EMDR Therapy Intensives in San Diego
When you need more than fifty minutes.
EMDR TherapySan Diego
Alexa Hall, LCSW Anxiety Therapist in San Diego, CA
For Trauma, Anxiety & Nervous System Overload
You wake up already exhausted. Your body feels heavy, your mind has been running all night, and sleep never feels restorative. Falling asleep takes forever. When you finally do, nightmares pull you back into wakefulness, gasping for air, your heart racing. By morning, you are already bracing yourself for another long day.
As soon as you wake up, anxiety kicks in.
Your mind starts listing everything you need to do, and it already feels overwhelming. You tell yourself you are starting behind. Small things, like spilling your coffee, feel like proof that the day is already lost. You feel tense, irritable, and on edge.
At work, focusing feels nearly impossible.
Noise and conversations around you feel unbearable. You try to get things done, but your attention slips away. You realize you have been staring at the screen for an hour, lost in your thoughts. You know fresh air might help, but even that feels like too much. Taking care of yourself feels overwhelming.
By the time you drive home, your body is tight and rigid. You notice how hard you are gripping the steering wheel. Your jaw aches. Your heart feels heavy. Your mind spins until it goes numb. You keep pushing through, even though part of you knows this is not working.
At home, you want to be present with your family, but you feel checked out.
You force smiles and laughter while feeling empty inside. Eating feels mechanical. Your relationship feels strained. You crave closeness, ease, and connection, but instead you feel lonely and disconnected, even when you are not alone.
Intrusive and frightening thoughts show up out of nowhere.
They make your stomach drop and your body tense. Anxiety floods in, and you wonder why this is happening and whether something is wrong with you.
If this feels familiar, you are not broken. Your nervous system has been stuck in survival mode for a long time.
Trauma Lives in the Nervous System
Trauma does not just live in your thoughts. It lives in your body.
When your nervous system has learned that the world is unsafe, it stays on high alert even when danger is no longer present. This can show up as chronic anxiety, poor sleep, emotional numbness, intrusive thoughts, irritability, and strained relationships.
No amount of logic or willpower can turn this off.
This is why many people feel frustrated when talk therapy alone does not bring the relief they are hoping for.
EMDR Therapy San Diego
I’m Alexa Hall, LCSW, an EMDR therapist in San Diego, California. I specialize in EMDR Therapy San Diego for adults who feel stuck in anxiety, overwhelm, and trauma responses that will not shut off, no matter how hard they try. Many of the people I work with are high functioning on the outside and deeply exhausted on the inside. They are tired of coping and ready for real change.
EMDR therapy works differently than traditional talk therapy.
Instead of repeatedly talking through the same experiences, EMDR helps your brain and nervous system process trauma so it no longer feels like it is happening in the present. The memories remain, but they lose their emotional charge. Over time, many people notice improved sleep, reduced anxiety, better focus, and a greater sense of presence in their daily lives.
This work is not about pushing harder or forcing yourself through healing. It is about helping your nervous system finally feel safe enough to rest.
EMDR Intensive Therapy in San Diego
For some people, weekly therapy feels too slow for how intense their symptoms are.
When your nervous system has been in survival mode for years, spacing sessions far apart can make it difficult to build momentum. This is where EMDR Intensive Therapy can be especially helpful.
EMDR Intensive Therapy offers a focused, accelerated approach to trauma healing while still prioritizing safety, nervous system regulation, and integration.
Rather than meeting once per week, intensives involve a short term, structured treatment period with multiple sessions per week and longer EMDR reprocessing sessions. This allows your nervous system to stay engaged in the healing process instead of repeatedly starting and stopping.
Before reprocessing begins, we spend time on preparation and stabilization.
This helps build internal resources and ensures the work feels contained and manageable. Once reprocessing begins, sessions are paced thoughtfully and adjusted based on how your nervous system responds. Integration and support are woven throughout the process so changes can settle and last.
Most clients complete EMDR Intensive Therapy within a few months.
Length and pacing of EMDR Intensive Therapy vary depending on individual needs.
This work requires a high level of clinical presence and containment. Therefore, I work with only one intensive client at a time. This allows me to fully focus on your care and provide the level of attunement this work requires.
Learn more about the structure of EMDR Intensive Therapy.
What Healing Can Look Like
Healing does not mean erasing the past.
It means the past no longer runs your present. It means feeling calmer in your body, more present with the people you love, and less controlled by anxiety, fear, or numbness. It means having energy that is no longer drained by staying on high alert all the time.
You do not have to keep living in survival mode.
If you are looking for EMDR Therapy San Diego and want an approach that is structured, trauma informed, and focused on lasting nervous system change, I invite you to reach out. We can talk about whether weekly EMDR or EMDR Intensive Therapy is the right fit for you.
FAQs about EMDR Intensive Therapy
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An EMDR intensive is an extended therapy session that gives you several hours of focused time to process trauma without interruptions. It allows deeper work than a weekly format can support.
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Not necessarily. We focus on what’s happening in your body and thoughts today. EMDR helps process old experiences naturally, without needing to retell every detail.
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No. The intensive includes full preparation and grounding time so you leave settled, not raw. The pacing is intentional to protect your nervous system.
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No. With EMDR, you do not have to go into detail or relive the experience. Your brain processes the memory while you stay present and supported.
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Intensives are especially helpful if weekly therapy has not created the shifts you need, if you want faster progress, or if you are working with long term or deeply rooted trauma.
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Yes. Many clients work with me for the intensive and continue weekly therapy with their primary therapist.
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Yes. EMDR is effective for both single incident trauma and long term trauma. The intensive format often works well for complex trauma because it provides enough time for the nervous system to move through each stage safely.
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Yes. I offer EMDR intensives online throughout California. The virtual format is safe, effective, and widely used.
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You will receive a personalized plan for continued support. Some clients return for additional intensives while others return to weekly therapy with their existing provider.
