EMDR Intensives in Oakland & the San Francisco Bay Area
An accelerated approach to trauma therapy that provides extended EMDR sessions over several days instead of traditional weekly appointments.
A focused, 3-day EMDR intensive for people who want dedicated time to work through trauma without waiting a week between sessions.
Not Familiar with EMDR? Learn more about it here.
Is EMDR Intensive Therapy Right for You?
If you've been searching for EMDR intensives in Oakland or the Bay Area, you're probably looking for something different than another hour of weekly therapy.
Living with unresolved trauma can leave you feeling disconnected, overwhelmed, and trapped in patterns that don't seem to change, especially when weekly therapy hasn't shifted what feels most deeply rooted.
You've done the work. You've talked it through. But somehow, the core of it hasn't changed. A part of you is still carrying the weight, and you're tired of it.
You don't have time to spend years in therapy hoping something eventually clicks. If insight alone were enough, things would already feel different.
You need an approach that meets you where you are and helps you move forward.
Trauma doesn't just live in your memories. It lives in your nervous system, your relationships, and the ways you've learned to protect yourself.
That’s where EMDR Intensives come in. By dedicating extended, uninterrupted time to trauma treatment, we can stay with the therapeutic process without having to stop at the end of a traditional 50-minute session. This concentrated format can help you work more deeply with the experiences and patterns that have kept you feeling stuck.
How do EMDR Intensives work?
EMDR intensives are concentrated, extended EMDR therapy sessions designed to give you more uninterrupted time for trauma processing, offered in person in Oakland, CA, for clients across the Bay Area and California.
Think: Therapy done in a focused block of time rather than spread across months of weekly appointments.
Instead of stopping after a traditional 50-minute session, an EMDR intensive gives us extended time to stay with the therapeutic process, work through difficult material, and allow time for grounding and integration.
This format can be especially helpful if weekly therapy has felt too stop-and-start, you have limited time available for treatment, or you want a more concentrated approach to working on a specific issue.
EMDR intensive therapy can help you work toward:
Setting boundaries with less guilt and self-doubt
Understanding where your reactions and patterns are coming from
Feeling more regulated, with less tension, bracing, or shutting down
Feeling less overwhelmed or disconnected when something reminds you of the past
More confidence speaking up in relationships, at work, and in situations that used to leave you feeling frozen
Feeling like you’re addressing what’s underneath your symptoms, not just managing them
For many of my clients, it's the first time they’ve felt like the past is no longer running the show.
Hi, I’m Mary (she/her)
I’m a Certified EMDR Therapist and EMDRIA-Approved Consultant in Oakland, CA. I run an EMDR-focused private practice, providing EMDR consultation and training for EMDR therapists alongside my intensive clinical work.
I specialize in working with trauma survivors who feel like they’ve tried everything, but still carry the weight of what happened. Many of my clients come to me after years of talk therapy, feeling frustrated that nothing has touched the deeper layers. That’s where somatic and parts-based EMDR intensive trauma work comes in.
My work is rooted in IFS-informed EMDR, and I also offer Ketamine-Assisted Therapy for those who feel especially stuck or disconnected. I specialize in helping adults recover from:
Physically and emotionally abusive childhoods
Overwhelming or traumatic events
Sexual trauma and abuse
Phobias and panic responses
Emotionally immature, narcissistic, or absent caregivers
Religious trauma and spiritual abuse
The childhood loss of a parent, caregiver, or other significant person
This is deep, focused work designed to address what’s underneath the patterns you’re struggling with. Together, we’ll identify stuck points, protective responses, and survival strategies, and work toward helping your system respond differently to experiences that have continued to feel unresolved.
I bring over a decade of clinical experience, advanced training in complex trauma and dissociation, and a deep respect for your pace and inner wisdom.
You don’t have to keep doing this alone. And you don’t have to spend years in therapy to get your life back.
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You’re exhausted from carrying this pain around and ready for something that actually moves the needle in your healing.
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It’s hard to carve out an hour every week for therapy, let alone recover from it before heading back into work, life, or parenting mode.
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It’s frustrating to open something big, only to have the session end just as you're getting somewhere. You’d rather go deep in a contained window and have time to come up for air.
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50-minute sessions often don’t leave enough time to settle in, get into the work, and complete what’s coming up, which can leave your system feeling even more raw or unresolved between sessions.
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You like to focus, go all in, and actually finish what you started, instead of dragging it out week after week.
