Intensive Therapy in Alexandria & throughout VA
Is traditional weekly therapy not working for you?
Are you frustrated because traditional weekly therapy isn’t getting you the results you need? Despite your best efforts, self-doubt, perfectionism, and creative blocks still hold you back, leaving you stuck and overwhelmed. Talking through your challenges may not feel like it’s getting to the root of things or creating lasting change.
If you’re ready for something more effective, focused, and empowering, therapy intensives offer the chance to break through these patterns and create faster, deeper healing—helping you feel inspired, confident, and capable.
You’re in the right place!
Intensive Therapy FAQ
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A therapy intensive is a focused, deep-dive approach where you spend 90 minutes or more in a single session to make faster, more meaningful progress. Unlike traditional weekly therapy, intensives give you the time and space to explore your challenges more deeply, addressing the root causes of issues like perfectionism, self-doubt, anxiety, and creative blocks. With extended sessions, we go beyond surface-level problems, helping you break through patterns that regular therapy may not reach. If you're frustrated with slow progress, intensives offer a powerful, focused way to create lasting change.
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A therapy intensive is a focused, extended session designed to help you dive deep into your healing without the usual constraints of weekly therapy. Instead of spreading the work over months, an intensive allows us to work more efficiently in a condensed timeframe, helping you gain clarity and relief more quickly.
Here’s how it typically works:
Initial Consultation & Planning – Before scheduling your intensive, we’ll meet for a consultation to discuss your goals, current challenges, and whether an intensive is the right fit. Together, we’ll determine the order of your goals—what you want to accomplish first—and we’ll provide a recommendation for the length and structure of your intensive that is realistic and fits your schedule. This might be a one-time 3-hour session next week, a full 6-hour day, or shorter 90-minute sessions every other week depending on your needs and schedule.
Extended, Focused Sessions – Therapy intensives range from 90 minutes to a full-day (6 hours), with breaks as needed to support regulation. During this time, we use evidence-based, brain-and-body-based modalities like EMDR, IFS, and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy to process stuck patterns, resolve past trauma, and create lasting shifts.
A Personalized Approach – Unlike a standard therapy session, intensives allow us to follow your process without having to pause just as you’re getting to the root of something. This uninterrupted time supports deeper work and a more natural resolution of emotional material. We absolutely LOVE the immersive quality of intensives, and witnessing tangible shifts happen for our clients in just one session.
Integration & Follow-Up – Healing doesn’t stop when the session ends. At the end of session or in-between sessions, you’ll receive personalized integration strategies to help you absorb and apply what we’ve worked on, and we’ll discuss next steps for continued support, whether that’s additional therapy or self-guided practices.
Many people find that an intensive can jump-start their healing, break through stuck patterns, or provide relief from issues that have felt unmovable. If you're curious about whether this could be the right approach for you, please reach out!
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If you're tired of feeling stuck in endless weekly sessions, a therapy intensive could be the game-changer you need. In 90 minutes or more, you and your therapist will dive into those nagging issues like self-criticism, burnout, anxiety, or trauma symptoms that have been holding you back. This isn’t about dragging things out—it’s about making real progress in less time. Ready to break through those barriers and start moving forward? Therapy intensives give you the focused time to make it happen.
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There’s SO much research that supports the effectiveness of intensives.
Intensives prove to be effective PTSD, enabling faster symptom reduction with similar, or even better, results, while reducing the risk that patients drop out 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.
Compared to other trauma therapy, the intensive format may decrease treatment time, thus reducing cost. Learn more here.
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Yes, therapy intensives can absolutely be used with EMDR, IFS, and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and this combination makes the process that much more effective. The extended time allows us to go deeper, faster, and truly dive into the heart of your issues. With EMDR, we recommend at least 90 minutes to allow for deeper processing in one session. Using the traditional 45-minute model can slow things down, requiring multiple reopenings of trauma processing, which can feel frustrating. Therapy intensives help you move through your healing faster and more efficiently!
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If you’re feeling stuck in the same old loop—whether it’s perfectionism, self-doubt, anxiety, creative blocks, or PTSD symptoms—and you’re over it, an intensive could be just what you need. If you're motivated to actually make progress, break through those frustrating patterns, and want something more than traditional therapy, then you're a great fit! Therapy intensives are for people who are ready to roll up their sleeves, dive in, and create real change—not just talk about it. So, if you're done with "just getting by," let's get started!
