helpful as you transition back into daily life.
Following an intensive, you may continue noticing changes in thoughts, emotions, physical responses, dreams, or the way previously distressing experiences affect you. Some people also experience temporary fatigue as they transition out of several days of focused therapeutic work.
Follow-up allows us to assess how you are doing after the intensive, review treatment progress, and determine whether any additional care is recommended.
If you already have an ongoing therapist, coordination can occur with your authorization to support continuity of care as you return to your established treatment relationship.
Is EMDR Intensive Therapy Right for You?
EMDR Intensive Therapy may be worth exploring if you are experiencing ongoing symptoms related to trauma or distressing life experiences and want a more concentrated treatment approach than traditional weekly therapy.
You may be considering an intensive because you:
Have tried therapy but continue to experience distressing symptoms or patterns
Want focused time to address trauma without waiting a week between sessions
Have multiple experiences or treatment targets you want to address
Are motivated to engage actively in trauma-focused treatment
Prefer to dedicate several consecutive days to treatment rather than spreading therapy across many months
Not everyone is ready for trauma processing at the same time. Before beginning an intensive, Dr. Curtis assesses your current symptoms, history, safety, stability, ability to remain present during processing, available supports, and other factors that may affect treatment.
If additional preparation or stabilization would be helpful before trauma processing, we can identify that during the assessment process. An intensive does not mean beginning trauma processing before you are ready.
A consultation is simply an opportunity to discuss what you are experiencing and determine whether EMDR Intensive Therapy may be an appropriate treatment option for you.
If This Feels Familiar
If you understand what happened to you but continue to experience anxiety, distress, triggers, sleep difficulties, or patterns that have not changed with time or previous therapy, there may be unresolved experiences that still need to be processed.
EMDR Intensive Therapy provides focused treatment over consecutive days, allowing more time for trauma processing without waiting a week between sessions.
The first step is a complimentary consultation of up to 60 minutes. We can discuss what you are experiencing, what you hope to change, and whether EMDR Intensive Therapy may be an appropriate fit for your needs.
👉 Schedule Your Intensive Therapy Consultation
Who Dr. Curtis Helps
Dr. Curtis works with adults seeking focused treatment for trauma, PTSD, complex trauma, anxiety, depression, chronic stress, and the effects of distressing life experiences.
Dr. Curtis also has extensive experience working with individuals whose professions or life experiences involve high levels of stress, responsibility, or trauma exposure, including:
Military service members and veterans
First responders, including firefighters, law enforcement, and EMS
Healthcare professionals
High-performing professionals
Individuals with complex or longstanding trauma histories
Dr. Curtis specializes in EMDR Intensive Therapy, providing concentrated trauma treatment over consecutive days for individuals who want an alternative to spreading treatment across months of weekly therapy.
Continue Learning
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About Dr. Yvette Curtis
Dr. Yvette Curtis, PsyD, LPC, MAC, is a Doctor of Psychology and licensed professional counselor with more than 15 years of clinical experience treating complex trauma in military, Indigenous, and diverse populations. She is an EMDRIA Approved Consultant and Master Addiction Counselor who specializes in EMDR Intensive Therapy for PTSD, complex trauma, and other trauma-related presentations. Dr. Curtis has provided EMDR Therapy since 2011 and regularly writes about trauma recovery, EMDR Therapy, and psychological resilience.
Disclaimer
This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute psychotherapy, diagnosis, or treatment. Reading this content does not create a therapeutic relationship with Dr. Yvette Curtis or Trauma Recovery Institute. Dr. Yvette Curtis provides psychotherapy services to individuals located in Alaska. Individuals outside Alaska may participate in educational services or destination intensive therapy where legally appropriate. If you are experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or seek emergency medical assistance.
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