Intensive Therapy
Intensive therapy is a short-term, focused treatment approach designed to provide meaningful progress in a condensed timeframe. At It Begins Within, our licensed and specialized therapists provide intensive therapy programs in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota.
What is Intensive Therapy?
Intensive therapy refers to a concentrated approach (with three or more hours of therapy per week) to mental health treatment that involves more frequent, longer, or more comprehensive therapeutic interventions than traditional weekly therapy sessions. This treatment modality is designed to provide accelerated healing and breakthrough results for individuals facing significant psychological challenges or those seeking rapid improvement in their mental health.
At It Begins Within, our intensive therapy programs are led by licensed therapists who provide evidence-based care tailored to your needs. Many clients find intensives helpful when they want faster results, are navigating a crisis, or have limited availability for traditional weekly sessions.
Why Consider an Intensive Approach?
While traditional talk therapy works for many individuals, there are situations which require more urgent attention.
Intensive therapy is particularly effective for individuals experiencing:
Acute mental health crises requiring immediate, comprehensive support
Treatment-resistant conditions that haven't responded to traditional therapy approaches
Time-sensitive situations, such as pre-surgical anxiety or relationship crises
Trauma recovery, where maintaining therapeutic continuity is crucial for processing
Life transitions requiring rapid adaptation and coping skill development
Professionals or individuals with demanding schedules who prefer concentrated treatment periods
Is Intensive Therapy Effective?
Yes, intensive therapy is highly effective for many individuals. Mental health treatment, especially in the context of intensive therapy, is crucial for addressing chronic conditions like depression and anxiety. This approach allows for concentrated and focused treatment, allowing for substantial progress in a shorter timeframe compared to traditional weekly therapy sessions.
Why Intensive Therapy is Effective
Faster Results: Concentrated work often leads to quicker symptom relief and behavioral changes
Deeper Work: Extended sessions allow for processing complex emotions and memories without time constraints
Maintained Momentum: Frequent contact prevents regression between sessions
Cost-Effective: While initially more expensive, intensive therapy can reduce overall treatment duration and costs
Convenience: Ideal for busy professionals or those traveling for treatment
How Can I Speed up Trauma Healing?
Healing from trauma can be a multidimensional and complex process. Addressing and healing from traumatic experiences often involves a combination of effective therapeutic techniques, lifestyle changes, and support systems. Engaging in therapies such as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and ART (Accelerated Resolution Therapy) can significantly reduce the emotional impact of traumatic experiences by helping to process and reframe traumatic memories quickly. Incorporating Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and somatic experiencing can also be beneficial in challenging negative thought patterns and releasing trauma stored in the body. Participating in intensive therapy sessions offers concentrated and focused treatment, allowing for substantial progress in a shorter timeframe compared to traditional therapy.
Additional Factors in healing from trauma
Alongside these therapeutic approaches, adopting a healthy lifestyle is crucial. Regular exercise, a balanced diet, adequate sleep, and stress management practices like mindfulness, meditation, and yoga can enhance overall mental health and emotional regulation. Support systems play a vital role in trauma healing. Maintaining regular therapy sessions, joining support groups, and relying on friends and family for emotional support can provide the necessary encouragement and understanding. Additionally, engaging in journaling, art and music therapy, and grounding techniques can offer alternative ways to express and manage emotions. By integrating these therapeutic methods, lifestyle adjustments, and support systems, individuals can create a comprehensive approach to accelerate trauma healing and improve overall well-being.
What Intensive Therapy Is Not
Intensive therapy at It Begins Within is not inpatient care. Unlike inpatient programs, our services do not require clients to stay overnight or live at a treatment facility. Instead, we offer structured, intensive sessions that allow clients to gain the benefits of intensive care while maintaining their daily responsibilities and routines.
It Begins Within is not a large agency. Our practice is private and personalized, focusing on the unique needs of each individual rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Most of our clients are normal and often high performing individuals, including business leaders, physicians, and parents who value their time and are seeking rapid healing.
By offering focused and customized care, we help clients make meaningful changes in their lives without the disruptions associated with inpatient treatment or the impersonal nature of large agencies.
