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, 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 hours of focused EMDR in a single day (with up to 4 sessions), 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 EMDR Intensive Consultation
Schedule a free 10-minute phone consultation with our EMDR specialist, Meghan Kershinar, LAC, to discuss your goals, answer questions, and determine whether an EMDR intensive is a good fit for you.Pre-Intensive Planning Session
Before your intensive, you’ll complete brief assessments and meet with Meghan for a 50-minute planning session. Together, you’ll identify treatment goals, areas of focus, and prepare for the EMDR reprocessing work.Your EMDR Intensive
Each 3-hour EMDR intensive session provides dedicated time for focused trauma processing without the time constraints of a traditional 50-minute therapy session. Breaks, snacks, grounding strategies, and regulation tools are incorporated throughout the session to support your comfort and well-being.Follow-Up Support
After your EMDR intensive in Scottsdale, optional follow-up therapy sessions are available if you would like additional processing, support, or continued treatment.
Pricing
3-Hour EMDR Intensive: $700
Includes a free consultation, 50-minute planning session, and one 3-hour EMDR reprocessing session.6-Hour EMDR Intensive: $1,400
Includes a free consultation, 50-minute planning session, and 6 hours of EMDR reprocessing divided into two 3-hour sessions.12-Hour EMDR Intensive: $2,800
Includes a free consultation, 50-minute planning session, and 12 hours of EMDR reprocessing divided into four 3-hour sessions.
Note: EMDR Intensives are a private-pay service not covered by insurance, but HSA and FSA cards are accepted.
Meet Your Therapist: Meghan Kershinar, LAC
Meghan is a Licensed Associate Counselor (LAC) and EMDR-trained therapist with extensive experience utilizing EMDR to treat trauma and distressing life experiences. She works with adults, teens, and children navigating trauma, anxiety, depression, life transitions, and relational challenges, providing a supportive and individualized path toward healing.
Meghan’s experience with EMDR allows her to create focused, personalized EMDR intensives based on each client’s unique needs and treatment goals. By dedicating extended time to the EMDR process, clients have the opportunity to work more deeply on specific memories, experiences, or patterns without the time constraints of a traditional therapy session.
Known for her warm, compassionate, and client-centered style, Meghan prioritizes creating a safe and supportive space throughout the intensive process. She helps clients move through difficult material at an appropriate pace while building greater emotional awareness, regulation, and resilience.
Whether you are seeking support for trauma, anxiety, developmental trauma, difficult life experiences, or ongoing emotional patterns, Meghan’s EMDR intensives provide dedicated time and space for focused therapeutic work and meaningful progress.
EMDR Intensive in Scottsdale, AZ
Looking for an EMDR intensive near you in Scottsdale, Arizona? BrainBody Wellness Counseling provides EMDR therapy intensives in Scottsdale for adults seeking focused support for trauma, PTSD, anxiety, and distressing or painful memories.
Our EMDR-trained therapists in Scottsdale, AZ offer structured 3-hour EMDR intensive sessions, with treatment options ranging from 3 to 12 hours of EMDR processing. Unlike traditional weekly therapy, an EMDR intensive provides extended, dedicated time for trauma processing, allowing you to work on specific memories, symptoms, or experiences with fewer interruptions between sessions.
If you are searching for an EMDR therapist in Scottsdale, exploring intensive trauma therapy, or wondering whether an EMDR intensive for PTSD, anxiety, or trauma may be right for you, our team can help you understand your options. Schedule a free consultation with BrainBody Wellness Counseling to learn more about EMDR intensives in Scottsdale and determine whether this treatment format fits your needs.
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 that provides 3 to 12 hours of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in focused, 3-hour sessions. This extended format allows for deeper, more continuous processing than traditional weekly therapy sessions, giving you dedicated time to work through trauma, anxiety, PTSD, and distressing experiences in a focused and supportive setting.
How are EMDR Intensives different from regular EMDR therapy?
Traditional EMDR is spread out over weekly sessions, while intensives condense the work into three hour 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 single event traumas, anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD, 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 10 minute consultation by phone, a 50-minute planning/intake session, and either a half-day 1 to 4, 3 hour intensive reprocessing sessions (totaling 3-12 hours). 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?
Our EMDR Intensives are offered in several options depending on your needs and treatment goals:
3-Hour EMDR Intensive, $700: Includes a 50-minute planning session and one 3-hour EMDR processing session.
6-Hour EMDR Intensive, $1,400: Includes a 50-minute planning session and two 3-hour EMDR processing sessions.
12-Hour EMDR Intensive, $2,800: Includes a 50-minute planning session and 12 hours of EMDR processing, divided into four 3-hour sessions.
"Your nervous system is more resilient than you realize. Your capacity for healing runs deeper than your pain. And your ability to transform your relationship with difficult memories? It's already within you."
- EMDR Philosophy
Contact us to schedule a free 10-minute treatment consultation and discuss what support may be right for you. Not sure which clinician to choose? Match with a counselor, and we’ll help connect you with a provider who fits your needs.
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 EMDR Intensive to Move Towards 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.