EMDR Intensives · Trauma & PTSD · Ottawa & online
EMDR Intensives in Ottawa
Focused trauma work, in days instead of months.
A weekly 50-minute session is a good fit for many people. But sometimes a single hour a week isn’t enough to build momentum, or waiting between sessions keeps reopening the same door. An EMDR intensive concentrates the work into longer blocks over one to a few days, so you can go deeper without losing the thread each week. It is the same EMDR therapy I offer weekly, simply delivered in a more focused format.
The same EMDR work, gathered into focused sessions.
What is an EMDR intensive?
Instead of one 50-minute session a week, an intensive sets aside a longer stretch of time, usually three to six hours in a day, for up to three days, so we can stay with the work while your system is engaged.
The structure of EMDR doesn’t change. We still prepare carefully, process at the pace your nervous system can hold, and close each block contained and grounded. What changes is the rhythm: less starting and stopping, fewer weeks spent re-settling between sessions, and more continuity through a piece of work. If you’d like to see how a standard session unfolds first, my guide to what actually happens in an EMDR session walks through it step by step.
Who an intensive may suit
Intensives are not better than weekly therapy, just different. They tend to fit people who:
- find it hard to commit to the same weekly time, or travel and prefer to do focused work in a short window
- live elsewhere in Ontario and would rather meet online in longer blocks than weekly
- want to concentrate on a specific memory, event, or theme
- have done weekly therapy and feel ready to go deeper in a more sustained way
An intensive also asks something of your system: the capacity to stay present with difficult material for longer than a usual session. That isn’t something you have to figure out alone or in advance. Working out whether the format is a safe fit for you is exactly what the preparation step below is for, and you will never be pushed past what your nervous system can hold.
How an intensive works, step by step
- 1
A free 15-minute call
We talk about what’s bringing you in and whether an intensive is worth exploring. No forms, no commitment.
- 2
A preparation and goals session
A standard 50-minute session where we map your goals, talk through the format, and decide together whether an intensive is the right fit. If it isn’t, weekly work is always an option.
- 3
A couple of questionnaires at home
Before we book the intensive itself, you complete two short questionnaires on your own time: a standard EMDR-readiness check and the DES-II, a brief and widely used screening measure. There is nothing to pass or fail. They simply help me tailor the intensive to what your system can hold and confirm the format is a safe fit.
- 4
The intensive
Three to six hours in a day, for up to three days, shaped to your preference and your capacity. We work in paced sets with regular breaks, your nervous system sets the speed, and we close each block grounded so you leave regulated, not raw.
- 5
Follow-up and integration
The next session can be another intensive or a regular 50-minute session, whatever helps you integrate the work. We decide based on how you’re doing, not a fixed script.
The methods I draw on
An intensive isn’t EMDR alone. I draw on several trauma approaches and choose between them in the moment, depending on the kind of trauma we’re working with and what your system needs:
- EMDR. The core of the work: helping the brain reprocess stuck memories so they settle as something that happened, not something that keeps happening.
- The Flash Technique. Where a memory feels too charged to approach directly, this gentler, evidence-informed method can lower its intensity first, without you having to consciously focus on it.
- Parts work (IFS). Complex trauma often splits the self into parts, some carrying pain and some standing guard. We work with the protective parts first, so the system isn’t fighting the therapy.
- Somatic skills. Body-based grounding and regulation, so settling is something you can do, not just something you wait for.
Where the trauma is long-standing or developmental, the same careful, phased approach I describe in my guide to complex PTSD treatment in Ottawa applies in an intensive too. Stabilization comes first, and processing waits until your system is ready.
In Hintonburg or online across Ontario
Intensives are available in person at 9 Melrose Ave in Hintonburg, near Wellington Village and a short walk from Tunney’s Pasture, or online by secure video anywhere in Ontario.
Online intensives follow the same structure and the same safety-first pacing as in-person work. More on how remote sessions run is on the virtual therapy page.
Fees and practical details
- Free 15-minute consultation. No forms, no pressure, just a conversation about fit.
- Billed at $200 per hour. Each hour is a 50-minute working block with a short break, so a 3-hour intensive is $600 and a 5-hour intensive is $1,000. You choose the length, and we agree the full plan and total at the preparation session, before anything is booked.
- Insurance: you pay per session and receive a detailed receipt with my CRPO registration number (#11921) to claim through your extended health plan. Most Ontario plans cover Registered Psychotherapists. I don’t bill insurance directly.
- No referral needed.
Questions people ask about EMDR intensives
What is an EMDR intensive?
An EMDR intensive is the same EMDR therapy I offer weekly, delivered in a longer, more focused format. Instead of one 50-minute session a week, we set aside extended blocks of time, usually three to six hours in a day, for up to three days, so a piece of trauma work can move with more continuity and less time spent re-settling between sessions. It’s a short, focused program with the same careful preparation, pacing, and grounding as standard EMDR.
What’s the difference between an intensive and weekly EMDR?
The therapy is the same; the schedule is different. Weekly EMDR happens in 50-minute sessions spaced a week apart. An intensive gathers the work into longer blocks, three to six hours in a day for up to three days, so there’s more continuity and less time spent re-settling between sessions. Some people do better with the steady rhythm of weekly work, others with the focus of an intensive. We decide together.
How long is an intensive, and how many days?
It’s flexible. A day can run from about three hours to six, and an intensive can span a single day or up to three, depending on your goals, your preference, and what your system can comfortably hold. We plan the length together at the preparation session.
Is it safe to do so much in one go?
Safety is the whole reason for the preparation step. Before any intensive, we complete a goals session and two readiness questionnaires so we know the format fits you. During the intensive itself, we work in paced sets with regular breaks, stay within your window of tolerance, and close every block grounded. You can slow down or stop at any point, and we never push past what your nervous system can hold.
Who is an intensive not suitable for?
Intensives ask for the capacity to stay with difficult material for longer than a usual session, and they aren’t the right starting point for everyone. That’s not something you need to judge on your own. The preparation session and readiness questionnaires exist precisely to work this out together, and if an intensive isn’t the right fit right now, weekly therapy is always available.
How much does an EMDR intensive cost?
Intensives are billed at $200 per hour, where each hour is a 50-minute working block with a short break. As a guide, a 3-hour intensive is $600 and a 5-hour intensive is $1,000, and we stop at the length you have chosen. You decide how many hours and how many days, and we agree the full plan and total together at the preparation session, before you commit. You’ll receive a detailed receipt with my CRPO registration number for your extended health plan.
Can we do an intensive online?
Yes. Intensives are available in person in Hintonburg or online by secure video anywhere in Ontario, with the same structure and the same safety-first pacing either way.
One small ripple is enough to start.
A free 15-minute call. No forms, no pressure to tell your story before you’re ready.
Book a free 15-minute call