Therapy Intensives
Extended session options in specialized areas that allow you to take control of the timeline of your healing
Virtual Therapy Intensives
Therapy intensives allow you to fully process the emotions you’ve been holding in, without worrying about time running out in a traditional weekly therapy session.
In some situations, the standard, weekly, 50-minute therapy session (or even 75 minute session) just isn’t enough. It may seem like there’s never quite the time to dive deep or, given your situation, or you don’t have the privilege of taking things slow, on a week-by-week basis. Sometimes you need the relief that comes with deep processing now, not 3 months from now. What if you had the space to go further?
Therapy intensives are extended, focused sessions that provide the time and space to dive deep, learn to process things in new ways, and engage in real-time healing. We’re able to work together to address major mental health concerns in your life, like identity-based discrimination and emotion dysregulation/over-regulation, that need your whole attention now.
What feels like drowning, often is just high tide
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What feels like drowning, often is just high tide 〰️
Intensives might be for you if:
You haven’t found success with weekly therapy
You consistently revisit the same themes, but aren’t noticing healing happening over time
There’s so much going on in your life that most of the session is spent catching your therapist up
It takes a lot for you to get vulnerable, and once you’re there, it feels like the session is already over
Weekly therapy isn’t a great lifestyle fit
You’re squeezing weekly therapy sessions in because you know it’s helpful, but it’s hard to get maximum benefit when you’re rushing in and rushing out
You’ve avoided even trying weekly therapy because you don’t want to add one more recurring appointment to your calendar
You like focusing on one thing at a time and giving it your all, but you can’t give your all to weekly therapy given your schedule
You need relief NOW
You’ve been carrying your emotions in your body and the pain and discomfort have become unbearable
You thought the effects from your identity-based trauma would get better over time, but they seem to only be accumulating
You want to be able to continue in your day-to-day but it’s getting harder and harder each week
Intensives sound more appealing to you than weekly therapy
You haven’t heard of a therapy intensive before, but the more you’re learning, the more it feels like the right option for you
You’ve been wanting to do try a therapy intensive, but this is the first time one felt like a good fit for you
Intensives Can:
Accelerate healing and provide more immediate symptom relief
Help you achieve your goals faster, saving you both time and money while reducing unnecessary suffering
Be an addition to ongoing therapy when a “boost” is needed or you’re feeling stuck
Fit easily into your busy life without long-term commitment
Identity Stress Processing Intensives
3+ hour concentrated sessions for folks wanting to heal from past identity-based trauma and/or navigate current stressful situations related to their intersectional identities
We carve out the time to prioritize some of life’s most difficult topics. We take a deep dive into racism, xenophobia, ablism, sexism, queerphobia, fatphobia, etc., and how they all may intersect in your specific lived experience. In this intensive, we will take the time to start from the beginning and work our way to the present.
Identity-based discrimination can lead to various psychological and physical reactions. It can be helpful to have both, a safe, dedicated space to process, and to work with someone who has expertise in this specific type of healing.
Through my training and work with Dr. Howard Stevenson and the Lion’s Story, I’ve seen time and time again the power that storytelling holds. We often assume that if we just don’t think about painful memories related to our identities, we can move past them, but unfortunately, the only way past, is through. In this intensive, we will take the time to start from the beginning and work our way to the present. Identity-based stress and trauma can start with some of our first memories and show up in our daily life.
Grief and rage live in the body the way salt lives in the sea: invisible and everywhere
Somatic Therapy Intensives
3+ hour somatically focused extended sessions for emotional suppressers, intellectualizers, or anyone who finds it hard to process emotions through talk therapy alone
We intentionally slow down to fully engage with the emotions you’ve been trying to push down. Whether it’s grief, rage, fear, or anything in between, we process them in the moment and help them move through your body instead of staying stuck. No need to squeeze this deep processing into a 50-minute session.
Somatic therapy highlights the interconnectedness between our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and wellness. It incorporates mindfulness, body awareness, breath work, and body-based tools to facilitate awareness, coping, and healing.
My understanding of embodiment as a mechanism of change has been informed by the work of Resmaa Menakem and Prentis Hemphill and their contributions to somatic abolitionism and healing justice frameworks. Additionally, the healers I’ve encountered in my own healing journey have been instrumental in helping my body understand, along with my mind.
The ocean doesn’t apologize for its noise; neither should the parts of you that survived being silenced
THE PROCESS
Therapy intensives are offered virtually throughout Pennsylvania as well as across New Jersey, Washington DC and 40 other states via PSYPACT. As long as you have a phone or computer, we can meet virtually and you can be as cozy, grounded, and free as you need.
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We meet for a 60-minute intake session
We complete a short assessment together
We clarify your goals and create an intensive schedule that works for you
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We meet for 3 to 9 hours with at least 1-hour breaks between each 3-hour session
Sessions can either take place over the course of one day (half day or full day) or across multiple days
Even though we come up with a plan during the intake, we adjust the flow of the intensive based on how you’re responding throughout the session
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We meet for a 60-minute debrief session
We co-develop a long-term wellness plan
We can schedule future intensives or individual therapy sessions