EMDR Intensive Therapy in New York, New Jersey, & California
For Brown Girls who want to dive deep and break the cycle of intergenerational trauma.
“Just talking” about why your immigrant parents guilt-trip you doesn’t stop the panic you feel right before you’re about to visit home.
That’s where EMDR Intensives solve what Western therapy can’t.
You’ve Been to Therapy for guilt that didn’t go away and Deep Down you know You need more
You still feel like you need to suffer to prove that you care about your family
You’re frustrated with yourself for not being able to speak up and set boundaries
You finally found culturally affirming therapy, but it still wasn’t enough
You can’t fathom trying to fit in weekly therapy on top of unrealistic work, family, and cultural expectations.
You’ve done the work, but your body can’t catch up with what your brain logically knows.
Don’t just book another therapy session. Book an EMDR Intensive!
Kickstart a new journey for your mind and body.
Shrug off the guilt-trip and feel more clear and confident when confronted with criticism (instead of feeling flooded and shutting down)
Follow through on the boundaries you already know how to set
Stay true to yourself, even when someone in your community judges you for it
Accept that you’ll always be the “bad” guy in someone else’s story
Actually enjoy your accomplishments without feeling guilty about them
Be enough for yourself despite, “Log Kya Kahenge?”
If you’re finally Ready to:
Then an EMDR Intensive Might Just be The transformation you Need
What is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a type of therapy that regulates the part of your brain that stores traumatic memories and emotions. It’s recommended for PTSD and complex PTSD, but can be used for navigating cultural guilt and shame, bicultural identity, relationship anxiety, and intergenerational trauma.
EMDR is right for you if:
You’re struggling with cultural guilt and shame
You’re straddling bicultural identity and the stressors of two cultures
You’re anxious in your relationships with your parents and cultural community
You feel stuck breaking the cycle of intergenerational trauma
Talk therapy or CBT didn’t decrease the intensity of your anxiety
Click here to learn more about how I do EMDR.
What is an Intensive?
An intensive is essentially a longer therapy session that can take place over several days. Most intensives typically take place over the course of several days within a week, rather than one hour per week.
An intensive is right for you if:
45-60 minutes every seven days isn’t enough
You want more time to build on what you’re learning
Session ends right when it gets good
You don’t have weekly time to set aside for therapy
You’re already in therapy, but you’d like something additional
You’d rather knock things out in one short period of time
You deserve more time and space to explore the parts of you that make you whole—not just the parts of you that are convenient.
An EMDR intensive gives you unhurried time to challenge guilt-driven beliefs so that you can show up in your relationships with family, friends, and career—without being pulled into toxic cultural norms.
Time to break free from toxic guilt!
Who I am
Hi, I’m Tracy and I’m The Bad Indian Therapist.
I’m an EMDR Certified™ licensed therapist in New York, New Jersey, and California who helps Brown women like you who struggle with chronic guilt, shame, and self-abandonment.
Together, we can stop letting cultural guilt and shame dictate your life, become more confident in your bicultural identity, and break the cycle of intergenerational trauma through culturally responsive EMDR Intensives!
My clients leave my EMDR Intensives asking, “How was I able to accomplish something in 10 hours that I’ve spent years trying to fix?” Here’s How:
How I’m Different
Most EMDR therapists follow a strict protocol that fits the 53-minute insurance-based model. They get you to fit the protocol instead of getting the protocol to fit you. Right when the EMDR sessions starts to get good, session ends. And you can’t pick things back up until you meet next week. This forces EMDR therapists to skip over the important parts of your bicultural identity. Having unhurried time allows you to flush out the toxic cultural norms that hurt you and hold you back.
My EMDR Intensives allow us to take our time together, build on your experience, and ease you into the process of EMDR in a more natural and culturally affirming way—without ending at the hour.
Give yourself the gift of time. See if I’m a good fit for your EMDR intensive journey!
My EMDR Intensives are Right for You If:
You’ve done therapy before and you’re ready to move beyond the traditional Western model of therapy
You’re want a deeper dive beyond your immediate past
You’re not able to make the kind of progress you want in weekly therapy
You’re dealing with the double whammy of cultural and religious guilt and feel easily overwhelmed by both
Talk therapy makes you ruminate and get stuck in circles
The Western Therapy Model vs. My EMDR Intensive
An EMDR Intensive is all about right time, right place, right therapist. Here are all the ways you’ll notice the difference with me:
The EMDR Intensive Process
EMDR intensives for Brown women are different from the traditional Western therapy. Here’s my general process:
Before: At your consultation, we’ll see if I’m the right fit for you. Then, we’ll schedule a 1-hour intake to explore your goals.
During: We’ll schedule your desired length for an EMDR Intensive, which includes:
Joining: I meet you where you’re at to name the things you’ve been taught to suppress in the name of “culture”.
Grounding: We’ll develop tools to help you access a calm state and get through life’s challenging triggers, even with your family’s cultural expectations.
