More time for work that needs room to unfold.
A therapy intensive is a custom block of focused clinical time built around a clearly defined purpose—not simply a standard session made longer.
Instead of stopping at the usual hour, an intensive creates space to prepare, work at a deliberate pace, take meaningful breaks, and integrate what emerges. Packages can be designed for individuals or relationships and may take place in Kristin’s Dallas office or at an agreed private offsite location.
- Half day to multiple days
- Individuals & relationships
- Onsite or selected offsite
- Custom clinical plan
Formats built around the goal—not a preset package
Half-day intensive
A focused block with room for orientation, active therapeutic work, breaks, and closure. A half day may fit a defined relationship conversation, treatment-planning goal, or carefully selected individual target.
Full-day intensive
A more spacious format for work that benefits from multiple phases, longer breaks, and deliberate integration. The day is structured in advance rather than treated as one continuous session.
Multi-day intensive
Consecutive or intentionally spaced days may support a broader goal. Each day has its own pacing, review, rest, and closure plan; more time is not assumed to be better for every person.
For individuals and relationships
Individual focus
An individual intensive may address a defined trauma target, attachment wound, persistent trigger, recovery obstacle, life transition, or pattern that has been difficult to reach in weekly sessions.
Couples and relationships
A relationship intensive may focus on a recurring conflict cycle, repair after betrayal, intimacy, a major decision, premarital preparation, boundaries, or a transition that requires more protected time than a weekly appointment allows.
Existing or new clients
Some intensives grow from ongoing therapy. Others begin with a focused assessment for a new client. Either way, clinical fit and preparation are determined before a package is confirmed.
What a custom intensive includes
Consultation and assessment
We clarify what you want to address, relevant history, current supports, risks, prior therapy, relationship context, and whether concentrated work is appropriate now.
A written clinical map
Kristin develops a proposed structure: the goal, format, methods, location, planned breaks, preparation, and realistic boundaries around what the intensive can address.
Preparation before the intensive
You may complete questionnaires, identify resources, practice grounding, coordinate with an existing therapist, or make practical plans for rest, transportation, and support afterward.
Focused therapeutic blocks
The active work is divided into purposeful segments. Depending on fit, it may draw from EMDR, Brainspotting, DNMS, family systems, Emotionally Focused Therapy, Gottman-informed work, or other trauma-informed strategies.
Breaks and regulation
Meals, hydration, movement, sensory needs, and true pauses are part of the design. Breaks are not lost treatment time; they help protect attention, consent, and integration.
Closure and follow-through
We review what changed, what remains open, how to care for yourself afterward, and whether ongoing therapy, coordination, or another level of care is recommended.
Onsite and offsite options
Onsite intensives take place in Kristin’s Dallas office, where the setting and privacy are already familiar. Offsite intensives may be arranged at a private, mutually approved location when the environment meaningfully supports the work. An offsite location is not chosen for novelty alone.
Before an offsite intensive is confirmed, we consider confidentiality, physical and emotional safety, accessibility, weather, transportation, food and hydration, restrooms, emergency access, technology, lodging boundaries when relevant, and a backup plan. Clinical services must remain within the geographic and licensure boundaries that apply to Kristin’s practice. Travel, lodging, venue costs, and other logistics are discussed explicitly rather than assumed.
Pricing is developed with the package
No one-size-fits-all fee
Pricing depends on the agreed configuration: clinical time, preparation, number of participants, number of days, location, travel, venue needs, coordination, and follow-up. Kristin and the client or clients agree to the scope and price beforehand. You will know the proposed structure and financial responsibility before the intensive is booked.
Who may not be a fit right now
An intensive is not automatically safer or more effective because it is longer. It may be postponed or declined when there is acute instability, unmanaged medical risk, active intoxication or withdrawal, immediate danger to self or others, inadequate recovery support, or a need for a higher level of care. Relationship intensives also require careful screening; conjoint work may be inappropriate when there is coercive control, ongoing violence, intimidation, or a participant who cannot engage voluntarily.
Intensives are not crisis services, retreats, vacations, or guarantees of resolution. They do not replace emergency care, detoxification, inpatient or residential treatment, medical evaluation, or ongoing support when those services are indicated.
What research can tell us
Research supports several trauma-focused psychotherapies for PTSD, including EMDR. Studies of concentrated or “massed” trauma treatment suggest that some structured intensive programs can reduce PTSD symptoms. However, many published programs combine multiple treatments, psychoeducation, physical activity, teams of clinicians, or inpatient/outpatient program resources. Those findings should not be treated as proof that every custom private-practice intensive—or every relationship intensive—will produce the same outcomes.
The most useful takeaway is that format requires clinical planning. The EMDR International Association distinguishes an intensive from simply extending session length and emphasizes assessment, preparation, sequencing, regulation, and integration. The right question is not “How much can we fit into a day?” but “What structure best supports this person or relationship’s goal, capacity, safety, and follow-through?”
Sources and clinical context
- EMDR International Association: Looking beyond session length—understanding EMDR intensives
- VA National Center for PTSD: Overview of recommended PTSD psychotherapies
- PubMed: Intensive program combining prolonged exposure and EMDR for severe PTSD
- PubMed: Randomized comparison of intensive EMDR and progressive counting
- AAMFT: Evidence update on couple and family interventions
Start with the purpose, then build the format.
Tell Kristin what you hope focused time could make possible. If an intensive is clinically appropriate, she will develop a proposed onsite or offsite package for you to review and agree to before scheduling.
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