Accelerate Your Healing: EMDR and Couples Therapy Intensives
A dedicated, focused retreat to heal trauma, repair your relationship, and achieve months of transformation in a matter of days.
Are you tired of waiting weeks to feel better?
If you have been in traditional weekly therapy, you may know this feeling: You spend the first 15 minutes catching up on the week, finally drop into the deep, vulnerable work of processing trauma or a relationship conflict, and just as you make a breakthrough……the 50-minute session ends. You have to pack up your emotions and wait another week to try again.
Weekly therapy works for many, but sometimes, it is not fast enough—you need that change, and you need it now.
Why Choose Intensive?
Resolve Issues Without the Wait: Instead of packing up your emotions when the clock runs out, an intensive allows you to stay with the feeling, focus entirely on the core issue, and reach a resolution—without the painful wait to pick things back up the following week.
Maximize Treatment, Minimize Commuting: Weekly therapy requires carving out time every single week not just for the session, but for the drive to and from the office. An intensive allows you to significantly increase your actual time in treatment while drastically decreasing the hours spent commuting.
Schedule Flexibility for Busy Lives: If you are juggling a demanding career, parenting, or complex family responsibilities, committing to a weekly appointment can feel impossible. Intensives offer the flexibility to do a deep dive less frequently—such as meeting for a half or full day once a month—allowing you to prioritize your healing in a way that actually fits your lifestyle.
Which Format is Right for You?
| Traditional Weekly Therapy | Therapy Intensives | |
| Pace | 50-minute sessions, once a week | 90-minute to 6-hour blocks, scheduled as needed |
| Best For | Steady, ongoing support, gradual processing, and weekly check-ins. | Accelerated healing, crisis intervention, and deep trauma processing. |
| Momentum | Requires warm-up and closing time each week. | Uninterrupted deep work without weekly start-and-stop friction. |
| Timeline | Months or years to achieve long-term goals. | Months of clinical work condensed into a few days or weeks. |
| Logistics | A weekly commute to the office. | Maximize treatment time while drastically reducing travel time. |
Choosing Your Healing Path
Path 1: Individual EMDR Intensives
Clear the past so you can live fully in the present.
Unresolved trauma doesn’t just stay in the past; it lives in your nervous system, dictating your present reactions. Using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, I help individuals move beyond just intellectually understanding their trauma so they can actually feel safe in their bodies again.
This is not traditional talk therapy where we only manage weekly symptoms. It is a focused, “bottom-up” intervention designed to get to the root of your distress. Together, we will “defragment” the stuck memories in your brain, clear out the physiological triggers that no longer serve you, and install new, adaptive beliefs for your future.
Because trauma impacts everyone differently, your Individual Intensive will be customized into one of two tracks:
The Single-Incident Track: Focused on processing a specific, isolated traumatic event (such as a car accident, medical emergency, or sudden loss) to clear the acute distress and prevent long-term PTSD.
The Complex & Relational Trauma Track: Designed to heal deep attachment wounds, childhood trauma, or prolonged periods of distress that have left you feeling chronically anxious, depressed, or “stuck” in life.
(Not sure where to start? During our initial intake process, we will map out your history together to identify the exact “touchstone memories” we need to target for the most effective healing.)
An Individual EMDR Intensive is ideal for you if:
You “know” intellectually that a past event wasn’t your fault, but your body and nervous system still “feel” as though you are in danger.
You are an adult survivor of childhood trauma or attachment wounds and feel you have hit a wall in traditional talk therapy.
You are functioning well in your daily life or career, but are secretly exhausted by chronic anxiety, intrusive thoughts, or emotional triggers.
You are a fellow clinician, therapist, or professional who wants to engage in deep, transformative healing work privately and efficiently.
Couples Therapy Intensives
Rebuild your foundation and find your way back to each other.
When your primary relationship is in crisis, it impacts every other area of your life. Using an attachment-oriented framework and evidence-based relationship assessments, I help couples navigate their darkest seasons and transform insecure patterns into a functioning, secure attachment.
