EMDR Intensives
You are finding weekly therapy tedious and just as you are getting warmed up and deeper into the work, it’s time for the session to end. Or maybe you can’t even get in to see a good trauma therapist because all the talented therapists are booked with year long waiting lists (if they even offer a wait list).
You are dreaming of a desert getaway: a retreat to focus on you and your health. You are ready to commit to your healing and growth in the most powerful way possible:
an EMDR Intensive in Joshua Tree, California.
-
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an empowerment therapy as it provides space for a client to realize and regain personal power.
EMDR is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences.
In EMDR Therapy, “processing" does not mean talking about the trauma and distressing material. EMDR therapy is different from other therapies because it does not require talking in detail about the distressing issue. In EMDR Therapy, ”processing" means creating a learning state that will allow these stuck experiences causing problems to be "digested" by your brain and nervous system. EMDR therapy allows the brain to resume its natural healing process. Once these experiences have been “digested” (or “metabolized”) by the system the client may no longer experience the irrational beliefs, negative emotions, blocked energy, and/or physical symptoms, such as anxiety, phobias, flashbacks, nightmares and/or fears which were associated with the trauma.
-
EMDR Intensives are a powerful approach designed to accelerate your healing journey. EMDR Therapy Intensives allow you to spend your time actually processing through trauma and focusing on your long-term healing without the distractions of the weekly check in and dealing with daily stressors which often interrupt the flow of treatment.
An EMDR Intensive with Blue Sky Therapy is currently offered as a 1, 2 or 3 day option.
During an EMDR intensive, you will work closely with a trained EMDR Certified therapist to process traumatic memories or other target issues.
The intensive format involves multiple therapy sessions in a compressed timeframe, allowing for more focused and accelerated therapeutic work.
It's important to note EMDR intensives are not appropriate for everyone, as trauma healing is a deeply personal process. Screening and consultation with an EMDR therapist is key to determine if an intensive is suitable for your specific needs and circumstances.
The 6 Steps of an EMDR Therapy Intensive with Blue Sky Therapy:
Complete an EMDR Intensive Readiness Checklist (more details including how-to below)
Schedule and complete free phone consultation
Intake Session (60 minutes)
Pre-Intensive Session (90 minutes)
Intensive Sessions (Choice of 1, 2 or 3 day option, 4 hours a day)
Post-Intensive Session (90 minutes)
-
EMDR Intensives provide a deep dive without interruption. Intensives are customized and curated just for you.
An EMDR Intensive offers you the time to focus on issues intensively and efficiently to get the healing and relief you are looking for, rather than dealing with things on a weekly basis for months or possibly years. EMDR Therapy Intensives are highly customized and personalized to your needs and goals.
As an EMDR Intensive client, you will get my undivided attention for 4 hours a day for 3 consecutive days.
EMDR Intensives offer choice for folks who don’t want the traditional model of weekly therapy. Intensives are personalized and are designed to support your preferred schedule and timeline for your goals.
Skip the Waitlist! One EMDR Intensive with Blue Sky Therapy is equivalent to 4 months of weekly therapy!
-
Personalized EMDR Workbook - Your workbook will be used before, during and after our time together to help you get the most out of your EMDR Intensive. Your Workbook will set you up for success by helping you prepare for your intensive and to deepen your experience
Welcome Packet created and designed by a local (me!).
Goodie bag filled with mental health resources, handmade art, and other unique local items from desert businesses to support your healing journey.
One to one time with an EMDR Therapist to dive deep into your healing journey.
Pre-Intensive Session (90 minutes) - This session will focus on preparing you for your intensive and will be customized to you, your needs and your goals.
Intensive EMDR Therapy Sessions for 1, 2 or 3 consecutive days, 4 hours daily (EMDR Intensives are offered in-person at my office in downtown Joshua Tree, California).
Post-Intensive Session (90 minutes): This session will support your growth and healing and identify any future needs to maximizing the impact of the Intensive.
Customized Resources to support you before, during and after your Intensive.
Collaboration with your therapist if you have chosen Adjunct Intensives.
7 to 15 contact hours (depending on your Intensive option) with your EMDR Therapist (this includes the Pre-Intensive, Intensive and Post-Intensive) in addition to the above resources.
-
Perhaps you’ve had a felt sense that something profound has yet to change, but you’re not quite sure how to shift all the way into a new experience of yourself with your current therapist.
Maybe you now cognitively understand new things, yet your body is still confused, so you’re curious about how an EMDR Therapy Intensive can help as you work with your primary talk therapist.
EMDR Intensives with Blue Sky Therapy may be a good fit if you:
-Are motivated to make big change(s) in your life.