Intensive Individual Therapy
An intensive therapy approach for individuals involves frequent and extended sessions that address specific issues, allowing for deep and transformative healing. At It Begins Within, we specialize in intensive programs utilizing:
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
Internal Family Systems
Somatic therapies
Trauma-focused therapies including TF-CBT, ART, & EMDR
You may greatly benefit from therapy intensives
If you’re experiencing any of the following, intensive therapy may be a powerful option:
Feeling stuck in weekly therapy – you’ve made progress but want to go deeper, faster.
Navigating a major life transition – divorce, infertility, grief, or other significant changes.
Struggling with unresolved trauma – including childhood wounds, betrayal, or PTSD symptoms.
Relationship challenges – such as frequent conflict, infidelity recovery, or disconnection in marriage.
Overwhelming anxiety or depression – when symptoms interfere with daily life and need focused attention.
Limited time for weekly sessions – busy professionals, parents, or couples who prefer a condensed schedule.
Intensive therapy allows you to make meaningful progress in days—not months—by working with a licensed therapist in Tampa, St. Petersburg, or Sarasota who tailors each session to your unique goals.
EMDR Intensives
Our EMDR intensive packages are designed to help individuals process and resolve trauma and other distressing life experiences rapidly. EMDR is an evidence-based psychotherapy approach that uses guided eye movements to help the brain reprocess traumatic memories, reducing their emotional impact. Our intensive EMDR sessions provide an immersive therapeutic experience, enabling clients to make significant progress in a shorter period compared to traditional therapy. This is particularly beneficial for individuals seeking quick and effective relief from trauma-related symptoms.
ART Intensive Packages
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is another powerful therapeutic approach offered in our intensive packages. ART uses eye movements and visualization techniques to help clients reframe and resolve traumatic memories and emotional distress. This therapy is known for its efficiency in reducing symptoms and providing quick relief. Our ART-intensive packages focus on delivering concentrated treatment sessions that allow clients to experience substantial improvement in a brief timeframe, making it an ideal choice for those who need rapid results.
Tailored for executives & High-Performance leaders
Executives, physicians, attorneys, and entrepreneurs often carry extraordinary pressure—with little time for weekly therapy. Our intensive therapy model is designed for high-performance leaders who need focused, efficient support without stepping away from their responsibilities for months. In just a few days, you can address stress, burnout, relationship challenges, or anxiety in a way that restores clarity, resilience, and balance.
Outpatient Anxiety Treatment
Intensive therapy can be especially effective for clients whose anxiety feels overwhelming or hard to manage with weekly sessions alone. In an outpatient setting, our therapists provide extended, focused time to address racing thoughts, panic, and the physical toll of stress. This format helps you build coping skills more quickly, so you can return to daily life with greater calm and confidence. Learn more about our anxiety therapy in Tampa, St. Petersburg & Sarasota.
Couples intensives are a concentrated treatment approach designed to facilitate deep relational healing in a condensed timeframe. At It Begins Within we provide unique and tailored programs for each couple. These intensive packages help partners reconnect, resolve conflicts, and strengthen their relationship through frequent and extended sessions.
Our Relationship Intensives support couples who are:
On the brink of divorce and need immediate and meaningful support
Highly complex situations (including family businesses and children) where couples are in the process of discernment
in high-conflict situations, including major life events where addiction and recovery or the court system is involved
Trauma Intensives for Kids & Teens
Children and teens often need more support than weekly therapy alone can provide. Our trauma intensives offer a safe, structured space where young people can process overwhelming experiences in a condensed timeframe. Using play-based, creative, and evidence-based approaches, our therapists help kids and teens reduce anxiety, build emotional regulation skills, and restore a sense of safety and resilience.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Intensive therapy at It Begins Within ranges from $300-$400 per hour and varies based on the specific provider and the total quantity of sessions.
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At It Begins Within our typical intensive sessions are between 3 - 4 hours.
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While this varies per individual, many of our clients find significant benefit from their first 2-3 intensive sessions.
Schedule Free Consultation
We offer comprehensive mental health services and free consultations for all of our skilled therapists. Our belief is that the strongest factor in your success through therapy is the relationship with your therapist - and we want to ensure that.