EMDR Intensive Therapy in Scottsdale, AZ or Online
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EMDR Intensives for PTSD and Trauma Relief
If you’ve been carrying the weight of anxiety, trauma, or painful past experiences, there is hope - and healing is possible. At BrainBody Wellness Counseling in Scottsdale, AZ, we offer EMDR Intensive Therapy to help you find faster relief and long-lasting change.
What Is an EMDR Intensive?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) Intensives are a focused, accelerated form of trauma therapy designed to help you process deeply rooted emotional wounds in a shorter amount of time than traditional weekly sessions.
Rather than spreading your therapy across months, EMDR Intensives offer extended sessions—either half-day or full-day formats—that allow for deeper, more continuous processing of trauma, anxiety, PTSD symptoms, and more. Whether you’re dealing with a single traumatic event or ongoing emotional distress, EMDR Intensives offer a structured, supportive path forward.
Why Choose EMDR Intensives for Trauma and Anxiety Relief?
Rapid Relief: You receive 3–6 hours of focused EMDR in a single day, helping you move through pain more quickly than weekly sessions.
Cost-Effective Over Time: While intensives are a higher upfront cost, they often reduce the total number of sessions needed.
Complementary Care: You can continue working with your regular therapist while doing an EMDR Intensive with our specialist.
Ideal for Stuck Points: If you’ve been in therapy but feel stuck, EMDR can help you process what’s been hard to access through talk therapy alone.
We currently offer this standalone service in Scottsdale, Arizona, or online for clients across the state via telehealth.
What EMDR Intensives Can Help With:
Anxiety and panic attacks
PTSD and complex trauma
Depression tied to painful experiences
Birth trauma
Car accidents or natural disasters
Grief and sudden loss
Medical trauma
Relational and attachment trauma
First responder trauma
Emotional neglect or childhood adversity
What to Expect: Your EMDR Intensive Journey
Free Consultation
Meet with our EMDR specialist, Amanda Nomicos, LPC, to see if an intensive is a good fit.Pre-Intensive Planning
You'll complete brief assessments and meet for a 50-minute planning session to map out your treatment goals.The Intensive Day
During your half-day (3 hours) or full-day (6 hours) intensive, you’ll have time for deep reprocessing in a safe, supported space. We include breaks, snacks, and grounding tools to keep you regulated throughout.Follow-Up Support
We provide optional post-intensive sessions if additional support is desired.
Pricing
Half-Day Intensive: $600
Includes consult, planning session, and 3-hour reprocessing session.Full-Day Intensive: $1100
Includes consult, planning session, and 6-hour reprocessing session.
Note: EMDR Intensives are a private-pay service not covered by insurance, but HSA and FSA cards are accepted.
Amanda is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and EMDR-trained therapist who has guided hundreds of clients through trauma resolution using evidence-based EMDR protocols. She specializes in creating EMDR intensives that are both safe and effective, helping clients process painful memories in a focused, accelerated format.
Amanda integrates Attachment Theory and Internal Family Systems (IFS) into her EMDR work, providing a holistic and personalized approach. By addressing both the nervous system and the internal parts that hold trauma, she helps clients not only process distressing memories but also develop lasting emotional regulation skills and self-compassion.
Known for her warm, supportive style, Amanda ensures each EMDR intensive is tailored to the client’s specific needs, allowing for deeper healing in a shorter time. Whether you are seeking relief from PTSD, anxiety, complex trauma, or past life stressors, Amanda’s EMDR intensives in Scottsdale provide a safe, structured, and highly effective environment for transformation.
EMDR Intensive in Scottsdale, AZ
Looking for an EMDR intensive near me in Scottsdale? At BrainBody Wellness & Biofeedback, we specialize in EMDR therapy intensives designed to help you heal from trauma, PTSD, anxiety, and painful memories more quickly than traditional weekly sessions.
Our Scottsdale EMDR specialists provide focused, evidence-based trauma counseling in half-day, full-day, or multi-day formats—so you can process difficult experiences deeply, restore balance, and move forward faster. If you’ve been searching for the best EMDR therapist in Scottsdale or want to learn if a trauma therapy intensive is right for you, schedule a free consultation today.
The EMDR Intensive Process
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First, your therapist and you will determine if EMDR therapy is a good fit for you. You will work with your therapist to develop a target sequence plan, which is built around a specific activating memory.
You will then work with your therapist to identify the belief that is associated with the image (for example, this might be "I am not good enough" or "I cannot trust anyone")
The next step is to identify a reprocessed belief that is typically intrinsic in nature (meaning you have the control - for example, "I am not good enough" might become "I am worthy being me.")
You will use bilateral stimulation (BLS) while focusing on the negative event, belief, and experience of the emotion in your body. The trauma does not need to be openly discussed with your therapist if you would prefer.
This step is typically completed during the pre treatment phase for EMDR intensives.
Continue reading for a more detailed description of each of the 8 phases of EMDR.
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Part of the pre-treatment phase: Your clinician will take a thorough history and develop a treatment plan.
