EMDR Intensives: Transformative Healing in a Fraction of the Time.

Providing EMDR Therapy Intensives to help adults heal from trauma, adverse childhood experiences, and other emotional challenges in person at our Burlington office and virtually across Ontario.

Through our EMDR Therapy Intensives, you can experience meaningful progress in days or weeks, rather than months or years.

What Are EMDR Therapy Intensives?

Have you ever been in a therapy session and just as you’re beginning to open up and make a breakthrough…the session time is over? 

EMDR Intensives are an innovative psychotherapeutic approach to treating trauma. It’s designed for individuals seeking focused, accelerated healing, without the distractions of daily stressors and triggers. Unlike traditional weekly or biweekly therapy sessions, which are spread out over months or even years, EMDR intensives condense multiple sessions into a structured, shorter time frame. This approach allows for deeper, uninterrupted therapeutic work in a safe and supportive environment.

At its core, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy is a research-backed method that helps reprocess and desensitize traumatic memories, enabling your brain to heal naturally. During intensives, this process is streamlined and customized to address your specific goals and needs.

Who are Intensive EMDR Therapy for?

Image of person thinking about how EMDR intensives could work for them

For some people, weekly therapy sessions are helpful and fit into their lifestyle and budget, but if seeing a therapist over the course of months isn’t a good fit for you, EMDR Intensive therapy offers an alternative. Having longer, more in-depth sessions, over the course of a few days is now an option if you don’t have time to do therapy in a more traditional model. Interested in learning more about EMDR in general? Go here for more information.

EMDR intensives are ideal for individuals who:

  • Feel stuck in traditional therapy or want to accelerate their progress.
  • Have limited time or availability for weekly therapy appointments.
  • Are managing high levels of stress, anxiety, or PTSD symptoms.
  • Prefer a focused, results-driven approach to trauma recovery.

This type of therapy is especially good for people in the following professions:

  • Police officers
  • Fire fighters
  • Military personnel
  • EMT’s
  • Teachers
  • Nurses
  • Doctors
  • Other forms of health care worker
  • Mental health professionals

EMDR therapy is also good for anyone who knows what struggles they want to address and would rather do longer therapy sessions over the course of a few weeks, instead of over the course of several months. 

Intensive EMDR Therapy can help with the following mental health challenges:

  • Burnout
  • Post-Traumatic Stress
  • Complex PTSD
  • Overcoming deep grief & loss
  • Those who have experienced traumatic births (also known as birth trauma)
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Attachment and Developmental Wounds
  • Overcoming performance blocks (sports, public speaking, tests, etc.)

How does EMDR Intensive Therapy Work?

Image of puzzle pieces depicting how EDMR intensives work

EMDR Intensives are built around the same eight-phase protocol as traditional EMDR therapy, but the structure is adapted to maximize the benefits of an intensive multi day format. Here is an example of what you may expect the process of EMDR Intensive to look like:

1.Initial free Consultation

  • Anyone interested in this program are provided an initial consultation to assess suitability and readiness for the program as well as provide suggestions for an appropriate EMDR therapist that may be a good fit for your presenting concerns and schedule. In addition, this is an opportunity to answer any questions you may have.

  2. Comprehensive Assessment and Planning

    • Before starting, your therapist conducts a thorough intake and assessment to understand your trauma history, goals, and readiness for intensive work. Together, you’ll create a customized plan for the intensive sessions, ensuring the process feels safe and manageable.
    • This planning phase also includes developing coping strategies and grounding techniques to support you during and after the intensive.

 3. Focused, Immersive Therapy Sessions

    • Intensive sessions typically range from 2–6 hours per day, depending on your preferences and availability, with scheduled breaks to prevent overwhelm.
    • These sessions allow for focused attention on processing specific traumatic memories or clusters of memories that contribute to current symptoms, such as anxiety, flashbacks, or emotional distress.
    • The immersive nature of intensives ensures you have enough time to make meaningful progress without the interruptions that can occur with weekly sessions.