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You don’t need endless small talk. You want a space where you can go deep fast, without having to tiptoe in.
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Yes, an EMDR intensive is a bigger investment up front. But it saves you time, money, and emotional bandwidth in the long run because you’re not spending months circling the same patterns.
In a typical 50-minute session, a good chunk of time goes to checking in and winding down. Sometimes you only get 20 minutes of actual reprocessing. With intensives, you stay in the work, build momentum, and create space for real transformation.
Why Choose An EMDR Intensive?
What’s Included in an EMDR Intensive?
Consultation
Schedule a 20-minute free get-to-know-each-other video consultation. We will talk about your goals, and determine whether EMDR intensive therapy could be a good fit for your unique needs.
90 Minute Interview
We will meet either virtually or in person in Mary's office. We will discuss your history and the symptoms you are seeking relief from. We will identify which targets to process and develop a plan for your intensive session.
The Workbook
You will go home from your interview with a workbook to help you prepare. It will include assessments to help guide your treatment and tools you can use during (and after!) your intensive session.
Your Intensive Program
Your intensive includes three days of focused EMDR therapy, with extended sessions that allow us time for processing, breaks, grounding, and integration. Your treatment is individualized around the experiences, symptoms, and patterns we identify during your intake. We’ll also meet for a follow-up session after your intensive to check in and support integration.
EMDR Intensive Therapy
The 3 Day EMDR Intensive
(17 hour program)
What’s Included:
90-minute pre-intensive intake to identify key memories and prepare your system for processing
15 hours of EMDR therapy across three days, integrating EMDR resourcing, reprocessing, and IFS-informed approaches based on your individual needs.
Trauma recovery workbook to guide and anchor you before, during, and after your intensive
30-minute follow-up session one month later to check in, integrate insights, and support long-term change
This format is especially supportive if you:
Feel like you've tried everything and still feel stuck
Have done therapy before, but never felt real resolution
Carry trauma that’s hard to access in traditional therapy
Prefer a concentrated treatment format rather than ongoing weekly therapy
Investment: $5,100
Offered in person in Mary’s office in Oakland, CA
Ketamine Assisted EMDR Intensive
For clients who feel especially stuck, shut down, or overwhelmed when approaching trauma, I also offer a separate ketamine-assisted therapy program that integrates ketamine with EMDR.
This approach includes preparation, guided ketamine sessions, integration, and low-dose ketamine-assisted EMDR as part of a structured treatment process.
Ketamine-assisted therapy is offered in collaboration with a licensed medical prescriber, with therapy provided through my Oakland practice.
Offered in person at Mary’s Oakland office and virtually for clients throughout the Bay Area and California.
Financing Available through CareCredit
CareCredit financing is available to help make your EMDR intensive more manageable, including 6- and 12-month deferred-interest options and longer-term payment plans for qualifying clients.
Apply for CareCredit here.
Customized Ongoing EMDR Intensives
For my current or former clients only
Many clients with complex or childhood trauma choose to work on their healing over time.
An EMDR intensive can provide a focused period of trauma processing, but long-standing trauma may benefit from ongoing support over time.
If you’ve been carrying this for years (or decades),
it makes sense that healing won’t happen in a single week.
For some clients, ongoing intensive sessions can provide additional opportunities to continue processing and integrating the work over time.
A customized plan might look like:
• a half day intensive twice a month
• a full day once a quarter
• or 1–2 day intensives once or twice a year
We’ll collaborate on a rhythm that feels supportive, not overwhelming, and fits your life.
The Research Supporting EMDR
Intensive Therapy.
Research supports intensive EMDR as a promising treatment format for PTSD and trauma-related symptoms.
While meaningful progress can happen in weekly therapy, the 50-minute format can mean stopping just as deeper processing gets underway, and then waiting another week to continue. EMDR intensives offer extended, uninterrupted time to stay with the work, allowing you to focus on trauma processing over several concentrated days rather than spreading the work across months of weekly sessions.
EMDR has historically been practiced in longer sessions, not just the traditional 50-minute therapy hour.
Early EMDR research frequently used 90-minute treatment sessions, and Francine Shapiro, who developed EMDR, highlighted research demonstrating significant PTSD improvement following the equivalent of three 90-minute sessions. Longer and intensive EMDR formats build on this history by giving trauma processing more uninterrupted time than a traditional weekly therapy hour.