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You will start your intensive day with Phase 2. This includes learning nervous system calming skills and other skills that are taught in most other types of psychotherapy (such as paced diaphragmatic breathing and safe place).
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This is also completed during your pre-treatment phase. The first step is to choose the memory you would like to process. Next, with your clinician's guidance, you will identify a negative self-belief associated with the image (these fall into 5 categories, value (e.g. "I am unworthy"), safety (e.g. "I am in danger"), power ("I am powerless"), control ("I am not in control"), and responsibility ("It is all my fault"). You will then go through your past, present, and future to identify memories (and fears about the future) relating to the negative belief.
Next, you will choose a belief you would like to reprocess to - such as "I am worthy." You will then go through your own past, present, and future to identify times when this has felt true.
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During this phase, you will use bilateral stimulation (such as moving your eyes back and forth or tapping on your knees) to desensitize the emotional intensity associated with the memory. You will continue this until your subjective unit of disturbance (SUD) level is 0 (meaning you experience no disturbance from the memory).
This will be the primary focus during the 3 or 6 hour intensive.
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The goal of this phase is to increase the strength of the positive belief. You will again use bilateral stimulation to help increase how true the new belief FEELS (such as "I am worthy.").
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After completing phase 5, the next step is to clear all body sensations associated with the trauma. You will continue the bilateral stimulation (e.g. eye movements) until all physical sensations are alleviated.
This is a very important step as research has found that information about traumatic events or experiences is stored in body memory (called motoric memory), rather than narrative memory (verbal, imagery associated with the event). When information in motoric memory is processed, it can then move to narrative memory for it to be verbalized and the physical symptoms disappear. An EMDR target memory is not considered healed until all body sensations and negative feelings associated with it disappear.
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In an EMDR intensive, Phase 7 focuses on making sure you leave the day feeling calm, grounded, and complete. Because there may not be another session right away, your therapist uses resourcing, relaxation strategies, and integration exercises to help your nervous system settle. You’ll also receive tools for ongoing self-care so that the benefits of the intensive continue well beyond the session.
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In an EMDR intensive, Phase 8 focuses on assessing the progress you’ve made during the intensive session(s) and consolidating gains. Since there may not be another immediate session, your therapist guides you in reflecting on changes in thoughts, emotions, and body sensations, and reinforces tools for self-regulation and continued healing. This phase ensures that you leave the intensive with clarity, confidence, and strategies to maintain progress on your own.
EMDR Intensives FAQ
What is an EMDR Intensive?
An EMDR Intensive is an accelerated trauma therapy format where clients receive 3–6 hours of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in a single day. This allows for deeper, continuous processing compared to weekly sessions, helping you move through anxiety, PTSD, and trauma more quickly.
How are EMDR Intensives different from regular EMDR therapy?
Traditional EMDR is spread out over weekly sessions, while intensives condense the work into half-day or full-day blocks. This format allows for faster progress, reduced total sessions, and deeper focus on trauma without long gaps between sessions.
What conditions can EMDR Intensives help with?
EMDR Intensives are effective for anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD, complex trauma, depression tied to painful experiences, birth trauma, grief, medical trauma, relational wounds, childhood adversity, and first responder trauma.
What happens during an EMDR Intensive?
The process includes a free consultation, a 50-minute planning session, and either a half-day (3 hours) or full-day (6 hours) intensive reprocessing session. Sessions include grounding, breaks, and support throughout. Optional follow-up sessions are available.
Who should consider an EMDR Intensive?
EMDR Intensives are ideal for people who:
Want faster results than weekly therapy
Feel stuck in traditional talk therapy
Have limited time for ongoing weekly sessions
Want complementary trauma treatment alongside their regular therapy
Experienced a one time event trauma (best for intensives)
Are EMDR Intensives covered by insurance?
EMDR Intensives are a private-pay service and not covered by insurance. However, HSA and FSA cards are accepted.
How much do EMDR Intensives cost?
Half-Day Intensives (3 hours) are $600 and Full-Day Intensives (6 hours) are $1100. Each includes a consultation, planning session, and the intensive reprocessing work.
“I spent years in traditional talk therapy… but nothing truly shifted until I started EMDR at BrainBody. It completely changed my life. I didn’t realize that just talking about my trauma wasn’t enough - EMDR helped me process it in a whole new way. I recommend it to everyone now.”
- Previous Client
Schedule a Free Treatment Consultation. Self-schedule your free 10-minute treatment consultation with Amanda Nomicos LPC. Don’t see her name available on the self-schedule website? Please contact us to be placed on her waiting list.
Steps to Get Started
Schedule the Pre Intensive Planning Session. During this session you will plan out the intensive. A variety of questions about your history and current goals will be discussed. You will create what is called a “target sequence plan” to process during the intensive.
Complete the 3 or 6 Hour Intensive and Find Clarity Peace and Resilience. You will work with your clinician for an extended period depending on your choice. You will have restroom and snack breaks during the intensive.