EMDR is most effective when the nervous system has enough safety, support, and time to truly process—not when it’s rushed or forced. Traditional session lengths can unintentionally disrupt trauma work by stopping processing mid-activation, which may undermine trust and regulation. EMDR intensives offer a more ethical container by allowing pacing, completion, and integration.

Living with ADHD often means navigating a world that wasn’t designed with your brain in mind. Therapy can be transformative, but the traditional one-hour-a-week format doesn’t always match the way ADHD brains process, focus, and integrate information. If you’ve ever left a therapy session feeling like you were just starting to get somewhere—only to have to shut it down until next week—you’re not alone.

If you’ve spent any time on therapy websites or mental health social media, you’ve probably seen ads for therapy intensives – half‑day or multi‑day deep‑dive sessions that promise big shifts in a short amount of time. People sometimes ask me, “Can I keep seeing my regular therapist and still do an intensive?” The short answer is yes. Intensives can be a powerful complement to your ongoing therapy, but there are some important things to consider. In this post I’ll explain how intensives fit into your healing journey, how to collaborate with your current therapist, and how to navigate dual support ethically and effectively.

ADHD isn’t just about distraction or forgetting your keys. For many adults, especially those who weren’t diagnosed until later in life, ADHD can quietly chip away at your time, your money, your self-esteem, and your sense of peace.

It’s not just the missed appointments or the half-finished projects—it’s the emotional toll of constantly wondering if you’re falling behind, disappointing others, or “just not getting it together.”

And here’s the hard part: sometimes, traditional therapy doesn’t move quickly enough to catch up to the urgency you feel inside.

That’s why therapy intensives can be such a powerful option for people with ADHD. They allow you to dive in, create momentum, and actually feel a shift—in a fraction of the time.

When you’re living with ADHD, you’re often moving through life with a complicated relationship to time, focus, and follow-through. You might feel like you’re constantly catching up, starting over, or spinning your wheels on things that should feel manageable.

And while therapy can be life-changing, traditional weekly sessions don’t always feel like the best fit—especially for ADHD brains that crave momentum, depth, and flexibility.

This is where therapy intensives can be a powerful, neurodivergent-friendly option. Let’s talk about why.

There’s a common myth that therapy is only for people in deep crisis. That you have to be actively unraveling, unable to cope, or recovering from an acute event before seeking help.

But therapy isn’t just about surviving—it’s about expanding what’s possible for your life and your relationships.

In the same way you don’t wait until your teeth are falling out to visit a dentist, you don’t have to wait for total burnout or breakdown to begin caring for your emotional well-being.

If you’ve ever felt stuck in therapy—like you’re talking about the same patterns week after week without much movement—you’re not alone. For many people navigating trauma, anxiety, or life transitions, weekly sessions can start to feel like a slow crawl toward relief. And if you’re someone juggling a demanding job, a busy family life, or simply a full plate (hello, lawyers, doctors, creatives, entrepreneurs, and caregivers), carving out time for therapy every week might feel more stressful than supportive. Let’s explore both the financial and emotional value of therapy intensives, and why they might just be the best mental health investment you’ll ever make.

If you’re feeling burned out, stuck, or like talk therapy just isn’t cutting it anymore, you’re not alone—and you’re not doing anything wrong. For so many of the young professionals and creatives I work with in my psychotherapy practice in Washington, DC and Virginia, the surface-level strategies of "coping" no longer feel like enough. And that’s where therapy intensives can offer something different. Something deeper.

Traditional therapy, while incredibly valuable, often follows a weekly or biweekly model that might not be ideal for people who:

• Have unpredictable work schedules or travel frequently.

• Find it difficult to open up in just 50 minutes and feel like they’re “starting over” each week.

• Feel an urgent need for relief from burnout, anxiety, or a creative block.

• Want to make significant progress but struggle with the slow, drawn-out process of traditional therapy.

If you’re someone who needs efficiency without sacrificing depth, therapy intensives offer an alternative that provides meaningful, focused healing in a condensed timeframe.