EMDR Intensives & Trauma Retreats

Beach Cities Psychotherapy
Serving the South Bay Communities of Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo, Torrance, Palos Verdes and surrounding Beach Cities.

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Done waiting for weekly therapy to move the needle? An EMDR Intensive can get you further in a few days than months of traditional sessions. Find out if it’s right for you →

EMDR Intensives: Ready to take on the trauma holding you back?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of therapy that effectively treats trauma and trauma symptoms without re-traumatizing in the way that traditional talk therapy can.

EMDR Intensives are accelerated treatment programs for trauma. Rather than traditional weekly EMDR sessions, EMDR Intensives include:

one 90 minute session one to two weeks prior to the intensive (via telehealth or in-person) to begin resourcing and create the treatment plan
three 3-hour Intensive EMDR sessions
a 30-minute follow-up session (telehealth or in-person) to go over an after-care plan within two weeks of the Intensive is also included

During this time, we move through the phases of EMDR and process as much of the trauma as possible. The advantages of EMDR Intensives include:

Creating progress in a shorter period of time
Accelerating the reduction of trauma symptoms
Intensives may better support your professional or personal schedule
Focused, collaborative attention to the pain points you are interested in healing

In essence, EMDR Intensives are the equivalent of one to three months of weekly EMDR Therapy.

While many clients are excited to participate in the EMDR intensives, a gentle reminder that we always share is that this is intensive therapy. It’s important that during the EMDR Intensive, clients create time to focus on self-care so that they are able to do the EMDR work effectively. People often report feeling tired after EMDR sessions as EMDR is an intense process and these intensives are accelerated.

If you can identify with the following experiences, EMDR Intensives may be right for you.

Feeling overwhelmed in the present by intrusive thoughts like "I'm not good enough," "I'm not safe," or "I don't deserve love" even when intellectually, you know it's not true.

Experiencing vivid, intrusive memories of a traumatic event that disrupt daily functioning and peace of mind or intense emotional distress or physiological reactions when reminded of past events.

Sabotaging relationships or opportunities for no apparent reason or avoiding places, people, or activities that are reminders of trauma, significantly limiting personal freedom and life enjoyment.

Build Your Own EMDR Intensive Trauma Retreat in Hermosa Beach

Many clients choose to build a trauma healing retreat around their EMDR Intensive — and Hermosa Beach is the perfect place to do it.

Our offices are steps from the sand, within walking distance of beachfront hotels, yoga and pilates studios, restaurants, and an abundance of self-care options. Whether you’re traveling from out of town specifically for your EMDR intensive retreat or you’re a local giving yourself permission to treat this week differently, Hermosa Beach creates a natural container for rest, reflection, and healing.

Some clients fly in from across the country to experience the combination of intensive trauma therapy and the restorative magic of a few days by the ocean. Others are surprised to discover that even locals benefit from the perspective shift of treating a familiar place like a retreat — stepping out of the daily routine and into dedicated space for healing.

You design your trauma retreat your way. There is no prescribed itinerary. Some clients fill their mornings with ocean walks and their afternoons with rest. Others book a hotel for a few nights, take pilates classes between sessions, and treat evenings as time to journal and decompress. Our Walk & Talk sessions on the beach can be woven in between Intensive sessions as a gentler complement to the deeper processing work.

The accelerated format of an EMDR Intensive means you can process in a focused week what might otherwise take two to three months of weekly sessions. For people who have been carrying trauma for a long time, the idea of a dedicated trauma retreat — a deliberate pause from ordinary life to tend to your mental health — can itself be part of the healing.

Ready to plan your EMDR intensive retreat? Reach out to schedule a consultation. →

What to Expect From an EMDR Intensive — From Someone Who’s Done It

A note from Whitney Boole, Licensed MFT, founder of Beach Cities Psychotherapy:

After nearly a decade of offering EMDR in my practice — and witnessing the transformation it created for my clients — I realized I had never experienced it myself. I had my own history of trauma. I had watched clients do some of the bravest work I’d ever seen. And yet I kept putting off my own EMDR, telling myself I’d do it “one day.”

In February 2022, I finally did.

I flew out of state and spent a long weekend with a total stranger, working through every dark place I could name. I was nervous. I didn’t know if I was ready to be as brave as my clients had been.

Here’s what it was like: I cried. A lot. But it was the kind of crying that feels like release — healing and restorative rather than re-traumatizing. I was able to revisit some of the most painful moments of my life and see them with a warmth and clarity that didn’t exist when I was living them. I remembered details I had long forgotten. My perspective on things happening in my present life shifted in ways I hadn’t anticipated.

But the greatest gift was this: when a client now sits across from me for an EMDR Intensive, I know — not just professionally, but personally — something of what they’re experiencing. I’ve felt the connections the brain makes when it’s finally allowed to process what it has been holding. I’ve experienced the exhaustion and the relief. I know how it feels when something heavy you’ve been carrying for years simply… loosens.

There is a myth that the brain can’t process trauma quickly — that we need weeks between sessions to recover. That hasn’t been my experience, on either side of the couch. The intensive format allows us to maintain momentum without the interruption of week-long breaks between sessions. Healing builds on itself.

What my clients consistently report after an EMDR Intensive:

A felt sense of relief from intrusive thoughts and memories that had followed them for years
Shift in the negative core beliefs that had quietly run their lives (“I’m not good enough,” “I’m not safe,” “I don’t deserve love”)
Reduced emotional reactivity to triggers that used to derail them
A sense of lightness — of having set something down

EMDR has been around for decades and is supported by extensive research. For more background, EMDRIA is a trusted resource.

Not sure if an EMDR Intensive is the right fit for where you are right now? That’s what the consultation is for. Reach out and let’s talk through it. →

Why Beach Cities Psychotherapy?

Are you looking for a therapist who lights pretty candles, smiles and nods while you talk about the same problems week after week?

If you are, that’s not us.

At Beach Cities Psychotherapy, we ask the challenging questions and get in the trenches with you. Sometimes trauma, anxiety, depression, relationship struggles, or identity issues get in our way.

You may feel empty, broken or even worthless when other people may think you have it all. We help you make the shifts you need to live the life you want and feel able to appreciate it. Our goal at Beach Cities Psychotherapy is to cultivate change and healing by asking you the hard questions, addressing the areas where you are stuck, and confronting pain with treatment and healing.

We are direct, hands-on and we value humor above candles. Our therapists are not scared of your pain, your fear, your struggles. We will delve beneath the surface when you are ready.

We value your mental health, your time and your resources too much to talk about the same problems in the same ways that you always have. Often people come to Beach Cities Psychotherapy when they feel like other therapists have skimmed the surface and they need more.

We want to help you heal and find the clarity you need in your life.

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