You Already Know the Story by Heart

The doctor who said it was just normal period cramps after a painful night at the ER. The church leader who told you that your faith is weak and you aren’t being a “good Christian.”

You’ve told these stories in therapy. You can name your triggers and explain where they came from. But you tense up when a nurse calls your name in the waiting room. And it happens in church when the choir starts the song they sang at your mother’s funeral.

Understanding what happened is one part of healing. The other part lives in your body, and it may need more room than an hour to process and heal.

Why Does a Longer Session Help?

A standard therapy session runs 60 minutes. By the time you’ve settled in and found the memory, there may be 20 minutes left before we need to start wrapping up.

If you’ve ever struggled to pull yourself together before going on with the rest of your day, you know that feeling. Opening painful memories and closing them again every week can leave your body on high alert for days.

An intensive gives us three or four hours. That’s enough time to prepare, do the EMDR processing, and settle down before you leave.

Who Are These Intensives For?

I work with women of color, and especially Black women, who were harmed by the people and places that were supposed to care for them. Most people seek out intensives with me for one of these reasons.

Medical Trauma and Medical Gaslighting

For years you were told your pain was normal, or that you were exaggerating. Maybe it took a decade to get an endometriosis diagnosis. Maybe you woke up from surgery to learn about a decision no one discussed with you.

• Years of dismissed pain and delayed diagnosis, including endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain
• Surprise or emergency surgeries
• Fertility struggles, IVF, and egg freezing
• Birth trauma, emergency C-sections, and perinatal emergencies
• Fear of doctors, needles, hospitals, or an upcoming procedure

Church Hurt and Betrayal

Some of the worst wounds happen in the place you went to feel safe. A leader who used scripture to silence you. A congregation that protected the institution and pushed you out. Being told your depression meant your faith was weak.

Whether you still go to church, left years ago, or are somewhere in between, you can reprocess what happened and move forward with intention.

Grief

Maybe your grief got pushed aside because you were the one planning the service and had to go back to work on Monday. Maybe the loss came with a diagnosis, a pregnancy that ended, or a death that followed poor medical care. An intensive gives that grief the time it always needed to help you move forward.

How Does an EMDR Intensive Work?

• Planning session (60 minutes). We talk through what you want to work on, which memories to start with, and what helps you feel grounded. I’ll also get to know the protective parts of you that have kept you going. You’ll walk into your intensive with a plan.
• The intensive (3 or 4 hours). We use EMDR with IFS-informed parts work, at the pace your body and mind can handle. Breaks, water, snacks, and grounding are built into the day. If a part of you pushes back, we have the time to slow down and work with it.
• Integration session (60 minutes). A few days later, we meet to talk about what shifted, what came up afterward, and what’s next. You’ll also leave the intensive with a take-home packet of grounding tools and self-reflection activities.

What Does an EMDR Intensive Cost?

Each intensive is a flat-rate package that includes the planning and integration sessions.

Is an Intensive a Good Fit for Me?

An intensive may be a good fit if:

• You’re tired of crying through weekly sessions and only talking about what is bothering you with no tangible change.
• You’re making progress in therapy, but a few big things still set you off, and you want more focused time to work on them.
• You have an upcoming surgery, fertility treatment, or appointment, and you don’t want to walk in scared.
• Weekly therapy doesn’t fit your schedule, and one focused block works better for you.
• An anniversary or a hard date is coming up, and you want more support than a weekly session can give you before it arrives.
• You dread going to church, but you serve in ministries that need you there.

If you’re having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, are in an unsafe situation, or find it hard to calm yourself when you get upset, weekly EMDR is usually a better place to start. It gives us time to build your coping skills first, and many clients move into an intensive later. If you’re in crisis right now, call or text 988.

Who Will You Be Working With?

I’m Shakira O’Garro, LMHC-D, Founder and Clinical Director of Cheerful Heart Mental Health Counseling. I’m trained in EMDR and provide intensives with IFS-informed parts work, along with Brainspotting and Prolonged Exposure. I also have advanced training in using EMDR to address the impact of women’s health conditions like endometriosis, PMDD, and premenstrual exacerbation (PME). I have lived experience with medical trauma, and as an endo sister, I live with stage 4 endometriosis and adenomyosis.

I see clients in person at my White Plains office (easily accessible from Scarsdale, Yonkers, New Rochelle, and all of Westchester County) and via telehealth across NY, NJ, CT, PA, SC and CA.

Learn more about me