Looking for couples therapy intensives?
Explore Couples Therapy IntensivesTherapy Intensives
Going beyond the weekly sessions.
Some healing can't be rushed into an hour and picked back up next week. Intensives offer a different container — half-day, full-day, or multi-day sessions where EMDR, IFS, Brainspotting, and somatic work move together, uninterrupted, at the pace your nervous system actually needs.
Offered By
Nancy Phung-Smith, LMFT 138181
The Approach
The Space Between Insight and Healing
A different container for the work you've already started.
An intensive isn't just a longer session — it's a different way of working altogether. Instead of an hour a week, ending just as something starts to open, we carve out real, unbroken time: half a day, a full day, sometimes several in a row, shaped around what your system actually needs.
This tends to be the right fit when the work is complex or long-held — the kind that doesn't move through understanding alone, because it lives in the body and nervous system, not just in the story you tell about it. That kind of shift needs sustained time, not sixty minutes followed by a week of waiting.
Nothing here is templated. We go directly into what's underneath, follow where it leads, and build the conditions for something to actually change — space that a once-a-week hour was never built to hold.
What the Research Shows
From published studies on intensive, EMDR-based trauma treatment
~75%
No longer met PTSD diagnostic criteria after an 8-day intensive combining EMDR and exposure therapy (N = 1,015)
92%+
Loss of Complex PTSD diagnosis following intensive trauma-focused treatment
8 Days
Average length of the studied intensive program that produced these outcomes
0
Dropout in multiple studies of intensive, EMDR-based trauma treatment
Why Did You Land Here?
You've done the work — and something still hasn't moved.
You understand yourself. You have language for what happened. You can trace the pattern back to where it started. And still — something in your body hasn't caught up to what your mind already knows.
You've sat with a therapist and said the words out loud, and still catch yourself thinking: "I thought I already worked through this."
Name it to tame it. Feel it to heal it. Grieve it to leave it.Insight was never meant to be the finish line — it's the doorway. The rest of the work happens in the body, in the nervous system, in the parts of you that don't speak in sentences.
Common Signals
If these feel familiar, an intensive may be the right next step.
- Anxiety, depression, or a low hum you can't quite name have become background noise.
- You feel disconnected — from your body, from your emotions.
- You keep asking yourself "shouldn't I be over this by now?"
- Your nervous system has a harder time finding safety — sympathetic activation, shutdown, or freeze responses that show up before you've even registered why.
- You function well on the outside, but underneath you're still bracing, still scanning, still not fully at ease anywhere. This kind of chronic nervous system dysregulation is common with complex trauma, even when nothing looks "wrong" from the outside.
- You've wondered if you're just "too sensitive," or if what you're carrying even counts as trauma — so you minimize it, even to yourself.
- You've done years of talk therapy and can explain what happened in detail, but your body still reacts like it's happening now — a hallmark of CPTSD, where the story is understood but not yet resolved in the body.
Your body has been trying to tell you something this whole time. Intensives give us the room to actually listen. This is somatic, polyvagal-informed work — not just insight, but helping your nervous system learn safety again.
The goal isn't to push harder. It is to welcome yourself, and all the parts of you, back home.
Why This Takes Longer Than an Hour
Your nervous system doesn't run on a fifty-minute clock.
That's the thing I kept coming back to, after years in practice and ongoing specialized training in trauma and the nervous system.
If a system has spent years protected, guarded, in survival mode, it isn't going to hand over trust because a session is scheduled. That kind of trust takes as long as it takes — and weekly therapy, as valuable as it is, was never built to give it that much room.
So we don't. We slow all the way down, take the time an hour can't offer, and give the parts of you that have been protecting you somewhere safe to finally exhale.
Already in Therapy?
Working alongside your current therapy
Many people come to intensives already in weekly therapy — this isn't a replacement, it's depth work in addition to it. We can use the time to go somewhere weekly sessions don't have room for, and I'll build a post-intensive plan you can bring back to your therapist, or hold onto until you're ready to return to it yourself.
Learn more about adjunctive therapyFormat & Logistics
What this actually looks like.
Intensives are available in three formats, shaped around your capacity and what you're working through — not a fixed program.
Half-Day
3–4 hours
A focused entry point — one contained piece of work, typically a single memory, pattern, or stuck point. Good for those newer to intensive work or wanting to test the format.
Full Day
5–6 hours
The most common format. Enough time to go somewhere, get through it, and begin landing it. Includes built-in breaks for grounding, movement, and integration throughout.