 4. Breaks and Integration

    • Throughout the intensive, scheduled breaks and time for reflection are built in to allow your brain to process what has been reprocessed. These breaks are essential to avoid emotional fatigue and help solidify the progress made during therapy.

5. Post-Session Support and Follow-Up

    • After the intensive, your therapist will provide resources and strategies to help you integrate the work into your daily life. Optional follow-up sessions can be arranged to support continued healing.

If you have multiple challenges that you want to overcome through EMDR intensive therapy, ongoing intensive therapies are also available in this therapeutic model.

Why Is the EMDR Therapy Intensive Format So Effective?

The intensive format offers several unique advantages over traditional therapy:

  • Uninterrupted Focus: In traditional therapy, the weekly gap between sessions can disrupt momentum, especially when addressing complex or layered trauma. Intensives eliminate this interruption by condensing the work into a shorter timeframe.
  • Deeper Engagement: Spending extended time in therapy allows clients to engage deeply with the healing process, which can result in faster symptom relief and long-term benefits.
  • Efficient Use of Time: For busy professionals, parents, or individuals with unpredictable schedules, the intensive format is a convenient way to make significant progress without the need for weekly appointments.
  • Tailored to You: EMDR intensives are not a one-size-fits-all solution. Each session plan is designed to address your unique history, symptoms, and goals.

Benefits of Half Day Intensives

A half-day intensive can help with performance and self esteem challenges, and speed up the healing process of a  single event trauma (reduction of repetitive/negative thoughts, heightened feeling, and bodily sensations). Something to be aware of is that Complex PTSD often requires more treatment than one half-day intensive. If you have this form of PTSD it’s recommended you do monthly, bi-monthly, or seasonal half-day intensives until you feel your traumas are no longer impacting your life.

Benefits of 3-day Weekday or Weekend Intensives

Weekend and 3-day EMDR intensive can be incredibly impactful and can result in long term, lasting benefits from current struggles. However, they aren’t ideal for everyone as they require some emotional endurance and mental focus. If you are interested in this format, let our EMDR Therapy team know during your initial conversation.

EMDR Therapy Intensives Are Researched & Peer Reviewed

Image of lightbulb identifying research

Below are more links showing the benefits of short term, intensive EMDR therapy.

  • Trauma-focused, short term, EMDR therapy is shown to be helpful to people struggling with PTSD. According to recent studies, this form of intensive therapy helps to reduce day to day challenges that those suffering experience, all within a much faster time frame (and it works just as well, or even better than the more long term traditional method). To learn more about these studies click here or here.
  • One study looked at a successful five day EMDR intensive therapy Intensive for people diagnosed with PTSD. Learn more here.
  • This case study looks at Complex PTSD and if Intensive EMDR therapy can be a safe and a good alternative to more traditional, long term models of care. Learn more here.
  • Read this article here that looks at whether intensive trauma therapy can be better from both a mental health, and a financial standpoint. It turns out that the advantages of intensive therapy include it being more efficient for treatment wise and financially. This is because it reduces the risk of life crises disrupting ongoing treatment, people stopping seasons prematurely, and it gives overall much faster results.
  •  

Our EMDR Therapists - Why work with us?

Our team at Christina Janiga Psychotherapy have a number of Registered Psychotherapists trained and/or certified in EMDR Therapy that provide both traditional weekly/biweekly sessions, and EMDR intensive therapy to people in Burlington, Ontario and virtually across Ontario. In addition, we offer EMDR therapy through adjunct or intensives to help individuals process and decrease their emotional distress to past traumas.

This type of therapy is a modality that we really love using because we get to see marked improvement in many individuals lives.  It is such a satisfying form of therapy to use because of its effectiveness and the clear structure. Therefore working with the team at Christina Janiga Psychotherapy, you will receive:

  • Expert Psychotherapists: All sessions are conducted by highly trained EMDR trained and/or certified therapists with extensive experience in trauma recovery.
  • Primary Modality: EMDR therapy and the AIP model is our primary modality used in our intensives. EMDR is not only a tool we use, it is the primary modality that we use to build a treatment plan tailored to your needs.
  • Proven Results: Research shows that EMDR therapy is effective for reducing symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression.
  • Client-Centered Care: We tailor every intensive to meet your unique needs and goals.