Current research supports EMDR Intensive therapy as an effective treatment for PTSD and trauma, reducing dropout rates from treatment and supporting patients in no longer meeting the criteria for a PTSD diagnosis.
Dig Into More Research Backing EMDR Intensive therapy here.
Frequently Asked Questions
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EMDR Intensive therapy can help if:
You have PTSD.
You experienced a one-time traumatic event that continues to cause distress
You come from a dysfunctional family or have emotionally immature parents
You survived a car accident.
You lived through a natural disaster.
You were robbed or attacked.
You were sexually assaulted.
You are a first responder that sees trauma at your place of work.
You provide emergency services for victims/survivors of trauma.
Have experienced a sudden loss or death.
You survived abuse, neglect, or trauma in childhood.
You experienced the death of a caregiver as a child.
EMDR Intensive Therapy can be especially helpful if you've tried traditional weekly therapy and still feel stuck. A 3-day EMDR intensive in Oakland can offer the deeper, focused support you need to move forward.
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I work with adults (age 18+) and welcome all races, sexual orientations, gender expressions, physical abilities, cultures, and spiritual orientations.
I specialize in supporting adults navigating childhood trauma, family dysfunction, and strained family relationships. I also work with adults who have experienced traumatic events or are experiencing fear respones or phobias.Many of my clients are high achievers who feel anxious, overwhelmed, and disconnected, even after years of talk therapy.
If you’re in the Bay Area or looking for EMDR therapy in Oakland, I offer in person EMDR intensives to support deep healing and ketamine assisted EMDR intensives in person and virtually across California.
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If you’ve been following me for a while, you might notice this change.
I used to offer half-day intensives for new clients. But over time, I realized they weren’t creating the depth of healing I want for my clients.
We’d just start getting into the real work… and then have to stop.
Life would interrupt and momentum would fade.It often felt like opening something without enough time to fully move through it.
In contrast, 3-day intensives consistently lead to deeper, longer-lasting shifts.
With more dedicated time, we can:
• stay immersed
• build momentum
• process thoroughly
• integrate without constantly restartingThe main exception is when therapy is paired with Ketamine-Assisted Therapy, or when past clients are coming in for occasional maintenance sessions.
I design my offerings around what actually works, and I continually adjust based on the outcomes I see.
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Every nervous system is different, but most clients walk away from EMDR intensive therapy feeling lighter, clearer, and more connected to themselves. If you’ve felt stuck in talk therapy, EMDR intensives can help you actually process the root of your pain, not just talk about it.
Some people notice a shift in how they respond to triggers, feeling calmer in situations that used to activate panic, shame, or shutdown. Others describe it as a “fog lifting” or finally being able to access emotions they’ve kept buried for years. You might gain clarity around boundaries, feel less stuck in old patterns, or experience more self-compassion and confidence.
EMDR intensives don’t erase the past, but they can help you relate to it differently, with more choice, less reactivity, and a stronger sense of internal safety.
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I cannot guarantee that EMDR therapy will work and I do not provide money back after providing services.
No therapies are ever a 100% guarantee (and if a therapist ever says that they are, I encourage you to be a bit suspicious of that therapist).
EMDR is evidenced backed and has been proven to decrease PTSD and trauma related symptoms in the majority of participants.
Working with a highly trained and Certified EMDR therapist will increase the likelihood that you will make progress with EMDR therapy.
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I will never push you beyond what you can handle. I will support you in noticing what's blocking you in the process and in gaining confidence to overcome that block.
Think about EMDR Intensive therapy as basically regular EMDR therapy, except accelerated. You're doing many hours in a concentrated time frame.
I have a diverse tool kit of interventions rooted in IFS therapy, and somatic and experiential techniques to support you in working with blocks that may arise in the processing.
If more of your intensive therapy is spent working on these blocks and not using EMDR reprocessing, you are still making accelerated progress in your healing.
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I offer 3-day EMDR Intensives on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday within a single week. Each day includes two 2.5-hour sessions: a morning session from 9:30am to 12:00pm, followed by a one-hour lunch break, and an afternoon session from 1:00pm to 3:30pm.
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Yes! In fact, combining EMDR intensives with Internal Family Systems (IFS) or ketamine-assisted therapy (KAP) can deepen the healing process.
Many of my clients find that IFS helps them connect with their inner parts in a more compassionate way, while EMDR helps process stuck trauma responses. In all of my EMDR intensives, we use a combination of both of these modalities!
Ketamine-assisted therapy can create the spaciousness needed to access those deeper layers.