-Are interested in a creative, unique healing experience.
-Are seeking an EMDR Therapist who can integrate IFS/Parts Work, somatic offerings (including Somatic Experiencing and trauma-sensitive yoga) and Expressive Arts into an intensive experience.
-Want to focus on processing a single-incident-trauma (such as: car and/or other accident, natural disaster, medical injury, assault) or a specific time frame (such as: college, toxic workplace, ending of a relationship, time in your life when you were experiencing chronic/toxic stress)
-Looking to support healing from ongoing traumatic-stress: (such as: divorce, unexpected loss of loved one, vicarious trauma from work, specifically for healthcare providers, teachers and educators, social workers, therapists, first responders and military)
- Are in talk therapy and are looking to utilize EMDR therapy to focus on a specific issue and then return to your primary therapist.
-Are feeling stuck in your current therapy journey and want to dig deeper to experience transformation.
-Want to work with a dynamic, engaging, confident, intuitive EMDR Therapist in a beautiful location.
EMDR Intensives with Blue Sky Therapy are not a good fit for individuals experiencing the following:
-Active Substance Use
-Active Eating Disorders
-Active Suicidal Thoughts/Self-Harm and/or Chronic Suicidal Thoughts
-Relationships where there is Domestic Violence (DV)/Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
-Significant psychosocial stressors (lack of housing and/or housing instability, financial stressors, unable to meet basic needs)
-Unmanaged and/or untreated Dissociative Disorders
-
Blue Sky Therapy is the only EMDR Intensive offered in Joshua Tree by a local therapist who happens to be a full-time resident deeply committed to their community (that’s me!).
In addition to EMDR Therapy, Blue Sky Therapy EMDR Intensives can incorporate the following: Trauma-Sensitive Yoga, Somatic Experiencing (SE), Expressive Arts, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Polyvagal Theory, and much more!
Because of this unique location, there are opportunities to be in Nature and explore Joshua Tree National Park and other beautiful areas nearby.
I have lived and worked in this community full-time for a decade and have extensive knowledge about resources in the area. I am happy to support you with coordinating additional healing experiences to complement your EMDR Intensive. A list of healers and local attractions will be provided to you in your Welcome Packet once you book your Intensive.
-
EMDR Intensives are offered in-person at my office in downtown Joshua Tree, California. I am happy to offer additional information including travel, lodging, and other healing and enjoyable activities in the Joshua Tree area to make your intensive super special and personalized to you and your needs.
My office is located in the heart of Joshua Tree, nearby so many wonderful local businesses. A list of lodging options, restaurants and local businesses will be provided to you as part of your Welcome Packet.
-
Absolutely! In fact, adjunct EMDR Intensives are a really great option if you want to continue with your therapist and are looking to add in EMDR Therapy. I’m happy to work with your current therapist to coordinate care. If it is determined an EMDR Intensive is a good fit, we can discuss next steps in working with your current therapist during the consultation (this will include signing a Release of Information).
-
Research is suggesting Intensive therapy has significant benefits.
You can learn more here:
Intensive EMDR to Treat Patients With Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Case Series
https://connect.springerpub.com/content/sgremdr%3A%3A%3A11%3A%3A%3A2%3A%3A%3A84.full.pdfEMDR Research Foundation: Intensive EMDR Therapy, Promising Research
https://emdrfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/2018_07_10_EMDR-Newsletter_Vol6_Issue-4.pdfA five-day inpatient EMDR treatment programme for PTSD: pilot study
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5804727/Additional research about EMDR Therapy:
The Efficacy of EMDR
https://www.emdr.com/efficacy/#:~:text=The%20Efficacy%20of%20EMDR.%20EMDR%20is%20now%20accepted,recommended%20for%20all%20trauma%20populations%20at%20all%20times. -
At this time, EMDR Therapy Intensives with Blue Sky Therapy are available to individuals physically located in California.
Due to licensing regulations, I am only able to provide EMDR Therapy to folks in California at this time. This means for your pre- and post-intensive session which are offered via Telehealth, you must be physically located in CA. Your Intensive will be held in-person in Joshua Tree, CA.
My goal is to expand this offering to folks in some of my favorite Northeastern states someday soon! Stay tuned.
-
Blue Sky Therapy Intensives are offered as 1, 2 or 3 Day Options.
3 Day Intensive Package
Includes the following:90 minute Pre-Intensive Session
3 days, 4 hours a day In-person Intensive (total of 12 hours in-person)
90 minute Post-Intensive Session
Investment: $3150.00
The 3 Day EMDR Intensive with Blue Sky Therapy is equivalent to 4 months of weekly therapy!
