Why Choose a Therapy Intensive?

The power of deep work for healing trauma

For many people, weekly therapy sessions provide a safe space for growth, self-reflection, and healing. But when it comes to childhood trauma, complex PTSD, or deeply ingrained emotional wounds, traditional outpatient therapy may feel slow, fragmented, or even frustrating at times.

If you’ve ever left a therapy session feeling like you just started to open up something big, only to have to press pause until next week, you’re not alone. This is one of the reasons therapy intensives are becoming an option for those seeking deeper, more immediate transformation. Intensives aren't necessarily instead of regular therapy, but often incorporated alongside consistent weekly or biweekly work.

A therapy intensive offers a focused, immersive healing experience, often spanning multiple hours or days. At Woven Wholeness, we have one day and two day long intensive options. Since we specialize in using modalities like Brainspotting, somatic therapy, expressive arts, and nature-based approaches, bringing these to these intensive experiences allow clients to go beyond surface-level work and process trauma in a more embodied, uninterrupted way.

What exactly is a therapy intensive?

A therapy intensive is a customized, deep-dive therapeutic experience designed to help you process trauma, grief, or emotional blocks in an accelerated way. Instead of the typical 50-minute weekly session, an intensive offers an extended amount of time—allowing for sustained focus and profound breakthroughs. They're often very beneficial for:

Healing childhood trauma that feels stuck despite years of traditional therapy
Working through deep grief or loss in a concentrated way
Breaking through emotional barriers that keep you feeling anxious, numb, or disconnected
Rewiring limiting beliefs and nervous system patterns from the past
Reconnecting with your inner child and reclaiming self-compassion

At Woven Wholeness, our therapy intensives incorporate evidence-based, body-focused approaches that help move trauma out of the mind and into healing through the body.

How do therapy intensives work?

Unlike weekly outpatient therapy, where sessions are often interrupted by daily life stressors, an intensive allows for:

Longer sessions to stay in the healing process without stopping mid-breakthrough. Our therapy intensives involve 7-14 hours of face-to-face time with a therapist.
A curated approach using modalities bottom-up approaches to create lasting change like Brainspotting, expressive arts, eco-therapy (nature-based healing), and somatic work
Lodging options to help create a distraction-free experience and let you immerse yourself in your journey. In-person intensives at Woven Wholeness take place in the healing mountains of Western North Carolina, 25 minutes from Asheville.
A nervous-system-centered pace, where we move through trauma processing in a way that feels safe and embodied. 50 minute therapy sessions can feel rushed to the body. Say hello, dive into the hard stuff, and then come right back out and into every day life. Intensives allow for a more organic experience that is paced exactly how you need it to be in the moment.

Many clients say that a single-day intensive brings more clarity and relief than months of traditional therapy.

Therapy Intensives vs. Traditional Weekly Therapy

Many people wonder: "Do I still need regular therapy if I do an intensive?"

The answer depends on your goals. Therapy intensives don’t replace traditional therapy, but they accelerate the healing process in a way that weekly sessions often can’t. At Woven Wholeness, we value the slow and steady work just as much as the rapid. We can also help you to determine what path or what combination might be the best fit for you based on what you're looking for. Most people find that therapy intensives complement their ongoing therapy—helping them break through plateaus and process issues that may take months in weekly sessions. There are even some studies that show in depth processing in weekly traditional therapy equates to about 2 hours per month, whereas one day of an intensive is typically about 5 hours.

Who is a therapy intensive best for?

You might consider a therapy intensive if:

You're feeling stuck, or at a bit of a plateau in your therapy journey and looking for a breakthrough
Complex trauma is at the core of your experience, and talk therapy just isn't cutting it (talk therapy and complex trauma healing involve 2 different parts of the brain, after all)
You're processing thoughts and feelings surrounding grief, loss, or a big life transition.
Your area might have limited resources for the sort of care that you need and results that you want.

Healing in Western North Carolina

Emily moved to Western North Carolina, bought property and built a home there because of the healing power. Something sacred in the hills made it clear that this is a space for people to slow down, be intentional, meet themselves, reclaim (or claim for the first time) their place in the world.

Nature is some of the best medicine. This is why it's the primary medicine provided with us. During intensives with Woven Wholeness, we know the nature regulates the nervous system and this equals the felt sense of safety. Whether for you that means paddling together down a river or sitting around fire, we will find ways that feel best for you to bring the touch of Mother Earth into our time together.

We do recommend incorporating the included lodging, however we're happy to work out a reduced rate if you prefer to lodge elsewhere or are local to Old Fort, NC.

Is a therapy intensive right for you?

Healing doesn’t have to take years. When given the right space, support, and tools, transformation can happen sooner than you think.

If you’re curious about how a therapy intensive could help you heal complex or childhood trauma, move through grief, or reconnect with yourself, let’s talk. I offer customized intensives in Western North Carolina, tailored to your unique needs.