Multi-Day
2–3 consecutive or spaced days
For deeper or more complex trauma histories, or for clients who have previously done intensive work and are ready for another layer. Days can be consecutive or spaced a few days apart.
Standard Rate
$230 / hour
Ongoing individual sessions.
Intake Session
$280
90 minutes — clinical assessment and treatment planning.
Extended sessions are designed for deeper, more focused work than a standard weekly hour allows. Intensives can be scheduled on consecutive days or spaced out over time, based on what works best for your goals. Each intensive is individualized, typically ranging from a half-day to several consecutive days, and integrates modalities such as EMDR, IFS, and Brainspotting.
Before we begin
A 90-minute pre-intensive call to assess your readiness, understand your nervous system, and co-create the shape of your intensive. You'll leave the call knowing exactly what to expect.
During the intensive
Grounding and orienting, followed by focused EMDR, IFS, and/or Brainspotting reprocessing. Breaks are built in throughout — this is not a marathon, it's a rhythm. Nothing gets forced.
After the intensive
Fatigue is normal — like a hard emotional workout. You'll have a 60-minute post-intensive integration session to land what moved. If you're in weekly therapy, we'll also create a plan you can bring back to your therapist.
Where it happens
In person at our San Diego office, or virtually throughout California, Oregon, and Florida. Both formats are fully supported.
Who leads the work
All intensives are led by Nancy Phung-Smith, LMFT — founder, EMDRIA Approved Consultant, and PhD candidate with a background in community mental health and psychiatric hospital settings.
What makes this different from weekly therapy?
Weekly therapy moves in 50-minute windows. An intensive removes the clock entirely. Without the session-end pressure, the nervous system has time to actually open — and the work has room to complete rather than stopping at the edge of something real. You don't spend the first 20 minutes warming back up, and you don't leave mid-process every week. The depth available in one intensive day can represent months of weekly work.
Sliding Scale & Reduced Fee
A limited number of reduced-fee intensive openings are available.
If the standard rate doesn't fit your circumstances right now, reduced-fee intensive spots are periodically available. Reach out to check current availability.
Learn moreNot Ready to Book?
Take your time.
This is a big decision and investment. Leave your info and we'll send you more to look over — no pressure, no obligation. It'll be here if this is something you want to revisit down the road.
Your information will not be shared.
A Note From Nancy
I came to this format because I kept seeing the same thing.
I didn't set out to specialize in intensives. I came to this format because I kept seeing the something: people who had done real, meaningful work in therapy — who understood themselves, who had insight, who were trying — and were still carrying something that hadn't moved.
What I noticed is that for a lot of people whose nervous system has learned to mask distress as productivity, the pace of weekly therapy actually works against them. Their protective systems — the drive, the competence, the ability to hold it all together — barely have time to loosen their grip before the hour's up. And the deeper work can't start until they do.
Intensives create the room for that to happen. Not by pushing harder, but by slowing down enough that the parts of you that have been holding on finally feel safe enough to let go.
If something in this resonates and you're wondering whether it's the right fit — that's what the discovery call is for. We'll figure it out together.
What To Expect
Your intensive is built around your nervous system — not a fixed script.
After an initial session, we shape a plan together using EMDR, IFS, Brainspotting, and somatic work. The pace is slower and unhurried, so your body has time to actually catch up to the healing your mind has already started.
- 01
Pre-Intensive Session
Before we dive into the work itself, we spend 90 mins call to get oriented — together. I want to understand your nervous system: where it tends to go under stress, what's kept you protected, and what it might take for your body to actually feel safe enough to open. We'll co-create the shape of your intensive from there, and you'll leave knowing exactly what to expect and how to show up for it.
- 02
The Intensive Session
This is where the real work happens — hours, not minutes, of uninterrupted space using EMDR, IFS, Brainspotting, and somatic work. We move at the speed your body actually sets, not the speed a session clock demands. Nothing here is about pushing harder or forcing a breakthrough — it's about finally giving the guarded parts of you room enough to exhale. Sessions happen at my San Diego office, or wherever you are (CA, OR, FL), through virtual care.
- 03
Post Intensive Session
One session, 60 minutes, dedicated entirely to landing. We slow all the way down, notice what shifted, and give your system room to actually register the change. Nothing you moved through gets left hanging; this is where it settles before you carry it back into everyday life. If you're working with an outside therapist, we'll also talk through how what came up can be carried into that ongoing work.
What's Incorporated
Tools that support the deeper work.
Wim Hof Method Breathwork
Using rhythmic breathing to shift blood chemistry, steady the nervous system, and gently open space for deeper emotional release and trauma healing.