Past, present, and future: We’ll identify the cultural guilt and shame holding you back and how you’d like to respond to guilt and shame better in the future.
After: We’ll schedule a follow-up to see how things have been going since your intensive.
With my EMDR Intensive, you’re getting:
A 20-minute intro call to go over your WHY.
A 1-hour initial session to set goals for your intensive
8 hours of EMDR Reprocessing, Positive Cognition Installation, Body Scanning, and Closure of painful memories or experiences
Additional grounding techniques through Resource Development Installation, Safe/Calm State, and Future Template
A 1-hour follow-up for any needed tune-ups
You’ll come out of my EMDR Intensives with:
Increased confidence in stating and believing your boundaries
Self-assuredness and less self-doubt
Responding instead of reacting to guilt-tripping
Strengthened grounding skills that actually work
Radical acceptance of the things you cannot change
Trust in yourself, your future, and the belief that you’ll be OK (no matter what family, your cultural community, and your career throw at you)
Ultimately, you’ll learn that cultural trauma does not have to dictate your every decision!
The average time it takes to cover all of this in weekly, 45-50 minute therapy is 1-2 years max.
You’re getting all of this in 3 days to a week—without having to rush through to the end of the hour. What are you waiting for?
Here’s a General Summary of What Clients Often Say to Me About My EMDR Intensives
“I’ve been working on this for years and I can’t believe I was able to feel more free in just a couple of days of working together!”
“I was nervous about starting this kind of treatment at first but I felt more safe and calm than I have been in a while!”
“10 hours sounds like a lot but I didn’t feel like I had to rush through retelling my trauma just to heal.”
“As soon as we started bilateral stimulation, I instantly felt my shoulders relax.”
This could be you too!
Is an Intensive More Cost-Effective Than Weekly Therapy?
As a Brown girl, investing in yourself feels like a risk. You might not believe you’re worth the investment, and anticipate danger in the short-term rather than seeing the overall impact in the long-term. You’re actually spending more on weekly therapy in the long term. Let me break it down for you:
Conclusion: An EMDR Intensive is less than half the length and cost of both bi-weekly and weekly therapy! Save time and money on therapy in the long-term—without prolonging your suffering to prove that you’re committed to the process (and check out how intensive trauma therapy is even more cost-effective than in-network therapy)!
You deserve to invest in yourself. Learn how 3 days could change your life!
FAQ
Frequently asked questions I get about EMDR Intensive Therapy
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Therapy that is longer than 60 minutes can be considered an intensive; however, intensives typically take place over the course of several days within a week. This can look like 2 hours a day for 6 days, 3 hours a day for 4 days, or 4 hours a day for 3 days, depending on how much you can tolerate.
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I ask for a minimum of eight (8) hours for your EMDR Intensive in order to make sure we leave no stone unturned. This does not include your free 20-minute intro call, your 1-hour intake, or your 1-hour follow-up. This allows us to take our time together and explore cultural issues other EMDR therapists may miss.
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At this time, my intensive spots are only reserved for Brown women interested in EMDR therapy. However, if you are interested in weekly therapy that doesn’t involve EMDR, we can explore the need for longer sessions. We can also do EMDR for weekly therapy.
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It’s generally recommended that you work with an ongoing therapist while in an intensive. Many people who opt for therapy intensives already work with a weekly therapist for ongoing care. If you book an EMDR Intensive with me, I may ask to speak with your current therapist to assess what you need help with and better improve your progress towards your goals!
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Your therapy journey belongs to you. I wouldn’t recommend an EMDR intensive if you haven’t been to therapy before. However, you do not need to currently be in therapy while engaging in an EMDR intensive, although it’s recommended.
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My EMDR Intensives are not a good fit for you it:
This is your first time in therapy
You’re just looking to talk to someone
You don’t believe in therapy or cultural competency
You’re in a crisis and need emergency or crisis support
You’re not ready to gently confront painful memories or experiences
You have an untreated eating disorder or ADHD
The traumatic event you’re experiencing has not ended
An EMDR intensive can be lengthy, requires some amount of focus and concentration, and there’s no healing or recovery if you’re hungry or unsafe. I strongly recommend starting with regular therapy first before considering if an intensive of any kind is right for you. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please call 988.
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Weekly therapy still has its benefits. With weekly therapy, you have a weekly space dedicated to yourself, self-reflection, conflict resolution, and relationship repair. Weekly therapy helps you build self-compassion and be more present in your day-to-day life. An intensive can help you build on what you’re already learning in weekly therapy. Weekly therapy is not “bad” compared to an intensive; it’s just different. To each their own!
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Yes! “Brown” is an umbrella term that is not specific to any one ethnicity and encompasses anyone living in the in-between of not being “American” enough or “culturally” enough. While we may have cultural differences, there are also shared experiences, and you’ll find that my EMDR Intensives are transformative for you too!
Stop limiting yourself
You don’t need to fit a box in order to heal. Book a call to start your EMDR Intensive journey today.