EMDR intensives · Online, Hong Kong, Bangkok & Bali EMDR intensives.
When an hour a week isn't enough.
“Every week I'd just start to open up, and then the hour was over.”
The same trauma work, EMDR with schema therapy and parts work, in longer and closer sessions: half a day, a full day, a few days in a row, or three longer sessions a week for four weeks. Online, or in person in Hong Kong, Bangkok or Bali.
- You know what you want to work on
- Weekly therapy stops just as it gets going
- You feel stuck at the same point after years of therapy
- There's no trauma specialist where you live
- You can clear a few days, or a few weeks
- You want to work through it, not around it
Less opening and closing. More actual work.
In weekly therapy, a lot of every hour goes into opening a memory and closing it safely again, and the plan often gets hijacked by the crisis of the week. In an intensive we stay with the work long enough to get to the root of it, and you aren't left managing the symptoms on your own between sessions.
There are practical gains too. No weekly appointments to fit around work and family, no long waiting list, and because less time goes into opening and closing, many people need fewer hours overall. You get back to your life sooner.
It's not only my experience. Research on intensive trauma therapy keeps finding the same things.
Trauma therapy given over about a week worked as well as the same therapy spread over three months, and people felt better sooner.
Ehlers et al., 2014Only about 5 in 100 people stopped early in intensive trauma therapy, compared with about 16 in 100 in trials of weekly trauma therapy.
Sciarrino et al., 2020; Lewis et al., 2020After an eight-day intensive programme, nearly 9 in 10 people with complex PTSD no longer met the diagnosis.
Voorendonk et al., 2020People with the dissociative form of PTSD improved as much as people without it.
Zoet et al., 2018Most of this research comes from programmes that combine EMDR with other trauma-focused therapy, and a small study found the same format safe and effective online (Bongaerts et al., 2021).
References: Ehlers, A. et al. (2014). American Journal of Psychiatry, 171(3), 294–304. Sciarrino, N. A. et al. (2020). Journal of Traumatic Stress, 33(4), 443–454. Lewis, C. et al. (2020). European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 11(1), 1709709. Voorendonk, E. M. et al. (2020). European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 11(1), 1783955. Zoet, H. A. et al. (2018). European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 9(1), 1468707. Bongaerts, H. et al. (2021). European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 12(1), 1860346. Greenwald, R. et al. (2021). European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 5(3).
Intensive doesn't mean rushed.
People often ask me whether an intensive is safe with complex trauma. It can be, when the format is built around your system and not the other way round. An intensive gives us more time, not more pressure. We don't have to stop in the middle of something and send you home with it still open, and there is always time to settle before you leave.
Every intensive starts with preparation. We look at what you want to work on, how your system reacts under stress, and what brings you back into your window of tolerance when it tips. If something tells us the timing isn't right yet, we wait. That's part of the work, not a failure.
We only work on a memory when every part of you has agreed.
If you have DID or OSDD, we usually begin with a few stabilisation sessions. We always work with the whole system, at its pace and its readiness. No part gets pushed aside so the work can go faster.
Prepare. Process. Then let it settle.
Preparation
Before anything else, we talk. We go through your history, what you want to work on and what you need to feel safe enough to do it. Then we agree a plan and a format together. Some people need one call, others a few sessions.
The intensive
EMDR for the memories and the body states they left behind, with schema therapy and parts work around it. A full day is about six hours of work, with a proper lunch break and smaller breaks whenever you need them. Every day ends with time to come back to the present, so you leave steady.
Follow-up
A few weeks later we meet again to look at what has shifted, what still needs attention and how daily life feels. If more work makes sense, we plan it together.
One event, or the whole story.
Single-incident intensive
For one event, or one stuck point. A recent event such as an accident, an assault, a medical trauma or a natural disaster. Ongoing stress, like the work of first responders and medical staff, a divorce or custody battle, or the loss of a pregnancy or a child. Or a belief or fear that blocks you, around performance, food, exercise or a big decision you can't make.
