Trauma intensives in Seattle

For people who can't—or don't want to—do this one hour at a time

You've done a lot of work on yourself. But the deeper layers still feel stuck.

Maybe you've been in therapy before—even good therapy—but something never quite moved. Maybe you know exactly where the trauma lives, but weekly sessions never seem to reach it. Or maybe your life just doesn't allow 6–12 months of traditional work.

Trauma Intensives give you something weekly therapy simply can't: enough time, space, and depth for real change to happen.

Not rushed. Not scattered. Not interrupted by a 55-minute clock.

"At the end of my suffering / there was a door."
— Louise Glück, "The Wild Iris"

Why weekly therapy isn't always enough

Trauma doesn't open up on command—and it definitely doesn't follow a 55-minute schedule.

In weekly sessions:

• You finally start to access something difficult, and then the session ends
• Momentum gets lost between appointments
• You shut down right when things get important
• Life keeps happening, and trauma work gets postponed
• You understand everything intellectually but can't shift how your body responds
• Six months pass and the deeper patterns haven't moved

There's nothing wrong with weekly therapy. But for some people, at certain points, it's just not enough.

What's possible after an intensive

Imagine something that's been stuck for years finally letting go—not through force, but because there was finally enough time and space for it to move.

Imagine leaving a session exhausted in a good way. Like you've put something down that you've been carrying so long you forgot it was there.

Imagine your body feeling different. Shoulders that can drop. Breath that comes easier. The constant bracing finally releasing.

Imagine returning to your life and noticing that the thing that used to trigger you just... doesn't land the same way anymore.

This is what intensive work makes possible. Not a miracle. Not bypassing the hard parts. Just enough uninterrupted time for real change to happen.

The trauma doesn't disappear. But your relationship to it changes. And that changes everything.

Who trauma intensives are for

Intensives are ideal for people who:

• Feel stuck despite previous therapy
• Lose momentum in weekly sessions
• Shut down right when things get important
• Need deeper trauma work without destabilizing their life
• Want relief sooner
• Have irregular schedules that make weekly therapy difficult
• Are ready for EMDR, Brainspotting, or Flash Technique at depth
• Are already self-aware but can't "think" their way out
• Want to address trauma before it defines their entire adult life
• Have hit a wall in traditional therapy and need a different approach

This isn't shortcut therapy. It's focused immersion—the kind trauma actually responds to.

What a trauma intensive can help with

• Long-term effects of childhood or attachment trauma
• Emotional numbness or shutdown
• Chronic shame
• Relational patterns you can't break
• High-functioning survival mode
• Hypervigilance or constant scanning for threat
• Anger that comes out too fast
• Dissociation or feeling disconnected from your body
• People-pleasing or self-erasure
• Trauma stored in the body
• Burnout from constantly holding it together

You might be "fine" from the outside—smart, competent, successful—but internally exhausted from carrying everything alone.

Intensives give you the space to stop holding and start healing.

My approach to trauma intensives

This is not a bootcamp, not a protocol marathon, not a spiritual bypass. It's deep, steady, attuned work.

A typical intensive blends:

Existential–Phenomenological Therapy — Understanding how trauma shaped your worldview, identity, and body.

EMDR — For reprocessing stuck memories and patterns. Reducing the emotional charge without erasing what happened. Learn more about EMDR

Brainspotting — To reach the parts of trauma that talk therapy can't touch. Especially effective for shutdown, numbness, or frozen states.

Flash Technique — To reduce emotional intensity before deeper work. Gentle trauma processing without overwhelming.

Relational Trauma Repair — Real-time attunement, boundary work, emotional presence, safety. Trauma heals in connection.

Ketamine-Assisted EMDR (if appropriate) — For clients who've been approved for KAP through Journey Clinical, low-dose ketamine can enhance trauma processing during intensives. Learn more about KAP →

Integration & Meaning-Making — Because insight without integration doesn't change your life.

This is not EMDR all day long. It's a structured, well-paced therapeutic arc designed for your nervous system—with breaks, grounding, and attunement built in.

The structure of an intensive

1. Pre-Intensive Consultation

To understand your history, goals, trauma patterns, and window of tolerance. This ensures the intensive is safe and appropriate for you.

2. Preparation Session(s)

We build safety, grounding, and clarity before going deep. You'll learn what to expect, how to ground yourself, and what happens if you get overwhelmed.

3. The Intensive Session

• Half-day: 3 hours
• Full-day: 5–6 hours

A sustained block of trauma work including: slow orientation to your body, grounding techniques, EMDR or Brainspotting or Flash Technique, relational work with shame, fear, and protective patterns, breaks built around your nervous system's capacity.

This is where the deeper shifts happen.

4. Integration Session

A follow-up (usually within a week) to make sense of what moved, what softened, and what changed. This is where everything "lands."

What begins to shift

The pattern that's been stuck for years finally moves—not because you forced it, but because there was finally enough uninterrupted time for your nervous system to process it.

The first time you realize you've gone a whole day without the usual tightness. The moment you respond to something that used to trigger you and notice... a pause. A choice. Options that weren't there before.

Your body starts to feel different. Less braced. More yours.

People close to you notice before you do. You're calmer. More present. Less reactive. Something shifted.

Who trauma intensives are not for

Intensives are not appropriate if you:

• Are in active crisis or don't have basic stability
• Have active suicidal ideation or recent hospitalization
• Are actively using substances in ways that would interfere with processing
• Don't have support systems outside of therapy
• Are looking for a "quick fix" without ongoing integration
• Haven't done any therapy before (we'd start with regular sessions first)

Part of our consultation is determining whether an intensive is safe and appropriate for you right now. If it's not the right time, we'll talk about what would help you get there.

Pricing

Half-Day Intensive (3 hours): $550

Full-Day Intensive (5–6 hours): $1,100

Intensives are not covered by insurance. Payment is due before the session.

Preparation and integration sessions ($175 each) may be covered if you have in-network benefits.

Common Questions