What is Intensive Therapy & What Are Its Benefits
Perhaps you’ve been going to therapy once or twice per month. Yet you’re starting to suspect this isn’t enough time with your therapist. Maybe you’re struggling to implement the strategies they recommend, or maybe your symptoms haven’t improved at all, and you’re worried about your well-being. For many people, conventional therapy is helpful—but some people need much more support. If this sounds familiar, you may want to talk to your therapist about pursuing intensive therapy.
What is intensive therapy? If you’ve never heard the term before, you might be unsure of what it really means. Let’s explore how intensive therapy differs from conventional therapy and how it might benefit you.
Intensive vs. Conventional Therapy
There is no strict definition that separates intensive and conventional therapy. However, it’s generally accepted that intensive therapy involves more frequent sessions on a compressed basis. For instance, while someone with a conventional treatment plan might go to therapy once a month or every other week, someone in intensive therapy might attend sessions twice per week. Under certain circumstances, they may even talk to their therapist once per day. Intensive therapy sessions can also be longer—while a conventional therapy session is generally about an hour, an intensive session could be over an hour.
Who Benefits From Intensive Therapy?
Not everyone who struggles with their mental health necessarily needs intensive therapy. Generally, intensive therapy is a good fit for people dealing with substance abuse problems or grappling with two or more diagnoses. Intensive therapy is also frequently used for people who have been hospitalized for reasons related to their mental health. It is a common form of treatment in rehabilitation centers. Ultimately, everyone is unique, and professionals recommend intensive therapy to certain people for a wide range of reasons.
Issues Addressed in Intensive Therapy
What do therapists and patients talk about in intensive therapy? Of course, there is no limit to the topics that one can address during these sessions. However, many people who are in intensive therapy want to work through issues like fear of abandonment, past trauma, anger management, changing long-held patterns, and setting healthy boundaries. In intensive therapy, patients have lots of time to dive into all of these topics and more. With more opportunities for self-reflection and practical problem-solving, patients can make progress in these areas on a faster timeline.
Goals of Intensive Therapy
Many people enter therapy with a set of goals that they want to accomplish. Others start therapy without any specific goals in mind aside from feeling better on a day-to-day basis. Either approach is fine, but your therapist will help you start setting goals that make sense for you throughout sessions. In intensive therapy, your therapist’s first goal will generally be preventing substance abuse relapses or incidents of self-harm. However, you can also move beyond this in time. For instance, you might start working on developing healthy coping strategies to deal with problems that crop up in your day-to-day life.
Moving Forward
Over time, people in intensive therapy will focus on improving their social support systems. Many people struggle to build support systems because of their mental health, and this turns out to be a double-edged sword—when someone is suffering, they need their loved ones more than ever. Their therapist will also work with them to overcome other barriers to improving their mental and physical health through lasting changes in habits and lifestyle.
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Are you curious about intensive therapy? It might be the right fit for you. Reach out to us today to discuss your options for scheduling your first session for intensive therapy.