The Power of Therapy Intensives…
Why we’re so passionate about this deep work
Our therapists love intensives because we do the damn thing. No more stopping just as we’re getting to the real work—we dive in, and you actually feel the shift happening in real time. It’s deep, immersive, and so much more effective than chipping away in 45-minute increments. We follow your process instead of the clock, which means breakthroughs that might have taken months happen in hours.
And what does that actually look like?
Therapy intensives can help you have:
A clearer, calmer mind
Say goodbye to racing thoughts and the constant mental chatter. You'll feel more present and in control, instead of stuck in your head.
More emotional openness
If you’ve been feeling numb or disconnected, you’ll start feeling your emotions again, making it easier to connect with others.
More trust in yourself (and others)
Overcome self-doubt and rebuild trust, so you can make decisions with confidence and feel safer in your relationships.
A body that feels safe
Chronic tension and that “on edge” feeling will ease up, so you can start to feel more relaxed in your own body.
Better relationships
As you heal, you’ll find it easier to set healthy boundaries, communicate more openly, and build deeper, more fulfilling connections with the people around you.
It’s an honor to observe our clients come in tense, unsure, or overwhelmed and leave feeling lighter, clearer, and more connected to themselves. We love seeing the relief when something that’s felt stuck for years finally moves. And yes, intensives are an investment, but they’re worth it. The time, the depth, the transformation—you’re not just paying for longer sessions, you’re paying for real change, faster.
If you’re ready, we’re ready.
Let us show you how intensive therapy is more effective and efficient than weekly therapy:
*Please note that the names and stories presented here are entirely fictional and are composites.
Jess (Weekly Therapy Sessions)
Cost: $1,000 for 4 weekly sessions (45 mins each)
Jess is a 35-year-old working mom, struggling with anxiety, perfectionism, and self-doubt. She feels overwhelmed balancing her job, family, and her own needs, and she’s frustrated with the slow pace of therapy. She wants more progress but has a tough time finding time for herself.
Weekly Session Breakdown:
1 therapy session per week, each lasting 45 minutes
15 is spent on updates, check-ins, and closing
30 minutes spent on on deep processing
Total Processing Time: In Jess’s 4 weekly sessions, only 30 minutes of each session (on average) are spent on actual deep processing, totaling around 120 minutes (2 hours) of deeper work per month. Sometimes, she misses sessions or progress just feels slow, and Jess finds herself revisiting the same issues week after week.
Jess feels like she’s not getting enough time to make real breakthroughs.
Between balancing her job, family, and therapy, she finds herself stuck in a loop of self-doubt and anxiety. She’s frustrated with the slow progress and the constant juggling.
Not Ideal for EMDR: Weekly sessions aren’t ideal for EMDR, which requires uninterrupted time to process trauma.
Cori (Therapy Intensive)
Cost: $1,100 for 1 intensive 3-hour session
Cori is a 32-year-old entrepreneur and caregiver dealing with anxiety and creative blocks. They tried traditional therapy and found it hard to maintain with their busy schedule and still felt stuck. They booked an intensive, they’re looking for faster, more effective progress
Intensive Session Breakdown:
1 intensive session, lasting 3 hours
No time spent on small talk or check-ins
3 hours spent on deep processing, including EMDR and other techniques
Total Processing Time: In one 3-hour intensive session, Cori spends all 3 hours focused on deep work. With no interruptions, they’re able to process significant trauma or emotional blocks, resolving issues that would take weeks or months in traditional sessions.
Cori’s 3-hour session allows them to fully immerse in their work.
No interruptions, no check-ins—just 100% focus on healing. With deep, uninterrupted processing, Cori can resolve core issues like creative blocks, trauma, or self-esteem challenges in a fraction of the time.
Perfect for EMDR: Therapy intensives are ideal for EMDR, which requires more extended, uninterrupted time to be fully effective. Cori can make deeper progress in one session than they could in weeks of traditional therapy.
If you're frustrated by slow progress or struggling to balance therapy with your busy life…
Therapy intensives offer a focused, powerful approach to healing. With more time to address deep issues in one session, you’ll experience breakthroughs and lasting change, while also working around your schedule. Whether it’s overcoming anxiety, perfectionism, or creative blocks, therapy intensives give you the space to fully heal.
