EMDR Intensive Therapy

Focused EMDR,

without waiting week to week.

Morning light through trees, EMDR intensive therapy in Fayetteville NY

Your Mind Won't Slow Down, and You're Tired of Feeling This Way

  • Fifty minutes isn't enough to open something up, work through it, and feel steady again before you leave


  • A whole week passes between sessions, so you hold everything until next time


  • You understand your history and why you react the way you do, and it still hasn't changed how you feel


  • You've done the insight work. Your body didn't get the memo



  • There's one specific memory or period you keep circling and never quite going into


You're ready to go deeper than talking about it.


What You're Actually Looking For

  • Time to work on one thing without the clock deciding when you stop
  • A way through the thing you've been circling, not just around it
  • Room to go all the way into something without watching the clock
  • Less charge on the memory, so it stops running the show
  • Change you can feel in your body, not just explain in words


An EMDR Intensive is built for exactly this.


WHAT IS EMDR?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.


It's a well-researched therapy that helps your brain finish processing experiences it never fully digested.


When something overwhelming happens, the memory can get stored in a raw, unfinished state. That's why a smell, a tone of voice, or a certain kind of stress can drop you straight back into feeling the way you felt then.


EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, usually guided eye movements, taps, or sounds, while you hold the memory in mind. That combination helps your brain reprocess it and file it as something that happened, rather than something still happening.


You don't have to talk through every detail. That matters to a lot of people. The work happens in how your brain processes, not in how well you narrate.


Dark blue water with concentric ripples spreading from a small disturbance near the shore
A quiet woodland path, three-hour EMDR intensive format

What is an EMDR Intensive?

An EMDR Intensive takes that same work and gives it real time. Instead of fifty minutes a week, we meet for a focused three-hour block.


That change in format matters more than it sounds. In weekly therapy, a good portion of every session goes to catching up, settling in, opening the material, and then closing it back down safely before you walk out the door. In an intensive, you open it once and stay with it, and the closing happens when the work is ready for it, not when the hour runs out.


This works whether you're already in therapy or not. Some people come for one specific thing they want to move. Others are in weekly therapy, feel close to something, and want the time and space to actually get there.


Hi, I'm Joy

I'm a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Fayetteville, New York, and I work almost entirely with young adults. I'm EMDR trained and currently pursuing EMDRIA certification, and I also use parts work, CBT, and DBT depending on what fits the person in front of me.


Before I became a therapist, I spent about thirty years in education. I watched a lot of capable young people carry things quietly, sometimes for years, before anyone noticed. That shapes how I work now. You tell me what's actually going on. I tell you what I actually see. Neither of us spends the hour being polite about it.


I offer intensives because for some people, the weekly format isn't the obstacle to the work, it is the obstacle. If that's you, this is a way through.



Joy Strickland LMHC will help young adults struggling with loneliness, people pleasing, and self-doubt

How it works

1. Pre-Intensive Interview, 90 minutes.

We map your history, name what you want to move, and make sure EMDR intensive work is the right call. You'll get a personalized workbook to complete beforehand so we don't spend your intensive on intake.


2. Your Intensive, 3 hours.

This is the work. Private, uninterrupted, and paced to what your nervous system can actually hold. Some people book one. Others come back for a second or third when what they're carrying has more than one layer.


3. Follow-Up Session, 50 minutes.

We look at what shifted, what's still live, and how to carry it into your life. If you have an ongoing therapist, this is where we hand off cleanly.


What the Format Changes

  • Less time lost to logistics. No re-opening and re-closing the same material every week, no re-explaining where you left off.


  • One continuous block. You stay with something long enough to move through it instead of setting it down at minute fifty and picking it back up seven days later.



  • It fits a full life. A concentrated block is often easier to schedule around work than a standing weekly appointment.

An EMDR Intensive gives you a longer, uninterrupted block than a standard session, with preparation before and integration after.


$850 for new clients

$650 for current clients


Everything included:

  • A free 15-minute consultation to talk through your goals and see whether this is the right fit
  • A 90-minute Pre-Intensive Interview, so your intensive time goes to the work and not to intake
  • Your personalized Pre-Intensive Workbook, prepared for what you're bringing in
  • A focused 3-hour EMDR intensive, private and free of interruption
  • A 50-minute follow-up session, to integrate what shifted into the life you're walking back into


Sunlit forest path with moss-covered rocks and tall trees in a dark woodland

FAQs

  • How many intensives will I need?

    It depends on what you are working on. Sometimes one is enough.Other times what you are carrying has more than one layer and a second or third makes sense. We'll

    look at that on the consultation, and you're never committing to more than one at a time.

  • Do I have to talk through everything in detail?

    No. That's one of the reasons people choose EMDR. The processing happens through the bilateral stimulation and your own brain's work. You stay in control of how much you say out loud.

  • Does insurance cover intensives?

    Insurance does not cover therapy intensives. I can provide a superbill you can submit for possible out-of-network reimbursement, which does require me to provide a diagnosis. Not billing insurance directly is part of what makes this format possible, no session limits, no authorizations, and no outside party deciding how long your care should take.

  • What's the payment schedule?

    A 50% deposit is due when you book, and the

    remaining balance is due one week before your intensive.

  • What's your cancellation policy?

    Cancellations within two weeks of your Pre-Intensive Interview are charged the full intensive fee. That time is held exclusively for you and can't be filled on short notice.

  • Is this in person or online?

    In person in Fayetteville, New York. I'm also licensed in Vermont and Florida and can discuss options during your consultation.

  • I already have a therapist. Can I still do this?

    Yes, and it works well. Many people do

    intensive work alongside ongoing therapy. With your permission I'm glad to coordinate

    with your therapist so the intensive supports what you're already doing together.

  • I'm a therapist with a client who might benefit. Do you accept referrals?

    Yes. I offer adjunct intensive work for clients who stay with their primary therapist. Reach out and we can talk about whether it's a fit for your client.

Ready to Stop Circling it?

If you have been carrying something that talking hasn't touched, let's find out whether an EMDR Intensive is the right step.