EMDR Intensives & Retreats
Intentional Deep Healing, Without the Wait.
Sometimes weekly therapy just isn’t enough.
You may be functioning on the outside, caring for your children, running your household, showing up at work, all while carrying trauma, anxiety, or grief that feels heavy and unresolved underneath it all.
EMDR Intensives & retreats are designed for those who are ready to move through stuck places in a powerful, focused way without spending months or years circling the same pain.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a research-supported therapy designed to help your brain heal from distressing or traumatic experiences.
When something overwhelming happens, it can get “stuck” in the nervous system, showing up later as anxiety, intrusive thoughts, emotional reactivity, or that familiar tight feeling in your chest.
EMDR helps your brain reprocess those memories so they no longer feel raw or activating.
You don’t have to relive every detail or talk about it endlessly.
Instead, we work in a structured, guided way that allows your nervous system to finally file the experience away as something that happened, not something that’s still happening.
Many people I work with may never describe themselves as “traumatized.”
But what they do say is:
“It was a complicated relationship.”
“The divorce was intense.”
“I’ve been exposed to things most people don’t see”
“The birth was not what we expected.”
“My childhood made me independent.”
What Is an EMDR Intensive?
An intensive format allows for deeper, more connected work. Instead of opening something tender for 50 minutes and pausing just as it’s getting somewhere meaningful, we meet in extended sessions that give your nervous system time to fully process and settle.
There’s space to prepare, to move through the work gently but thoroughly, to take breaks when needed, and to close in a grounded way. It isn’t rushed or abrupt. It’s intentional, supportive, and designed to help your brain actually finish what it started. Allowing you to leave feeling steadier, not stirred up.
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EMDR 3-Day Intensive Retreat
A comprehensive, high-touch healing experience designed for complex, multi-layered trauma or longstanding patterns that deserve focused, uninterrupted attention.
Your intensive takes place at A Reason to Write, a peaceful private retreat nestled on ten secluded acres overlooking the Shenandoah River in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Rather than leaving therapy each day and returning to the demands of everyday life, you'll have the option to stay onsite throughout your intensive at no additional cost. Your private accommodations are included as part of your experience, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the therapeutic process in a calm, distraction-free environment.
This immersive package includes:
90-minute consultation and treatment planning session
Three full-day EMDR intensive sessions
60-minute integration session
Two nights of private accommodations at the retreat center including: guest suite with a separate entrance, patio, dedicated therapy space, and kitchen
Access to the retreat's beautiful grounds and the Shenandoah River
Breakfast and lunch provided daily from a local café or restaurant
Coffee, tea, beverages, and healthy snacks available throughout your stay
Between sessions, you'll have time to rest, journal, enjoy the peaceful grounds, or simply sit beside the river and allow your mind and body to absorb the work we've completed together. These moments of reflection and integration are an intentional part of the intensive experience.
Every detail has been thoughtfully planned so you can spend less energy managing logistics and more energy focusing on yourself. If you have dietary restrictions or food allergies, accommodations can be made whenever possible with advance notice.
Investment: $6,000
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Reserve your preferred dates before they're filled:
August 7-9
November 13-15
Book your complimentary consultation today to discuss your goals, ask questions, and determine if an EMDR Intensive Retreat is the right fit for you.
The 3 Day, EMDR Intensive Retreat
Your structured, private experience includes:
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This complimentary call is a brief, focused conversation to determine whether an EMDR Intensive is the right fit for you. We’ll talk through what you’re hoping to work on, your previous therapy or EMDR experience, and whether this format makes clinical sense for your nervous system and goals.
This is not a therapy session, but rather a space for clarity and alignment. We’ll review structure, answer questions, and ensure you feel informed before making any decisions. Not every client is suited for an intensive model, and thoughtful discernment is part of responsible trauma care.
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We start by getting a full picture of what’s bringing you to therapy, your current symptoms, and any past experiences that may be contributing to how you feel today. This helps us map out where to begin and ensures the process is tailored to your specific needs.
Together, we’ll identify the memories, themes, or experiences that feel “stuck,” along with the emotions, beliefs, and body sensations connected to them. This gives us a clear starting point for reprocessing.
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Before we begin any processing, we spend time building safety and stability. This includes learning grounding techniques, developing calming strategies, and creating internal resources so you feel confident and supported throughout the work.
Using bilateral stimulation (eye movements, tapping, or sounds), your brain will begin to process the target memory. You may notice shifts in emotions, thoughts, or body sensations as your brain naturally works through the material. I’ll guide and support you through this process, always checking in to ensure you feel grounded.
As the distress linked to the memory decreases, we’ll work to strengthen adaptive, empowering beliefs, helping you build new, more supportive narratives about yourself and your experiences.
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Your intensive takes place at A Reason to Write, a peaceful private retreat nestled on ten secluded acres overlooking the Shenandoah River in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Rather than leaving therapy each day and returning to the demands of everyday life, you'll have the option to stay onsite throughout your intensive at no additional cost. Your private accommodations are included as part of your experience, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the therapeutic process in a calm, distraction-free environment.