What are the intensive fees?
Packages
We offer one-day intensive packages ranging from 90 min to 6 hrs. Book a consult to find the best fit for you!
Cost
Based on the length of your session, fees range between $580 and $2,320. Payment plans are available.
Change can happen faster than you think.
FAQs about Therapy Intensives in Alexandria, VA
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It’s completely normal to wonder if you’ll have the stamina for an extended session! Many clients are surprised by how quickly the time flies—and we feel that way too. The focused, intentional nature of intensives helps keep the work engaging and meaningful. We’ll take breaks as needed, and our therapists will adjust the pace to match what feels right for you. Clients often finish feeling a sense of clarity and accomplishment, saying they got far more out of the time than they expected. Our goal is to make the process feel manageable and supportive from start to finish.
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Insurance may cover a portion of the cost, depending on your out-of-network benefits. While we’re an out-of-network provider, many clients are able to receive partial reimbursement by submitting a detailed invoice (superbill) to their insurance company. We recommend checking with your provider to understand your out-of-network mental health benefits and what’s required for reimbursement. If you have questions about the process, we’re happy to help guide you through it and provide the documentation you’ll need!
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In a 3-hour intensive, you can expect to make meaningful progress on specific issues. For example, we might fully process a traumatic event or association, such as feeling that you need to be perfect to be accepted, struggling with the belief that everything is your fault, or dealing with the impact of past rejection or criticism. While we may not fully resolve every issue in this time, you’ll make great headway in understanding and working through these emotions, challenging negative beliefs, and practicing coping strategies.
For clients experiencing Complex PTSD, starting with intensives can be especially valuable to build a strong foundation of self-regulation techniques and experiential somatic exercises. This helps set the groundwork for ongoing healing. It’s important to note that Complex PTSD often requires continued treatment, and many clients benefit from regular half-day or full-day intensives to support long-term growth and progress.
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In a 6-hour intensive, you can expect to accomplish deep and significant progress on complex issues. This extended time allows for thorough processing of one or more traumatic events or associations, such as navigating the impact of feeling unworthy of love, struggling with trust issues after betrayal, or dealing with the lingering effects of critical or dismissive relationships. You’ll have the space to work through challenging emotions, challenge negative beliefs, and practice new coping strategies. We’ll also use experiential somatic exercises to support self-regulation and help integrate what you’re learning.
While meaningful healing can happen in one day, Complex PTSD often requires ongoing work to fully address deeper trauma. Starting with intensives can be especially helpful for building a strong foundation that sets the stage for continued progress. Many clients find that regular half-day or full-day intensives help support lasting growth and keep them moving forward on their healing journey.
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To get the most out of your intensive session, here are some tips for planning your day:
Block out as much of the day as possible: Clear as much of your schedule as you can, especially if you’re a parent or have other responsibilities. Even a few hours of minimized commitments can help you stay present during the session and decompress afterward.
Prioritize self-care: Plan for a lighter schedule before and after the session and make self-care a priority. Stay hydrated, eat a balanced meal, and avoid heavy foods right before the session.
Expect continued processing: Emotional and mental processing often continues for up to three days after an intensive. This can leave you feeling more raw or sensitive, so give yourself time to rest and integrate the experience.
Create a comfortable environment: If your session is virtual, set up a quiet space where you feel safe and focused.
Allow time for reflection: Take time after the session to journal or go for a walk and process what came up.
In-person therapy in Washington, D.C.
Virtual Therapy: Healing from the Comfort of Home
Life is busy, and carving out time for therapy can feel like just another stressor. That’s why we offer virtual therapy—a flexible, accessible option designed to fit seamlessly into your routine.
Imagine settling into your favorite chair, a warm drink in hand, your pet by your side, and starting your session from the privacy of your own space. Many clients find it easier to open up when they’re in a familiar environment, free from the pressures of commuting or worrying about being seen at a therapy office.
Virtual therapy offers all the same benefits of in-person sessions, with added convenience and confidentiality. You can save time, avoid transportation hassles, and focus entirely on your healing. Your sessions will be held over a secure, HIPAA-compliant video platform, ensuring your privacy and safety every step of the way.
