No published data supports one hour of weekly therapy as an optimal dose
50 minutes of psychotherapy per week is sometimes just the right amount. Other times a more intensive schedule is called for. I offer patients 4 – 6 hours of psychotherapy for up to 4 days running, allowing us to complete the equivalent of 6 months of CBT in less than one week.
Recovering from emotional distress is not unlike putting one’s home in order. If our home is quite messy we could spend 50 minutes per week cleaning floors, washing windows, removing trash, and so forth. If we do so we will eventually be done. Alternately, we could set aside a weekend and accomplish the same result by Sunday evening. The amount of work to be done is the same. In the latter case we can begin enjoying living in the space we’d most want much sooner than in the former.
Many first-nation peoples have traditions of healers spending longer periods of time with members of the community suffering from what today we would call major depression, panic disorders and other universal forms of mental anguish. Indigenous cultures recognize a truth about the human condition that modern western medicine – not to mention insurance companies - oftentimes lose sight of: our suffering more often arises from disordered lives than from faulty neurotransmitters or chemoreceptors. From “human situations” we might say. Very, very often healing involves settling down, bringing into focus the disorder in our lives, then acquiring the skills [and having the opportunity to master these skills] to redress this disorder. Intensive treatment can be an excellent platform to do precisely this.
Your next step
If you’re interested in on-site or online intensive treatment, please reach out to me today. I’d be very pleased to provide further information, answer any questions you might have and, if we both agree this would be a good fit for you, schedule your intensive therapy.