Trauma Intensive Therapy

Utilizing IFS and EMDR to help you overcome trauma

Center City, Philadelphia

Are you someone who has been in weekly therapy and found it helpful, but have hit metaphorical walls when it comes to processing traumatic events in your life? If so, you might be a good candidate for trauma intensive therapy. Meeting with your therapist for extended sessions (4 hour days) for 2 to 3 days can be an effective way to break through those walls that continue to cause distress in your present life. 

Combining Internal Family Systems (IFS) with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy can be really helpful because they solve for the limitations of the other. IFS supports you to relate and develop more understanding and compassion to your inner world and experiences and EMDR supports your processing of what’s stuck. 

There are many benefits of weekly therapy, but a challenge when it comes to trauma therapy is the lack of continuous flow. By the time needed to re-orient and reconnect with deeper material, you end up having a shorter period of time allocated to doing the actual work of trauma therapy. Intensive therapy can solve these challenges because you can stay “in the work” with less down time and allow for deeper, more continuous processing, avoiding the start-and-stop of weekly that disrupts the flow of the work. 

Trauma Therapy Intensive Therapists

At A Better Life Therapy, we deeply believe in providing the highest quality care for the people we support. Our trauma therapy intensive therapists are all EMDR trained therapists with additional advanced EMDR training in each of their specializations including IFS, perinatal, addiction, infidelity, and more. 

How it works

• EMDR trauma intensives consist of 2-3 days of 4-hour therapy sessions. Also included are both an assessment session and a follow-up session for re-evaluation and support for next steps. 

• Before the assessment session, there is an initial 15-minute phone call in order to screen for potential challenges that are contra-indicated with this level of therapy (listed below).

What to expect

• You will be asked to complete assessments prior to meeting for the initial session that will be evaluated and used to support the “target(s)” of the intensive. During this initial meeting, your therapist will also be completing a thorough oral assessment of your history and previous experiences that are relevant for your work together. 

• The first long intensive day will include building and developing internal resources and grounding skills that are important for regulation and emotional support during the intensive process. The following day(s) will include trauma interventions, continued internal resource building, and deep emotional work. 

• The follow-up session will include any follow-up assessments that your therapist may be using as well as re-evaluation of therapy targets and support with next steps. 

Who it’s for 

• Those who want to avoid the breaks of weekly therapy

• Those who have schedules that don’t allow for consistent weekly therapy 

• Those who feel stuck and limited by 50-minute sessions

Who it isn’t for

• Those who are in an acute psychiatric crisis and lacking stabilization

• Those who have unmanaged substance abuse or are actively withdrawing

• Those who have active suicidal intent or have had a recent suicide attempt

• Those who have significant dissociation that has not yet been stabilized

We conduct a thorough screening process to assess readiness and ensure that trauma intensive therapy is appropriate and safe for each client. Ultimately, your clinician will assess whether you are a good fit for this type of trauma therapy.

To learn more about the use of intensive therapy formats for trauma therapy or to schedule a consultation, please email info@abetterlifetherapy.com.

Location

Marta Cofone offers trauma intensives in our comfortable and private office in Center City, Philadelphia.

The office address is:
100 S Broad Street

Philadelphia, PA

The office is easily accessible by SEPTA, PATCO, foot, and car.