A deeper dive
Intensives.
Concentrated, private work — the time and space to go deeper than a weekly hour allows.
What an intensive is
Room to do the deeper work.
An intensive is a concentrated block of counseling — a chance to give yourself the time and space to safely go further into the work. Rather than a standing weekly hour, we set aside a larger, dedicated stretch and build it around you. That might be a single half-day, several full days in a row, or a rhythm spread across a few weeks.
The shape is yours: anything from a 3.5-hour half-day to four full days together, or a longer arc of ten to twenty hours a week over several weeks. We design the container around your goals, not the other way around.
Why it works
Safety, and time enough to use it.
Safety is the key ingredient for real counseling work. In a typical weekly hour we can only go so deep, because at the end of it you have to step back into your day. An intensive changes that math. You step out of life’s regular demands, we build a safe container together, and we have a much larger window to stay with the deeper work before it’s time to return. That room is where lasting, sometimes life-changing change happens — and we plan intentional time to help you carry it back into ordinary life.
Who it’s for
Whether you’re down the road or flying in.
Intensives are for individuals, couples, and families ready to make significant change in a shorter span of time — people who’ve struggled to find traction in weekly outpatient work, and those whose schedule or need for privacy doesn’t fit the weekly model.
Some clients are local and simply want to step out of routine for a few focused days. Others travel in from across the country, making Vermont — or a destination of their choosing — part of the work itself. Both are welcome, and the intensive is shaped to fit either.
- Sex & love addiction
- Trauma & abuse
- Post-traumatic stress
- Codependency
- Depression & anxiety
- Grief and loss
- Relationship struggles
Intensives can be intense, and they aren’t for everyone. They work beautifully alongside ongoing weekly counseling. Because the work goes deep quickly, intake is a little more involved: we begin with a 30-minute conversation about your situation and goals so we can both feel out whether an intensive is the right fit. If you’re already working with a counselor, I’ll coordinate with them so the work stays safe and connected.
How we work
Interacting with your story, not just telling it.
Talk therapy can take years, because it focuses on recounting your story rather than engaging with it — a lot of understanding, sometimes little change. Experiential work adds the missing piece: structured, hands-on experiences that bring perspective and reach the “why” underneath the pattern, opening room for something different. Together we find the modalities that fit you.
- Psychodrama
- EMDR
- Brainspotting
- Parts work
- Expressive arts
- Ecotherapy (wilderness)
- Cognitive behavioral
- Creative experiential exercises
Animal interactions — with horses, cats, and dogs — can be woven into most of this work, and depending on location we may bring in outdoor, adventure-based activities where they serve your goals.
Formats
A shape that fits the work.
Half & full days
A single concentrated day — three and a half or seven hours — to focus on one piece of work without the clock cutting it short.
Multi-day
Two to four days in a row, for deeper or more complex work that benefits from sustained, uninterrupted time together.
Extended arc
A longer rhythm — say ten to twenty hours a week across several weeks — when a steadier cadence suits you better than a single block.
Working together
Sometimes, two counselors.
For some couples and families, it helps to have a second counselor co-lead the intensive — another steady presence in the room, and more room to hold the work as it unfolds. When it’s a good fit, I bring in a trusted colleague to lead alongside me. You can read more about that option through Vermont Counseling Intensives, or simply ask whether it might make sense for you.
Where we meet
Vermont, or somewhere of your choosing.
Home base is White River Junction, Vermont — natural beauty all around and an easy reach from New York and Boston. For those traveling in, the setting becomes part of the work; for those nearby, it’s a quiet place to step out of the everyday. Sessions can happen in the office, outdoors, or with the animals, as fits your goals.
Vermont
The home setting — office, trail, water, or farm — close to New York and Boston.
Where I’m licensed
New Hampshire, Michigan, and Washington are possible by arrangement, since I already hold licenses there.
A destination of your choosing
Somewhere private, or warmer and farther afield — available by inquiry.
Travel intensives are arranged individually and by inquiry; they carry a higher fee to cover travel and time. Reach out and we’ll talk through what would work.
Investment
Intensive rates.
Intensives
Half-day · 3.5 hours — $700
Full-day · 7 hours — $1,400
Multi-day intensives are simply the full-day rate for each day — a two-day is two full days, and so on. Equine-assisted sessions include an additional facility fee, and travel or destination intensives are quoted individually. Full payment and cancellation details live on the Fees & Details page.
Plans change.
Cancellation policy.
Because intensives require significant schedule blocking and advance preparation, cancellations are refunded on a sliding scale based on notice given:
| Notice given | Refund |
|---|---|
| 29 days or more before start | 100%, less $200 admin fee |
| 19–28 days before start | 80% |
| 15–18 days before start | 60% |
| 14 days or less before start | 20% |
All refunds are reduced by any credit card processing fees. Cancellations due to weather or illness are credited in full toward a future rescheduled intensive. Full cancellation policy details are on the Fees & Details page.
Begin
It starts with a conversation.
Because an intensive asks a lot of both of us, we begin with a 30-minute call to talk through your situation and goals and see whether it’s the right fit. No pressure either way — just an honest look at whether this is the work for you.
Reach out to begin →Or email intensives@redeemingstories.com · (802) 356-1731