What’s the Most Effective Therapy Approach? Why Therapy Intensives Get Faster Results in Therapy

What’s the Most Effective Therapy Approach? Why Therapy Intensives Get Faster Results in Therapy

If you’ve ever felt like a fifty minute therapy appointment wasn’t enough time, or your therapy appointment is ending right when you’re finally getting somewhere, you’re not alone.

Many of my clients come to me feeling like they’ve been circling the same patterns for months (or years) in traditional weekly therapy. They show up for therapy, read books, understand their triggers, but wonder: Why does real change take so long? I understand myself, but how do I actually change these patterns?

The truth? Healing doesn’t always fit neatly into a 50-minute box. That’s where therapy intensives come in. Intensives are a focused, precise, immersive approach that allows for faster healing through therapy and deeper, more lasting results. You get all the time and care you need without being rushed out the door.

Why Healing Can Take Time in Weekly Therapy

Traditional weekly therapy is like reading a novel one page a week. The story unfolds slowly, and just when you start to grasp the plot, it’s time to close the book.

This isn’t because your therapist isn’t effective; it’s because the structure of weekly sessions often leaves us wanting more. When we’re working with complex trauma, attachment wounds, or deeply ingrained patterns, the nervous system needs time to settle, open, and process. That’s hard to do when the clock cuts you off mid-breakthrough.

It’s capitalism’s fault! The concept of a 50-minute weekly session is a remnant of insurance companies determining what they are willing to pay for. But I, personally, don’t believe the structure of therapy and how people heal from trauma should be determined by CEOs.

In EMDR or IFS (Internal Family Systems) work, we often reach key moments where a part of you is finally ready to share its story or a memory feels safe enough to reprocess, and then... the hour’s up. It’s frustrating, not because you’re “stuck,” but because the format doesn’t always match the depth of the work.

How Therapy Intensives Speed Up Progress

Therapy intensives change the pace — and the possibilities!

Instead of 50 minutes once a week, we spend half a day or even multiple days together, focusing deeply on your healing goals. Think of it as a healing retreat to really tune into yourself, confront challenges, and do the deeper work your system’s been waiting for.

Here’s how that looks in practice:

• We begin with a precise plan and intention (for example: processing a specific trauma, untangling a long-standing relationship pattern, or reducing anxiety).

• You get sustained time for EMDR or IFS work, without the pressure of wrapping up quickly.

• You make great (and revelatory) strides toward your goals and truly integrate your insights, so you go from “I know what’s wrong but I don’t know how to change it,” to “I know what’s wrong and my body does too. What a relief.”

Because we’re not constantly stopping and restarting week after week, your brain and body can move through the healing sequence more efficiently, making intensives one of the most effective therapy approaches for meaningful, lasting change.

I’ve seen clients in a 2-day intensive experience the kind of shifts that might have taken 3–6 months of weekly sessions. One client described it as “finally finishing the chapter I’ve been stuck rereading for years.”

Who Benefits from Accelerated Healing

Therapy intensives aren’t just for people in crisis (though they can be a lifeline then, too). They’re ideal for:

• High-functioning professionals who can’t commit to weekly sessions but crave real, focused progress

• Adults healing from trauma or attachment wounds who need space for deep processing without interruption

• Clients preparing for or navigating major life transitions — like marriage, career changes, or loss — who want to enter the next chapter feeling grounded

• People who feel plateaued in regular therapy and are ready to break through the wall

If you’ve ever thought, “I know what’s going on, but I still can’t shift it,” a therapy intensive might be the missing link between insight and real transformation.

Ready for Faster Healing Through Therapy?

If you’re craving more than incremental progress and are ready for a deep dive/breakthrough, a therapy intensive might be your fastest path forward.

Whether you’re looking to finally process old trauma, quiet the constant hum of anxiety, or simply feel more grounded in your life, this immersive format can help you get there faster (and more sustainably).

Ready to explore if a therapy intensive is right for you?
Schedule a consultation to talk about what’s possible — and let’s design the deep healing experience you’ve been waiting for.

Learn more about therapy intensives here!

About the Author

Emma Bridges, LCSW and EMDR Consultant, is a licensed therapist with over eight years of experience supporting individuals and families in Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles, California. She specializes in trauma recovery, high-functioning anxiety, and attachment-focused work, and uses evidence-based approaches such as EMDR, IFS and narrative therapy to help clients heal from past trauma, improve relationships, and improve emotional resilience. At Flowing Springs Therapy, she is committed to providing compassionate, trauma-informed, expert care both in-person and online across California and Oregon.