How Are Intensives Different From Traditional Therapy?
Therapy is a proven, powerful tool in countless ways. But sometimes, you confront a personal issue that feels far more….intensive. It could relate to a negative pattern in your life. Perhaps compulsive behaviors have you caught in an impenetrable cycle. It could also be that you’re already in therapy but feel stuck.
Simply put, you have tried more than a few approaches, but there is clearly a need for something new. You need a faster, tighter, and even deeper approach. If you’re nodding your head as you read these words, this could be the ideal time to be introduced to the realm of intensives.
What Are Intensives and How Are They Different?
If you have ever participated in an accelerated process of any pursuit, you probably have an idea of what intensive therapy is like. To start with the basics, intensives are available to individuals, couples, groups, and families. Generally speaking, they involve condensing and intensifying treatment that might otherwise take place over many months—or even years.
For example, here at Insideout Living, we offer a five-day intensive designed to address and facilitate sex addiction recovery. This approach is both cost- and time-effective.
Here’s a little more you should know about the benefits of intensives:
Sometimes you have a very immediate concern, e.g. infidelity or some kind of addiction. Intensives allow you and your counselor to dive in and dig deep to find the root causes.
Intensives invite you to briefly break from your routines and structure. You recognize the importance of the issues at hand, so you provide yourself with the time to focus on them.
Dedicating such time to your mental well-being can break you of self-sabotaging habits. As you begin to reveal unresolved pain, your mind can shift away from avoidance or denial.
Intensives help you grasp how and why you stop yourself in certain areas of your life while excelling elsewhere.
By definition, this approach is intense, but it is not a bootcamp. Your counselor will push you, but with compassion and skill.
People who try intensives have reported results like:
Developing healthier responses to what triggers compulsive or addictive behavior.
Reconciling the past.
Experiencing internal stability.
Improving the quality of their relationships.
Finding spiritual connections.
Creating and following through on plans to implement what you learn.
It’s Not Simply a Matter of “Better” or “Worse”
With therapy, there are an infinite number of variables. A counselor may use a specific approach with two different people. How that approach is applied could dramatically differ from client to client. In other words, it is not a competition between traditional and intensive therapy. For now, we
begin by letting you know intensives are available.
Everyone is different. From your personality to your history to your current set of circumstances, how you seek to help yourself is an expression of it all. You may choose a particular therapeutic approach based on what seems to be the most productive, self-loving choice. However, you may also come to this process ready to try the first thing that is offered.
Your therapist should be like a guide to you. We are not here to make you fit into our specific treatment “box.” Rather, we use our knowledge, skills, and experience to make the most helpful suggestions for your particular case.
The idea of an intensive deep dive may feel intimidating or exhilarating to you. The best way to make an informed decision about intensives is to get informed. Reach out today for a free consultation and we can talk more about the intensives we offer and what approach is best for you.