Therapy and EMDR Intensives - Texas and Maine

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1) What is a Therapy and/or an EMDR Intensive?

A therapy and/or EMDR intensive is a concentrated format that offers accelerated results. Rather than a short, one hour weekly session that only allows for about 45 minutes of deep processing, intensives create more time and space to go deeper as you move toward more lasting, meaningful change. There often is a more engaged, relational connection between client and therapist as well. Intensives are in-depth, highly focused, and personalized to you and to your therapy goals.

2) Who Can Benefit from a Therapy and/or EMDR Intensive?

Intensives are ideal for clients who are seeking more immediate relief and/or are interested in increasing their self-awareness as they move toward more holistic healing. In addition, intensives often are appropriate for clients who have a specific topic, trauma, or stressor that they want to address. The dedicated time will be customized specifically to you and your goals.

3) How do Intensives work?

There are several components to a Therapy and/or EMDR Intensive.

  1. Consult call - a free 15-20 minute consultation call to discuss the model, make sure it aligns with your goals, and make sure I am the best therapist fit for you.

  2. Workbook / Intake - you will complete a workbook / intake packet to provide me with more detailed information about yourself, goals, strengths, and challenges.

  3. Pre-Intensive Session and Plan - we will meet for a focused, in-depth intake session where we will review additional information and discuss your goals and treatment targets for the intensive. We will create a customized plan that combines various psychotherapy techniques/theories and EMDR. Please note that more than one pre-intensive session may be necessary to develop resources to prepare you for your Therapy Intensive(s),

  4. Intensive Session(s) - Intensives most often occur in 3-hour sessions. We will meet for as many 3-hour sessions necessary to move toward your goals and the possible EMDR targets. Sometimes we may want to meet for 3-hours several days in a row; other times we may meet for 3-hours every other week; and at times 2-hour or 3 plus hours will be recommended.. The plan will be tailored and customized to you based on your needs and treatment goals. We can meet in-person in my office in Houston, Texas and online anywhere in Texas and Maine.

  5. Post-Intensive Session - I offer a 90-minute post-intensive session to debrief, process the experience, and reflect on progress made. These are typically scheduled 2-4 weeks after your final processing session.

4). If I already have a primary therapist, can I engage in an Intensive as adjunct therapy?

Yes, I offer Intensives as adjunct for clients who already have a primary therapist. These are discussed on a base-by-case basis. Generally, therapy Intensives work very well as an adjunct therapy. I will ask that you sign a Release of Information so that your current therapist and I can collaborate/coordinate to best serve you.

5). What is EMDR?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

EMDR was developed by a psychologist, Dr. Francine Shapiro, in the 1980s. It has been extensively researched and is a highly effective psychotherapy approach used to help people recover from trauma and other distressing life experiences, including PTSD, anxiety, grief and loss, addictions, panic, chronic pain, and more. 

EMDR works much more quickly than traditional talk therapy because it activates the body’s innate healing capacity. EMDR utilizes the brain’s natural information processing system to access and "digest," or process, how painful experiences, beliefs, and emotions are stored in the brain. It is often assumed that severe emotional pain requires a long time to heal; however, EMDR therapy shows that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma. When you cut your hand, your body works to close the wound. If a foreign object or repeated injury irritates the wound, it festers and causes pain.  Once the block is removed, healing resumes. EMDR therapy demonstrates that a similar sequence of events occurs with mental processes. The brain’s information processing system naturally moves toward mental health.  If the system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound festers and can cause intense suffering.  Once the block is removed, healing resumes. Using the detailed protocols and procedures learned in EMDR therapy training sessions, clinicians help clients activate their natural healing processes.

6). How does EMDR work?

When a person becomes very distressed, their brain cannot process information as it ordinarily does. A particularly stressful experience can become frozen in time, stuck, or "undigested" in the brain. Remembering the traumatic event may feel as bad as going through it the first time, because the images, sounds, smells and feelings connected to the event haven’t changed. These upsetting memories can have an ongoing negative effect that interferes with the way a person sees the world and relates to other people.

EMDR seems to have a direct effect on the way the brain processes information. After a successful EMDR session, traumatic memories are metabolized and the brain begins to process information normally. A person can then think about the event without distress, as something that happened in the past, and that is no longer re-lived through the painful images, sounds and feelings once associated with the event. EMDR works in a similar way to what occurs naturally during dreaming or REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Therefore, EMDR can be thought of as a physiologically based therapy that helps a person see disturbing material in a new and less distressing way. EMDR can be a very effective alternative to traditional talk therapy for processing distressing memories - after all, there is only so much talking one can do.

EMDR involves Bilateral Stimulation (BLS), sometimes called Dual Attention Stimulus (DAS). This involves the rhythmic side-to-side stimulation of the body and helps to activate the body’s natural healing process. In EMDR, we use different types of sensory input to provide bilateral movement. This can be: 1) a visual stimulus, such as tracking someone’s finger side to side; 2) an auditory stimulus, such as hearing alternating beeps in each ear with headphones; and 3) a tactile stimulus, such as having someone tap on alternating sides of their body with their hands.

7). What is EMDR therapy like?
EMDR therapy involves a set of standard protocols that are specifically designed to help your brain process unresolved memories and activate its innate healing capacities.

There are eight phases of treatment in EMDR therapy. Phase one focuses on history taking and phase two focuses on preparation for memory processing, learning more about EMDR, recording your preferences for bilateral stimulation, and increasing your ability to manage distressing emotions. Phases 3 to 8 focus on processing relevant experiences identified in phase one that are related to your concerns and goals for therapy.

8). What is the Investment?

  • My weekday hourly rate for therapy and/or EMDR Intensives is $360/hour. The weekend rate (Sat/Sun) is $400/hour.

  • Intake sessions are 90 minutes and cost $540 weekdays; weekends are $600

  • 3-Hour Intensive Sessions cost $1080 weekdays; weekends are $1200

  • You will be provided with a Good Faith Estimate (GFE). Riley Psychological Services PLLC is considered an out-of-network provider with your insurance company, which means I do not bill your insurance directly and you will be responsible for the full cost of services at the time of treatment. However, if requested, you will be provided with a superbill that will list one psychotherapy session using CPT code 90837 (53 minutes plus) that you can submit to your insurance for out-of-network reimbursement if you choose.

  • All intensives require a deposit equivalent to the intake session amount: $540 weekday / $600 weekend. This is non-refundable. The remainder of the balance will be charged the day before your intensive session is scheduled.

  • You are required to keep a valid credit card on file. Payments can be made by debit, credit card, ACH, cash or check. We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and HSA cards.

9). What is the Cancellation Policy?

  • Cancellations: Please contact me at least 7 days in advance if you need to change or cancel a scheduled intake or a therapy intensive. Because the time is held exclusively for you and requires a large amount of time, I often am not able to fill them on a last-minute basis. Appointments that are not canceled in a timely manner will be billed directly to you. The fee for a missed or late canceled session is the cost of the time booked at a rate of $300/hour booked.