5 Ways Intensives Beat Weekly Therapy
Weekly therapy is the current standard of care, and that is for good reason. There are certain conditions, life events, and needs that are best addressed by long-term, consistent care. Ideally, intensives can support weekly therapy by working as an adjunct treatment. However, there are times when weekly therapy misses the mark.
Here are five ways that intensives hold an advantage over weekly therapy sessions:
They let you focus on a specific goal.
For as long as I have been a therapist, I have made treatment plans with clients in the first session, and touched base on therapeutic goals periodically afterward to make sure we are heading in the right direction. However, it is far from uncommon for those goals to shift for completely normal reasons. If you came into therapy to work on childhood trauma, but then go through a rough patch with your spouse, you might opt to shift your focus to your relationship until things settle down (and I 100% support your right to make that adjustment). Perhaps your job is overbearing, or your children are struggling, or there’s a death in the family- week by week, life happens to us, and it is difficult to turn away. We can incorporate discussions about childhood trauma’s role in how you cope with these other stressors, but it is generally backburnered.
Because an intensive is one long day, life can’t throw nearly as many wrenches in our processing plans. If you want dedicated time to unpack traumatic events or relationships, you will get that time without the distraction of new stressors or circumstances. On the other side of the intensive, you will be able to identify the goal we worked on and the specific work you did towards it during our time together.
Emotional momentum goes uninterrupted.
It takes time to get to the “meat and potatoes” of our own inner workings. Sometimes it takes more than thirty minutes to get to what we really want and need to talk about in session, and, by then, the session is half over. I still lament sessions where I knew we were doing good, deep emotional work that had to end earlier than I wanted it to (even if I took it past the hour) because the reality is that there is no guarantee that we would get back to that place again soon, if ever.
Intensives give us several hours together so that, when we are knee-deep in that processing flow, we can stay there as long as we need to and get to the heart of your struggle. No more of the “two steps forward, one step back”, instead we can go through the whole journey and find some peace at the other end, rather than sending you on your way with a gaping emotional wound.
No weekly commitment.
Real talk: it is hard to consistently get out of work every week for one whole hour. If you’re not trying to get out of work, it is hard to find one free hour every week in general. Even when you know you need the time, and perhaps desperately want it, it is SO difficult to set the time aside for the appointment that either a) it doens’t happen; b) it doesn’t happen consistently; or c) you squeeze it into whatever hole you have in your schedule and hurry on to whatever comes next without any real time to unpack what happened in session.
Just the outdoor component of my therapy intensives is the equivalent of FIVE one-hour sessions in one day, approximately one month's worth of therapy (if it is a month with five Mondays 😆 ). It is easier to take one day off than to take a consistent hour off every week, and you can make meaningful progress toward your therapeutic goal in that time.
Decreased cost over time.
This one is huge, especially when paired with the reasons above. Are you consistently missing sessions and paying late cancellation fees? Are you deviating from your treatment plan because life keeps throwing you curveballs, and you aren’t reaching your goals? All of these extend the time you are in therapy and, therefore, can increase the number of weeks you are paying for sessions.
Because therapy intensives are designed to help you reach your goals faster, you are less likely to continue paying for weekly sessions beyond when you need them. Whether you have a regular therapist and are using intensives as an adjunct treatment, or as a “one-off” event, they accelerate your healing and invite you to live your life with confidence and agency.
You can’t beat the view!
Whether you would like to do an intensive hiking up Mt. Rainier or on a leisurely walk around Fort Steilacoom Park, the view outside will always beat the views inside an office- even if the office has a nice window. Being in nature offers you the chance to be fully immersed in a soothing environment, and it is, frankly, lovely. In my humble opinion, there is no better place to be outside than in the Pacific Northwest, even on a rainy day!
There is no "one size fits all" when it comes to therapy. While weekly sessions work wonders for many, sometimes we need the freedom to step outside the office, leave the walls behind, and give our inner world the undivided attention it deserves.
Whether you’re looking to unpack a specific trauma or just need a dedicated day to reset and process, outdoor therapy intensives offer a unique, uninterrupted path forward with the added bonus of fresh air and a beautiful trail. If you're curious about how an outdoor intensive could support your specific goals, I'd love to chat. Your next big breakthrough might just be a hike away.
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And always remember: You’ve got this.
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