Usually half a day to three daysStory-clearing intensive
For the fuller story. We work through the memories that belong together: abuse and neglect, attachment wounds, bullying, early losses, religious or cult trauma, and the big upheavals of childhood. This is the more comprehensive work, and the one most people with complex trauma choose.
Usually four to five days, or spread over several weeksEither way, we agree at the start what we're working on, and the aim is to finish it rather than leave it half-open.
Shaped around you, and your life.
The format is highly adjustable. We choose it together on the free discovery call, around what you're bringing and what your life allows.
Half day
One focused piece of work, often a single event.
From US$1,150Full day
More time for one event, or for a few connected ones.
From US$2,200A few days in a row
For the fuller story, or when you travel for the work.
From US$4,000Four weeks
My favourite: 150-minute sessions, three times a week, for four weeks. Twelve sessions in all, deep enough to move things, with room to live in between.
US$768 per 150-minute sessionEvery intensive includes the preparation call and a follow-up session. Intensives use my usual session rate, US$256 (HK$2,000) per 50 minutes, simply with more hours. Prices in US dollars.
A bigger commitment up front
In time and in money, even though the hourly rate is the same as weekly sessions.
Change ripples outwards
When you change, the people close to you notice. Partners and family sometimes need time to adjust, and we talk about that in preparation.
Leave room to rest
Keep the evenings and the days around the intensive light. We plan your aftercare together, and the follow-up session is part of it.
Not always the right first step
Sometimes weekly sessions, or stabilisation first, are the better start. We decide that together on the discovery call.
Online, or in person in Asia.
Online
By secure video, wherever you are. You'll need a private, quiet room, and some time to rest after each session.
Hong Kong, Bangkok or Bali
In person, at a calm venue that suits the work, or I can come to you.
The Lighthouse, Bali
For a residential stay, I'm the core clinician for the trauma retreat programmes at The Lighthouse in Sanur, including a 28-day trauma intensive with a private villa and daily support.
See the Lighthouse programme →What people often ask.
What is an EMDR intensive?
EMDR therapy in longer or more frequent sessions, over days or weeks instead of one hour a week. The clinical work is the same. There's simply more time for it, and less waiting in between.
What can an EMDR intensive help with?
One event or one stuck point, such as an accident, an assault, a medical trauma, a loss or a fear that blocks you. Or the fuller story of childhood trauma, neglect and attachment wounds, worked through over several days or weeks.
Is an EMDR intensive safe with complex trauma or dissociation?
It can be, with the right preparation and pacing. We prepare first and work at the pace your system can hold. With DID or OSDD we usually stabilise first, and we only work on a memory with the agreement of all parts. Read more: is EMDR safe with dissociation?
How much does an EMDR intensive cost?
Intensives use my usual session rate, US$256 (HK$2,000) per 50 minutes, simply with more hours. A half day starts from US$1,150, a full day from US$2,200, and a few days in a row from US$4,000, including a preparation call and a follow-up session. The four-week format is twelve 150-minute sessions at US$768 each. Your exact plan and price are set together on a free discovery call.
Can I do an EMDR intensive online?
Yes. Many intensives run online by secure video. We plan together how you'll keep yourself grounded at home, before and after each session.
Where do you offer in-person intensives?
In Hong Kong, Bangkok and Bali, at a calm venue or where you are, and as a residential programme at The Lighthouse in Sanur, Bali.
What does a day of an intensive look like?
A full day is about six hours of work, with a proper lunch break and smaller breaks whenever you need them. A half day is a morning or an afternoon. In the four-week format, each session is 150 minutes, three times a week.
Do I need to live in Hong Kong, Bangkok or Bali?
No. Many intensives run online, and some people travel for an in-person intensive and use the days in between to rest.
How soon can I start?
Usually within a month of the discovery call, depending on how much preparation you need.
What happens after the intensive?
A follow-up session a few weeks later. We look at what has changed and plan any further work together, whether that's another intensive, weekly sessions, or nothing more for now.