This is not a generic couples retreat; it is a customized, private, and deeply focused intervention designed for your unique dynamic. Together, we will uncover the roots of your disconnection, rebuild trust, and create a shared vision for your future.
Because no two relationships are alike, your Couples Intensive will be customized into one of two tracks:
The Relationship Repair Track: Focused on communication, gridlocked conflict, and rebuilding secure attachment using evidence-based methods.
The EMDR Trauma Track: Designed for couples dealing with the aftermath of profound betrayal, infidelity, or past childhood traumas that are actively hijacking your nervous systems during arguments.
(Not sure which one you need? That is exactly what our initial intake process is for. We will map out your relationship together and design the perfect intensive approach for your needs.)
A Couples Therapy Intensive is ideal for you if:
You are recovering from the devastating discovery of infidelity or betrayal and need immediate, structured, and compassionate support to survive the crisis.
You are trapped in “gridlocked” conflict, feeling exhausted from fighting the same battles over and over without ever feeling heard or understood.
You are on the brink of separation or divorce and want to make one final, dedicated effort to save the relationship in a safe environment.
You are feeling like “roommates” rather than romantic partners and want to dedicate uninterrupted time to rediscover your intimacy and connection.
You are an immigrant or bicultural couple needing a culturally affirming, bilingual (English/Mandarin) space to navigate complex family dynamics and cultural differences.
How the Intensive Process Look
Step 1: Pre-intensive preparation
Your healing journey begins before you even step into the office. Prior to our initial meeting, you will complete your intake paperwork and detailed assessment questionnaires online. This allows me to thoroughly review your history, relationship dynamics, and clinical needs ahead of time so we can maximize our face-to-face work.
Step 2: Assessment & Goal Setting (The First 90 Minutes)
We do not jump into deep trauma processing or conflict resolution blindly. The first 90 minutes of our first meeting are dedicated strictly to assessment. We will review your questionnaires, map out your specific challenges, and collaboratively develop clear, targeted treatment goals for your intensive work.
Step 3: The Intensive Sessions
Following the initial assessment, we move into the focused therapy work. Because everyone processes at a different pace and has different scheduling needs, you have the flexibility to book blocks of time that fit your lifestyle and emotional capacity:
For Individual EMDR Intensives: You can book sessions in 90-minute or 3-hour blocks.
For Couples Therapy Intensives: You can book sessions in 90-minute, 3-hour, or 6-hour blocks.
(During our longer 3-hour and 6-hour blocks, we will take intentional breaks for grounding, self-care, and lunch, ensuring your nervous system remains regulated as we do the heavy lifting of transformation.)
Investment and Logistics
Because an intensive condenses months of traditional weekly therapy into a few days, it requires a significant upfront investment of time, energy, and finances. However, in the long run, it is often more cost-effective and emotionally efficient than years of weekly payments and prolonged distress.
Transparent, Time-Based Pricing To keep pricing simple and transparent, all intensive sessions are calculated using a 90-minute unit as the baseline:
The Base Unit: Every 90-minute session is $240.
Longer Blocks: When you book longer intensive sessions (such as 2-hour, 3-hour, or 6-hour blocks), your total fee is calculated proportionally based on this $240 per 90-minute rate. You only pay for the exact time you schedule.
Insurance & Out-of-Network Benefits I am an out-of-network provider. Please note that while I can provide a superbill for your sessions, insurance companies operate on a “medical necessity” model and typically do not reimburse for extended, multi-hour intensive blocks or relationship-focused therapy. Therefore, intensives are primarily an out-of-pocket investment in your deep transformation.
"As a therapist, I am a companion. I try to help people tune into their own wisdom." ~~~Virginia Satir
You do not have to stay stuck in the same painful patterns. Let’s collaborate to get you back on the path to a life that feels satisfying, meaningful, and fulfilling.
Ready to explore if an Intensive is right for you?
Check out the next intensive therapy availability.
Call: 978-482-7480
Email: gracechen@drgracechenlmft.com
Office: 12 Essex St. STE 8, Andover, MA