What We’ve Learned About Therapy Intensives

As you’re researching the best therapy and coaching approaches for you, we want to share what we’ve learned about short intensive therapy and coaching.

The Somatic Wilderness Therapy Institute offers customized intensives that incorporate nature-based therapy, ceremony and rites of passage work, mindfulness, parts work, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)—a science-backed approach to releasing trauma from the body.

Intensive coaching or intensive therapy may be for you if:

• You’re facing transition and want to prepare for change
• You’re ready to kickstart a particular therapeutic or life goal
• You want to focus on deep therapy or coaching in a concentrated amount of time to work through trauma or roadblocks
• You want to take time out of your daily routine to focus on YOU and your wellbeing

Recent research published in the Journal of EMDR Practice and Research suggests that intensive therapy can help clients find relief for complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD). The study subjects experienced just two back-to-back days of EMDR, with four 90-minute sessions a day, and reported a lasting reduction in C-PTSD symptoms. Researchers have seen similar results with intensive EMDR therapy for PTSD.

If you’re feeling called to spend healing time in nature, research shows that spending multiple days interacting with the natural world can have lasting effects, lowering stress and cortisol levels. Nature therapy can be a great complement to EMDR, helping to calm your nervous system and give you a sense of support.

SWTI Therapists Who Host Intensives

We provide support and guidance tailored toward your intentions and goals, offering intensives from two to five days at a variety of locations in Colorado. If you want to be outside, connecting with nature, we will facilitate that. If you want to feel cozy indoors with home-cooked meals and structured self-care time, we will facilitate that. We create a comfortable container so you can focus on feeling resourced.

During an intensive with any SWTI therapist you may practice grounding, mind-body awareness and connection, breath work, relaxation techniques, visualization, expressive arts, culturally relevant ceremonies, interactions with the natural world, EMDR, and other somatic trauma skills. The essence of SWTI work is to help you find wholeness through an integrated approach that takes into account your innate body-mind wisdom. You’ll leave your intensive with a toolkit, rituals, and practices to help you stay rooted and regulated as you return to your day-to-day life. 

There are several SWTI therapists who are available to host therapeutic intensives, including SWTI Founder Katie Asmus, Lisa Kennemur, who focuses on ceremony and rites of passage, and Tasha Eichenseher, who leads EMDR intensives that can include nature-based elements.

The cost of intensives are based on the timeframe, the number of staff required, lodging, food, and travel.