Somatic Embodiment & Regulation
Practices that help you go beyond talk therapy, release stored tension, and reconnect with the body's innate wisdom for deeper, lasting trauma healing.
Opus SoundBed
A multisensory sound-healing journey designed to harmonize your system, release tension, and create the ideal internal environment for cellular repair & emotional integration.
The Modalities
The tools I use, and why.
IFS
Internal Family Systems
Instead of treating your reactions as the problem, we get curious about the parts of you holding them: the part that stays busy so it doesn't have to feel, the part that protects by shutting down, the part still trying to keep you safe from something that already happened. We build a relationship with those parts instead of fighting them.
EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing
When something hasn't fully processed, it stays stored the way it happened — not the way it actually is now. EMDR helps your brain finish that process, so the memory can move from "still happening" to "something that happened."
Brainspotting
Brainspotting
Some material lives below language, in the body and the nervous system rather than in a story you can tell. Brainspotting follows where your body is already holding it, without needing you to explain or narrate your way there.
Somatic Integration
Body-Based Regulation
Insight alone doesn't always convince the body it's safe. We build in time to slow down, notice what's shifted physically, and help your nervous system actually register the change — not just understand it, but settle into it — before you step back into daily life.
All of this leaves room for integration — space to reflect on what surfaced, land it in your body, and decide with your therapist (or with yourself) what comes next.
The Deep Dive Option
Your 3-Day Journey
For those who want to go further than a single day allows, the 3-day immersion is our deep dive option — three 3-hour days plus a 90-minute intake session, paced so your nervous system can actually metabolize the depth. We can discuss more about what that looks like for you on a consultation call.
Structure
Three 3-hour days + 90-min intake
Total Cost
$2,285
Day 01
3 Hours
Build Trust With the Parts
We begin slowly. Before any deeper work happens, we spend the first day in IFS — getting to know the parts of you that have been carrying, protecting, and holding. We build trust with those parts and listen for where the work is actually waiting.
What You'll Experience
- Meet the parts of you that have been holding the pain, the pressure, and the protection
- Identify which part is ready to be heard and where the work is actually waiting
- Build the internal trust and safety needed before any processing begins
- Map the landscape of your system so the deeper work has a clear direction
Day 02
3 Hours
Process With EMDR & Brainspotting
With the groundwork laid, we move into the processing itself. EMDR and Brainspotting help your brain and body finish what they couldn't complete on their own — moving what's stuck from something that still feels like it's happening into something that happened.
What You'll Experience
- Reprocess the memories and experiences your system has been holding
- Follow where your body is already carrying it, beneath language and story
- Move at the pace your nervous system can actually metabolize — never pushed past what you can hold
- Grounding and regulation woven throughout, not tacked on at the end
Day 03
3 Hours
Integrate & Soft Landing
The third day is for landing. We come back together to notice what shifted, put language to what changed, and give your body, heart, and soul the space to settle into the work — so what moved here can travel with you back into ordinary life.
What You'll Experience
- Notice and name what shifted across the three days
- Somatic integration to help your nervous system register the change
- A post-intensive plan for carrying the work forward
- A soft, grounded landing — for the body, the heart, and the soul
Curious if the deep dive is right for you?
We can talk through what the three days would look like shaped around your story.
Sliding scale & equity pricing
Already in Therapy?
Have a therapist you love, but curious about EMDR, IFS, or Brainspotting?
We work collaboratively with your therapist. Your intensive becomes depth work alongside your existing relationship — not a replacement for it.
Learn MoreThe Research
Curious what the research is saying?
There is some great research from the past several years that support therapy intensives for trauma.
NOTE: Every client is different, and results and responses to treatment vary.
A Good Question
Why haven't I heard of a therapy intensive before?
Long story short? Insurance companies have historically not covered sessions that are longer in length. In fact, the billing code that many therapists who offered Intensives used recently was discontinued.
People might confuse therapy intensives with wellness retreats or life coaching, especially since the format feels nontraditional. That confusion can make them harder to find through typical therapy channels.
Wondering if an intensive is right for you?
That's what the discovery call is for. We'll talk through what you're carrying and figure out together whether this format fits.
Book a Discovery CallLooking for couples therapy intensives?
Explore Couples Therapy IntensivesNot Ready to Book?
Take your time.
This is a big decision and investment. Leave your info and we'll send you more to look over — no pressure, no obligation. It'll be here if this is something you want to revisit down the road.
Your information will not be shared.