Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR is an evidence-based therapy that helps the brain process distressing experience that become stuck as a negative belief about oneself or their place in the world. Bilateral stimulation is used to engage working memory in a way that reduces emotional intensity and vividness of a memory. Over time, the brain can reprocess past experiences to feel less charged. This shift impacts long-held beliefs about the self such as shame, fear and inadequacy - resulting not only in symptom relief, but a deeper sense of emotional resolution and integration.

Internal Family Systems

Internal Family Systems is a trauma informed therapy that treats each person as a system of both protective and wounded parts that are guided by a core Self. Certain protective parts can become stuck over time over-functioning for the unhealed wounded parts. IFS helps people identify and access their core, compassionate Self to help heal and integrate both protective and wounded parts through curiosity and towards clarity. This process fosters emotional healing, internal integration as well as a deeper sense of connection within oneself and in relationships with others.

Before your intensive, we'll meet for a pre-interview—either in person or virtually—to get to know you, understand what brings you to intensive work, and determine whether this format is a good fit for you.

During our pre-interview, we'll talk about what life looks like for you right now, the challenges or stressors you're navigating, and the ways you've been coping. We'll explore which strategies are working for you, which may no longer be serving you, and how these patterns may be getting in the way of the changes you want to make.

We'll also identify what you'd like to be different in your life and what you hope to move toward through our work together. This gives us a foundation for creating a focused and personalized plan for your intensive.

On the day of your intensive, we'll have five hours of dedicated time to work toward these goals. The day includes a one-hour lunch break and space for reflection, grounding, and integration.

The goal isn't to rush through five hours of therapy. It's to create the time, space, and continuity needed for deeper work to unfold.

Intensives are offered in person in a peaceful, welcoming office located on the border of Carlsbad and Oceanside.

The office is conveniently located near a variety of restaurants, coffee shops, shopping, and the coast, making it easy to turn your intensive into an opportunity for rest and rejuvenation. If you're traveling from outside the area, Carlsbad and Oceanside are wonderful places to stay for the weekend, giving you space to slow down, enjoy the area, and take care of yourself after a full day of therapeutic work.

The office itself is designed to provide a comfortable, private setting where you can step away from your usual routines and give yourself the time and attention that deeper therapeutic work requires.

• More time to go deeper — Five hours gives us the space to move beyond the surface of an issue and explore what’s underneath it without feeling rushed.

• Build momentum — Concentrated work can help you make connections and create shifts that may be harder to achieve when sessions are spaced a week apart.

• Stay immersed in the work — Rather than spending each week getting back into the same material, an intensive allows you to remain focused and connected to the work for an extended period.

• Ideal for deeper EMDR processing — The extended format allows time for preparation, processing, checking in with your body, and grounding and integrating before you leave.

• More space for IFS — We can slow down and get to know the parts of you that hold difficult emotions, beliefs, and protective patterns without having to rush the process.

• Follow where the work leads — We don't have to fit meaningful therapeutic work into a predetermined agenda. We can begin with your goals and allow what emerges to guide the day.

• A focused approach to a specific concern — Intensives can be helpful when you feel stuck around a particular issue or want to devote focused attention to an area of your life.

• An alternative to weekly therapy — If your schedule makes ongoing weekly sessions difficult, an intensive can provide an opportunity for meaningful therapeutic work without a weekly commitment.

• A complement to ongoing therapy — An intensive can also be added to your existing therapy to create dedicated time for deeper processing or focused work.

• Time for integration and self-care — The day isn't simply five hours of nonstop processing. Built-in breaks and the time afterward allow you to slow down, reflect, and integrate what you've experienced.

• A chance to prioritize yourself — An intensive creates intentional space to step away from your usual responsibilities and devote a full day to your own healing and well-being.

Yes. Research is showing that brief, intensive therapy is proving to be a promising alternative to weekly therapy as it also improves dropout rates for PTSD treatment. EMDR administered in an intensive format has also been shown to reduce the total number of treatment hours.

Intensives are offered on Fridays from 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., with the intention of giving you the weekend afterward to rest, reflect, and integrate the work from our day together. Rather than returning immediately to the pace of everyday life, you’ll have dedicated time to nurture yourself and allow the work to be integrated. If Fridays don't fit your schedule, please reach out to discuss availability.