Christina

Image of Christina Janiga, psychotherapist and certified EMDR therapist

Registered Psychotherapist, Certified EMDR therapist, and Approved Consultant providing both traditional, and EMDR Intensives in Burlington and virtually across Ontario. I work with individuals who have tried multiple therapies and would like to heal from past childhood wounds, sexual abuse, and developmental trauma.

Learn More

Debby

Image of Debby Herman, psychotherapist who supports people with career and anxiety

Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) and EMDR therapist providing both traditional, and EMDR Intensives in Burlington and virtually across Ontario. With over 20 years of experience, I help high school, university-aged individuals, and professionals address the root causes of performance anxiety.

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Justine

Image of Justine Fram, psychotherapist and EMDR therapist who supports people with trauma

Registered Psychotherapist and EMDR Therapist providing both traditional, and EMDR Intensives in Burlington and virtually across Ontario. I have years of experience working with individuals healing from abusive relationships, past and/or current trauma, and avoidant relationships.

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Natalie

Image of Natalie St-Denis, registered psychotherapist (qualifying), providing psychotherapy services

Registered Psychotherapist and EMDR therapist providing both traditional, and EMDR intensive therapy virtually to people within Ontario. I primarily work with medical trauma, chronic pain and illness, and health anxiety and panic. Has over 20 years of experience working with pain – physical, emotional, and psychological.

Learn More

YOUR NEXT STEPS

EMDR Therapy Intensives are designed for individuals seeking focused, accelerated healing, without the distractions of daily stressors and triggers. Together, you and your therapist will set goals to address during your intensive sessions. Through our EMDR Intensives, you can experience meaningful progress in days or weeks, rather than months or years.

Book a free 15 minuted consultation call.

If you are interested in seeking an innovative approach to healing trauma through EMDR Intensive Therapy, we encourage you to reach out to us for a free 15-minute consultation. During the consultation, we will answer any questions you have about our practice and our psychotherapists, and help you determine if we are the right fit for you. We believe that feeling comfortable with your therapist is essential for a successful therapeutic relationship.

Book A Free 15 min consultation

Insurance Information

While many insurance companies reimburse the cost of psychotherapy it’s good to confirm with your provider that they will reimburse several hours of therapy in one day or one week before beginning sessions. Our team of EMDR Therapists are Registered Psychotherapists and we will provide you with a receipt for all therapy services included in this program.

Are you an EMDR Therapist?

Are you an EMDR therapist looking for consultation or ways to incorporate EMDR intensives into your practice?

Christina Janiga, BSc, MACP, RP offers individual and monthly group EMDR consultations – see here openings here.

Resources

For courses on how to implement EMDR intensives into your practice – consider using The EMDR Intensive Kit from Zero Disturbance. Learning is easy and all resources are provided (including the workbook).

* I am an affiliate for some of the businesses I recommend. These are companies that I use in my own group practice, and make recommendations based off of my experience with them. When you use some of these companies through my links, I receive compensation, which helps me continue to offer great free information on my blog and website.

More about Christina Janiga Psychotherapy

We are a team of registered psychotherapists with a goal to help you achieve deep and lasting change by getting to the root of your struggles with trauma, adverse childhood experiences, and emotional challenges.

We believe in the power of therapy to help people overcome challenges and live fulfilling lives. Regardless of the cause, healing the root of trauma can be obtained throughout various approaches, modalities and innovative therapy intensives.

No matter how trauma has impacted you, our team at Christina Janiga Psychotherapy of trauma focused therapists can provide you with the safe and supportive space you need to begin to explore your thoughts, symptoms, and feelings to work towards the goal of healing.