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Following completion of your three-day intensive, you’ll have the opportunity to schedule a 60-minute integration session.
This session is designed to:
Check in on how the shifts are settling
Reinforce progress and insight
Address any emerging material
Provide additional guidance or coaching as needed
Healing doesn’t end when the intensive concludes. Integration ensures the work continues to feel grounded, embodied, and sustainable in your daily life.
This session may be held in person or virtually for clients located in Virginia, Washington, DC, or West Virginia.
Your Questions, Answered
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Trauma isn’t only one catastrophic event. It’s anything that overwhelmed your nervous system and still feels unresolved.
You might look “fine” on the outside. You might be high functioning, capable, and holding everything together. And still, something from your past lingers.
You may have experienced:
Assault, violence, or coercion
A volatile or controlling partner
A traumatic birth or NICU stay
A sudden or destabilizing loss
Secondary trauma from medicine, law, first response, or leadership
A high-conflict separation or divorce
Emotional neglect or chronic instability growing up
Events you witnessed but could not unsee
If certain memories still feel charged…
If your body reacts before your mind can reason…
If you’ve minimized something that still affects you…EMDR may be a powerful next step.
Healing doesn’t require your story to be “bad enough.”
If it still impacts you, it matters. -
EMDR Intensives are especially helpful for:
Birth trauma
Pregnancy or postpartum trauma
Medical trauma
Anxiety that feels rooted in past experiences
Traumatic grief or loss
Childhood trauma impacting motherhood
Women who feel “high functioning” but internally overwhelmed
Mothers who don’t have the flexibility for long-term weekly therapy
If you’re thinking, “I don’t want to just manage this anymore , I want to actually heal it,” an intensive may be right for you.
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Weekly therapy is wonderful and for many people, it’s the right fit.
But intensives can offer:
Momentum
We stay with the work long enough for real processing to happen without stopping right when it gets deep.Efficiency
No spending months building up to the core issue.Fewer disruptions to your life
One or two focused days instead of rearranging your schedule for ongoing weekly appointments.Emotional containment
We prepare thoroughly and close intentionally, so you leave grounded and supported.
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Yes. And also deeply supportive.
We move at a pace your nervous system can tolerate. EMDR isn’t about reliving trauma; it’s about helping your brain reprocess experiences so they no longer feel overwhelming or stuck.
Clients often say:
“It feels lighter.”
“That memory doesn’t hit the same anymore.”
“I can think about it without spiraling.”
“I finally feel some relief.”
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Yes and it can be especially powerful in these cases. Birth experiences, NICU stays, medical complications, and perinatal loss can leave a deep imprint. EMDR helps your brain process what happened so that the memory feels integrated rather than overwhelming.
We always assess readiness and move at a pace that feels safe and supportive.
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That’s a very fair question.
EMDR Intensives are structured differently than weekly therapy, and the investment reflects the depth of preparation, advanced training, and extended clinical focus involved.
An intensive includes thoughtful case planning, readiness assessment, several uninterrupted hours of trauma processing, and integration support afterward. This work requires specialized EMDR training and the sustained emotional presence and regulation needed to safely hold deeper processing over multiple hours.
You’re reserving protected time dedicated solely to your healing, time that cannot be offered to other clients. That focused space allows us to move efficiently and often accomplish in days what might otherwise take months.
While the upfront cost is higher, many clients find the overall investment in time, childcare, missed work, and emotional energy is actually less than prolonged therapy over time.
Most importantly, this model is designed to create meaningful, lasting relief, not just short-term coping.
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EMDR Intensives are offered as a private-pay service and are not billed to insurance. There are several reasons for this.
Insurance companies require a mental health diagnosis and ongoing documentation of medical necessity. They may also request treatment records, session notes, or clinical justification for extended sessions. Intensive formats are often not covered or may be subject to limitations that interfere with the depth and structure of this work.
Choosing private pay allows:
Greater privacy and confidentiality
No mandatory diagnosis submitted to insurance databases
No disclosure of session content to third parties
Freedom to structure treatment based on clinical need rather than insurance guidelines
For many of the individuals I work with, including those in military, government, legal, medical, or leadership roles — discretion matters. Keeping your mental health care outside of insurance systems offers an additional layer of privacy and autonomy.
This model also allows us to focus fully on meaningful healing without administrative constraints or session caps.
If you would like documentation to submit for potential out-of-network reimbursement, that can be discussed during your consultation.
Payment Options
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Cash & all major credit and debit cards are accepted.
If you plan to use an HSA or FSA card, I recommend confirming eligibility requirements with your plan administrator in advance.
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If your trauma is connected to a qualifying crime, you may be eligible for reimbursement through your state’s Crime Victim Compensation Program.
You can learn more or apply through:
Approval and coverage are determined by each state program. I am happy to provide documentation if needed for your application.
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CareCredit is a healthcare financing option that allows qualified clients to make payments over time. You can apply directly through CareCredit’s website to determine eligibility and financing terms.