2 Day Intensive Package
Includes the following90 minute Pre-Intensive Session
2 days, 4 hours a day In-person Intensive (total of 8 hours in-person)
90 minute Post-Intensive Session
Investment: $2310.00
The 2 Day EMDR Intensive with Blue Sky Therapy is equivalent to 3 months of weekly therapy!
1 Day Intensive Package
Includes the following:90 minute Pre-Intensive Session
1 day, 4 hours In-person Intensive (total of 4 hours in-person)
90 minute Post-Intensive Session
Investment: $1470.00
The 1 Day EMDR Intensive with Blue Sky Therapy is equivalent to 2 months of weekly therapy!
Each Intensive includes the following:
Personalized EMDR Workbook - Your workbook will be used before, during and after our time together to help you get the most out of your EMDR Intensive. Your Workbook will set you up for success by helping you prepare for your intensive and to deepen your experience.
Welcome Packet created and designed by a local (me!).
Goodie bag filled with mental health resources, handmade art, and other unique local items from desert businesses to support your healing journey.
One to one time with an EMDR Therapist to dive deep into your healing journey.
Pre-Intensive Session (90 minutes) - This session will focus on preparing you for your intensive and will be customized to you, your needs and your goals.
Intensive EMDR Therapy Sessions for 1, 2 or 3 consecutive days, 4 hours daily (EMDR Intensives are offered in-person at my office in downtown Joshua Tree, California).
Post-Intensive Session (90 minutes): This session will support your growth and healing and identify any future needs to maximizing the impact of the Intensive.
Customized Resources to support you before, during and after your Intensive.
Collaboration with your therapist if you have chosen Adjunct Intensives.
-
An EMDR Intensive with Blue Sky Therapy is a premium service and I have reserved a place on my calendar specifically for you and your intensive. If you are unable to attend your Intensive, please contact us as soon as possible to discuss rescheduling. Because Intensives are reserved exclusively for you, and require a large amount of time, we are not able to fill them on a last minute basis.
-Upon booking your Intensive package, a non-refundable deposit will be charged (50% of cost of package). Your deposit will not be refunded to you if you cancel for any reason.
-If you cancel the Pre-Intensive Session with at least 48 hour notice, there is no charge. If your Pre-Intensive Session is cancelled without 48 hour notice, there is a cancellation fee.
-If you cancel within 72 hours of your Intensive, you will not be refunded your deposit and an additional cancellation fee will be charged. There are exceptions to this policy which include: cancellation due to sickness, family emergency or other urgent matters. If you cancel due to illness, family emergency or other urgent matters, you will not be charged the cancellation fee. Your nonrefundable deposit will be put toward a future date for one reschedule. If you cancel the rescheduled intensive, you will not be offered an additional date to reschedule and your deposit will not be refunded to you.
-If there is a cancellation prior to 72 hours, your non-refundable deposit will be put forward to a future date for one reschedule. You will not be charged a cancellation fee if you cancel prior to 72 hours of Day 1 of your scheduled Intensive.
-You are required to keep a valid credit card on file. Payments can be made by debit or credit card. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and HSA cards are accepted forms of payment.
-You will be charged a non-refundable deposit of 50% of the total cost of the intensive at the time of booking. The remaining balance will be charged on Day 1 of your Intensive.
-If you no-show your Intensive and/or if your payment method on file is declined without explanation, you will not be rescheduled and I will not be available to you as a viable provider for any future services.
-
EMDR Intensives are not covered by insurance. Superbills are not provided for EMDR Intensives. You will be asked to sign an insurance opt-out form as part of your agreement for services. You will not receive a superbill for this service. You are 100% responsible for the cost of an EMDR Intensive with Blue Sky Therapy.
-
If you are interested in learning more about a Blue Sky Therapy EMDR Intensive, please visit the Contact Page of this website to submit an inquiry or email melissa@blueskyjt.com
Upon receipt of your inquiry, you will be sent an EMDR Intensive Readiness Checklist via SimplePractice via email. The Readiness Checklist will help to determine if an EMDR Intensive with Blue Sky Therapy is the best fit for you at this time.
Once you have completed the Readiness Checklist and it has been determined an Intensive with Blue Sky Therapy may be a good fit, you will be contacted by email to schedule a free 15 minute phone consultation to answer any questions you might have.
If based on the Readiness Checklist it does not appear an EMDR Therapy Intensive with Blue Sky Therapy is the best fit for you at this time, you will be offered 3 referrals for EMDR therapists; this may or may not include EMDR therapists who offer intensives.