If you continue to carry bricks from the past, you will end up building the same house.

Gabor Mate said, "The greatest damage done by neglect, trauma or emotional loss is not the immediate pain they inflict but the long-term distortions they induce in the way a developing child will continue to interpret the world and her situation in it."  Trauma happens on a continuum and is anything from a painful comment that happens repeatedly to large scale disaster.  What most people misunderstand about trauma is that the impact of trauma is not felt in the event itself, rather, how the event impacts the systems within the body and the internal emotional and physical damage done.  

Trauma is defined by our system and the way our body holds energy.  Dr. Bessel van der Kolk wrote a ground breaking book called The Body Keeps the Score.  In this book, Dr. van der Kolk explains the way trauma impacts the physical systems of the body and how "the body keeps the score" is a true phenomenon of trauma. 

Our bodies hold our stories.  The difficult, the beautiful, and the tragic.  In order to treat the trauma, you must treat all systems involved in the trauma: physical, emotional, physiological, and intrapsychic.  

Perhaps you, like so many of us, have found yourself wondering, "I've been in therapy for years and yet I keep repeating the same patterns over and over".  Or maybe you carry the thought, "Therapy doesn't work!".  Frustration and a sense of defeat can arise when you find yourself engaging in therapy and yet repeating the same patterns over and over. 

Often times, we find ourselves stuck in the same patterns, repeating the same mistakes and frustrated with ourselves due to trauma.  A trauma intensive gives you the opportunity to address held patterns through the use of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy over an intensive three to five day period.  

What makes a trauma intensive such a valuable experience is the continuum of care, ability to focus on self and healing without distraction, and the elongated time period where therapist and client can partner together to move through intensive material with fluidity, respect, and a quickened pace to traditional therapy.  

And, a therapy intensive allows you the space to solely focus on your healing and well being for a intensive period of time and then return to family, work, and life; while you notice patterns changing, reactions lessening, and a new focus developing.  

Trauma intensives challenge the idea that therapy has to take place in weekly sessions.  Research has shown that intensive work is as effective (if not more) than the traditional model of therapy.  Plus, no appointments to remember, schedules to juggle, and you have concentrated time to focus on healing. 

Even if you have never engaged in therapy prior, an intensive may be right for you.  Dr. Keith will partner with you to define the goal(s) of treatment and the plan for treatment.  Reach out to Dr. Keith for more information: