INTENSIVE THERAPY RETREATS
In an Intensive Therapy Retreat, you will be the only client that Elizabeth Davis works with for several consecutive days/hours. Given this format, therapy will address what is often most difficult to get to in weekly/hourly therapy- the roots of the problems. The approach we take is initially to do a complete assessment that looks at your history, symptoms, patterns of behaviors, and life circumstances that may be blocking you from achieving your goals. Then we practice some emotional regulation skills and develop resources that may be needed for trauma healing. Trauma healing is where we address the past experiences that may be triggering limiting beliefs, distressing emotions, flashbacks, and possibly even painful body symptoms. We use EMDR, Progressive Counting, or a combination of modalities, to work through past trauma to achieve healing. This research supported treatment approach works for most clients, who can achieve true healing in a couple of days to a couple of weeks. This is significantly different from hour-per-week therapy which can take months or years. Following trauma healing we focus on the challenges of the future to make sure you are ready for what lies ahead.
What to expect:
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Your therapy retreat will consist of consecutive 9:00 – 5:00 days, with you being my only client during that time period. We break for lunch and take other breaks as needed.
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We’ll begin with a brief orientation, and then I’ll ask a lot of questions about your history as well as your current situation (including your strengths, resources, problems, and what you have tried so far). I’ll also ask about your short-term and long-term goals.
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By around lunchtime, I’ll give you my opinion about what’s going on with you, and what you can do to give yourself the best chance of reaching your goals. These suggestions will include some things you can do in treatment and some things you can do in your life.
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When you’re ready, we’ll start working through your trauma and loss memories, most likely with EMDR (link to EMDR description) or PC (link to PC description). We’ll work in chronological order from earliest to most recent. Some people finish this portion of the work within one to three days, and some people take longer.
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Then we’ll work together to develop and practice coping skills to manage anticipated challenges, in a way that will keep you on track towards your goals.
Finally, we’ll make a plan for any follow-up treatment that might be needed. Often all that is planned is a check-in just to make sure that you’re on track, with the option to do more as needed.
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Why Intensive Therapy over Weekly Sessions?
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Intensive therapy gets down to business. It cuts out the “hello” and “goodbye” times that take up space in the 50 minutes clinical hour.
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Allows time for the working through of past traumas- without looking at the clock and worrying about how you will be able to manage the rest of your day.
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Intensive therapy is usually short term and collaborative. You will build a relationship to figure out your problem, solve it, and move on. Although the right counselor/client fit is still important, intensive therapy is not as reliant on transference and relationship dynamics.
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Intensive therapy works well as an adjunct to the work you may already be doing in therapy. Your counselor may be just right for you but may not be trained in trauma resolution methods. Or there may be a shortage of time in sessions to process big events in your past. With intensive therapy you continue with your therapist who then works with us to help you get through your healing goals.
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That being said, intensive therapy is not for everyone. If you are still working on emotional and behavioral stability and safety, have not been able to build good rapport with a counselor in the past, and lack supports and resources, then those priorities need to be in place first. If you are not sure if Intensive Therapy is the right fit for you, you can always schedule a call with our intake staff to discuss your readiness.
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Common Issues Treated
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If an issue is affecting you emotionally, an intensive therapy retreat can help. Some of the more common issues I treat are:
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Anxiety
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Depression
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Grief and loss
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PTSD
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Trauma
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Behavioral Challenges
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Stress
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Anger Management
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These may be caused or worsened by child abuse, domestic violence, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, divorce, death of a love done critical illness, military combat, violent crime, motor vehicle accident, oppression, discrimination, LGBTQ struggles, relationship issues, and more.
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If you are struggling emotionally, call me. We’ll work together to get your life back on track.
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About our location
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At our location we have a full suite of offices, a playroom/art room, small kitchen area, and a conference room. This allows those who are coming for an intensive retreat additional room to be comfortable and settle in to the process. The location of our office is a professional office building with ample parking and surrounded by restaurants, shopping malls and hotels. Many clients elect to stay in an Air B&B. There are plenty of options as we are located close to the State University of New York at Buffalo, which is a large university. If you elect to do a retreat you will be given detailed information about our location as well as adjunct services, (like massage and reiki), and things to do on your down time in the area. We are about 20 minutes south of Niagara Falls where many visitors also choose to visit while on retreat.
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For more information on intensive therapy retreats please send an email using the button below.
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I offer my services remotely through video conferencing, also referred to as telemedicine, teletherapy or telehealth.