If you're curious about how these modalities work together, we can build a treatment plan that supports your nervous system and your specific goals.
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Yes.
I offer intensive EMDR therapy in my Oakland, CA office for adults whose weekly therapy hasn’t created the relief they’re seeking.
These are structured full-day and multi-day formats designed to accelerate trauma processing and nervous system regulation. I also support preparation and integration via telehealth for clients across California.
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Research and clinical experience show that intensives can be especially effective for trauma that feels “stuck,” chronic PTSD symptoms, and patterns that haven’t shifted with traditional weekly therapy. We tailor the pace and structure of intensives to your history and needs.
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The biggest difference is in the structure and pace of the work.
Weekly EMDR therapy happens in 50 minute sessions over many months. It's helpful if you're looking for ongoing support or are newer to therapy. But it can also feel slow, especially if you’re dealing with complex trauma, emotional overwhelm, or feel like you keep getting stuck in talk therapy.EMDR intensive therapy condenses months of trauma work into a few days of focused, extended sessions. It allows us to go deeper, faster, without the stop-start rhythm of weekly therapy. You’ll have more time to fully process, integrate, and come out of the work feeling more grounded and complete.
This format is especially helpful for adults navigating childhood trauma, anxiety, or burnout, and for folks who don’t want to wait months to feel relief.
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I charge more for my intensive sessions for several reasons.
When I do an intensive, you are my only client and only focus for the day. The work is more intense and requires a higher level of care and attention than a regular therapy session.
I provide an assessment and trauma recovery workbook after your intake session for you to complete before your intensive program. I spend time reviewing it before your intensive to guide your treatment. We are focused and ready to go on that first intensive day.
I believe that despite the upfront price tag, you are getting more for your money and your time, as one hour of intensive therapy is like doing 2+ hours in regular therapy when you consider the clinical gains from an intensive therapy program.
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I offer a sliding scale 2-3 times a year.
If you think you might qualify for a sliding scale intensive, we can talk about that together during our consultation.
I offer 24-month deferred interest financing option through care credit on intensives to make them more accessible. With this option, you will not be charged interest if you pay off your balance within the allotted time frame.
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If we resolve all of the targets we decided to work on, we might decide that it make sense to end the intensive early.
I will not charge you the time you do not use and will deduct that time from the total cost prorated by the hour.
For example if you book a 3 day intensive and only need 11 hours, I will not charge you for the 4 hours you didn't use.
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My 3-day EMDR Intensive is offered in person at my Oakland, CA office. For current or former clients, we may also arrange ongoing EMDR support virtually.
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It really depends. Every person processes differently. It's really common to feel a bit more exhausted and emotional between sessions, especially after that first day. You continue to process between your EMDR intensive days, so being a bit stirred up can be part of the process.
If you have the means to take time off, it can be really nice to have that space for yourself. Some clients like to make a mini retreat and schedule self care between intensive days.
As part of your program, I will provide you with a resource list of trauma informed self care ideas local to the bay area (for various budgets), to support you in processing and integrating the material between sessions.
If you don't have the time and resources to take time off between processing sessions, I might encourage you to not schedule any big deadlines or meetings if you can avoid it and try to take it easy.
Some clients might consider taking sick time, as your mental health is just as important as your physical health.
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I’m a licensed therapist with advanced training in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and over 10 years of experience supporting trauma survivors through both traditional weekly therapy and intensive formats.
I’m certified in EMDR therapy and an EMDRIA-approved consultant-in-training, providing consultation to other therapists on how to treat trauma using EMDR. I’ve completed specialized EMDR intensive training and regularly integrate Internal Family Systems (IFS) and other trauma-informed approaches to support nervous system regulation and deep healing.
Before starting my private practice, I worked in outpatient drug treatment, community mental health, and crisis settings, so I’m no stranger to complex trauma, dissociation, and the survival strategies that show up when life gets overwhelming.
I’ve also done this work personally. I’ve been through EMDR and parts work myself, so I know what it’s like to be on the other side of the couch.
As a therapist, I deeply value continued education and professional consultation to continuously strengthen and refine my skillset.
If you're curious about my full background, approach, or credentials, you can read more here.
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Great! I'd be happy to answer them for you. You can schedule a free no obligation 20 minute video call to talk with me directly on my calendar through my contact page.
I will be honest about if I think I can support you with what you are seeking help with, and provide you with resources if I think another therapy or therapist would be a better match for you at this point in your healing journey.