And why I chose to offer them in my practice.

For years, therapy has followed the same structure: one hour a week, fifty minutes of work, and then back into the world. As a trauma therapist who practices EMDR, IFS, and Somatic Experiencing, I provided weekly therapy for most of my career.

And yet, I kept noticing something that didn’t sit right with me.

So many incredibly courageous clients were doing the work — showing up every week, opening old wounds, trying to heal — but their progress felt slow, fragmented, or easily undone by life stress. Many felt stuck. Some felt discouraged. Others wondered:

“Why does it feel like I’m making the same progress over and over?”
“Why does healing take so long?”

A question began to form inside me:
Is it truly ethical not to offer a model that helps people heal more efficiently and more deeply?

Not because healing should be rushed.
Not because clients “should” choose speed.
But because trauma doesn’t heal in 50-minute increments — it heals in safety, spaciousness, and sustained attunement.

This is where EMDR intensives changed everything for me.

Why Weekly Therapy Often Isn’t Enough (A Nervous System Perspective)

Imagine trying to cook a nourishing meal but turning the stove on and off every five minutes. It would take forever, and the meal might never fully come together.

Weekly therapy is often like that.

In a typical 50-minute session, we spend time:

settling your system
checking in with parts
assessing triggers
opening emotional material
regulating and closing

And then time’s up.

Your system doesn’t get the uninterrupted momentum it needs to shift deeply. Protective parts aren’t wrong — they simply don’t trust in such a small window.

But in a 2–3 hour EMDR intensive?

It’s more like giving the nervous system a warm, steady simmer:
consistent, safe heat that helps everything finally soften.

Your system gets the time it has always needed — without rushing, without pressure, and without interruptions.

Why EMDR Intensives Can Be an Ethical Option

(And why I personally felt called to offer them)

In trauma therapy, “ethical” means:

✅ reducing unnecessary suffering
✅ offering clients informed choices
✅ preventing months of looping or stagnation
✅ respecting people’s time, money, and emotional labor
✅ providing care that actually supports relief

Many clients spend years in weekly therapy without knowing that intensives exist.

When I started offering EMDR intensives, I noticed:

clients moved through long-standing trauma
symptoms decreased faster
they felt more empowered
they used fewer total therapy hours
they felt more held than in weekly work

It made me realize:
Sometimes the ethical path is offering clients the chance to heal in a way that honors their whole system — not just the traditional model.

IFS + Somatic Work + EMDR = A More Attuned Intensive

My EMDR intensives aren’t just “long EMDR sessions.”
They’re a gently woven blend of:

IFS (Internal Family Systems)

Before reprocessing, I help your protective parts feel seen, respected, and included — never bypassed or pushed aside.

Somatic Experiencing

We track your nervous system, build regulation, and make sure the body stays within a safe window so healing integrates at a deep level.

EMDR

Once your internal system feels ready, EMDR helps the brain reprocess the memories that have kept you stuck.

Intensives allow these approaches to flow naturally.
Nothing is rushed.
Nothing is forced.
Your system leads — I follow with attunement.

A Metaphor I Often Share With Clients

Weekly therapy is like painting a wall using tiny brushstrokes.
Each stroke matters, but it takes a long time to cover the whole surface.

An EMDR intensive is like using a roller.
You’re not skipping steps — you’re simply creating the conditions to move across the wall more efficiently.

Same care.
Same precision.
More momentum.

Who EMDR Intensives Are For

✅ People who want to work through trauma more efficiently
✅ Those frustrated with slow progress in weekly therapy
✅ People carrying childhood trauma, attachment wounds, or specific memories
✅ High achievers with limited schedules
✅ People who want deep, immersive, attuned healing

❌ Intensives are not for people in active crisis or who need long-term stabilization first.

Part of my work is helping you decide whether an intensive or weekly therapy is the best match for where you are right now.

What My Clients Often Say After an Intensive

Here’s what clients have shared with me after completing an EMDR intensive:

“I’m feeling more present. I’m aware of my needs in a way that actually helps me take care of myself now.”
“My body feels lighter.”
“I feel done with this memory — it just doesn’t bother me anymore.”
“I have more compassion for myself, and I’ve been noticing more compassion toward my partner too.”
“I’m so glad I found you. Choosing to do this intensive with you was the best decision.”

The common theme?

They feel relief — not because the work was fast, but because it was deep, spacious, and uninterrupted.

My Personal Commitment as Your Therapist

I offer EMDR intensives because I’ve seen how they honor:

the nervous system
internal parts
cultural context
the healing your younger self has waited for

I offer them because for many clients, intensives are not just efficient — they are compassionate, relational, and deeply attuned.

And because it no longer feels right to withhold a healing format that reduces suffering in a safe, ethical way.

Ready to Explore an EMDR Intensive With Me?

If you’re wondering whether an EMDR intensive could help you heal in a deeper, more spacious, and more embodied way, I would be honored to support you. Together, we’ll move at the pace your nervous system needs — with care, attunement, and clarity.

Here’s what I offer:

✅ 3-day, 1-day, and half-day EMDR intensives
✅ A fully integrated approach: EMDR + IFS + Somatic Experiencing
✅ Support for: childhood trauma, attachment wounds, emotional neglect, body shame, sexual abuse, medical trauma, recent trauma, and more
✅ Sessions available online across Washington State — and in person in Lynnwood, Washington

If you feel a pull toward deeper healing — or if weekly therapy hasn’t given you the momentum you’re longing for — an EMDR intensive might be the right fit.

You can learn more or schedule a consultation here:
👉 www.karekounseling.com/contact

Empower your healing in a way that honors your time, your story, and your whole system. I’m here when you’re ready.

Why EMDR Intensives Can Be a More Ethical and Compassionate Path to Trauma Healing