What are counseling Intensives?
Intensives are a therapeutic approach that we offer at LifeGate as an alternative to the once-a-week format of traditional counseling. Intensives can range anywhere from a one-day experience to a five-day format. This could look like four to six hours in a one day event or up to 20 hours of counseling over a five day period.
Intensives offer a focused, concentrated “dose” of extended counseling time that the client has with the therapist. This time involves in-depth assessment, relevant training, personal application, and experiential exercises of a therapeutic program customized just for you.
Intensives provide a safe, supportive, environment where individuals, couples, and even families can better identify their struggles and their problems in a format that allows plenty of unrushed-time for exploration and discovery.
Intensives not only bring timely intervention to unproductive and destructive patterns, but they also facilitate that deep healing experience that many people need but don’t always encounter in the setting of traditional counseling. Intensives can literally accelerate the client’s processing time as well as enhance the effectiveness of change.
How are Intensives different from conventional counseling?
- Intensives are conducted in concentrated blocks of time. For example, during a two-day Intensive, a couple might attend a total of eight to ten hours of counseling.
Traditional counseling typically follows a 45-50 minute session format, scheduled once a week. So, in a month’s period, the client will have attended around four hours of counseling.
- Intensives offer accelerated focused intervention to the issues and struggles being experienced by the client(s).
Traditional counseling offers a format that tends to be scheduled out over time, thus, therapeutic interventions occur at a slower pace.
- Intensives offer an extended time frame for new information and tools to be absorbed, processed and practiced before clients walk out the door!
Traditional counseling homework and the processing of new information typically occurs from week to week.
What are the benefits of counseling Intensives?
- More focused time allows clients to probe deeply, getting to the core issues more quickly.
- Interruptions of daily life can be more effectively controlled and minimized.
- Since Intensives are scheduled in blocks of time, there is little to no “down time” between sessions. This reduces the experience of distractions, interruptions to care, and the intensity of relational pain.
- Clients can accelerate through a healing process toward resolution and lasting change
- The Intensive format yields adequate time that the clients have with the counselor. This facilitates and enhances the process of healing relational hurts, resolving conflicts, and the work of restoring trust.
Types of Intensives
All of our Counseling Intensives are led by licensed professional counselors, skilled in using this intensive format and specifically trained in the Intimacy Therapy Model. We offer three different types of Intensive formats:
Individual
Marriage
Group/Family
Scheduling Options & Fees
Counseling Intensives are typically scheduled during the time frame of Thursday through Monday of a given week. Mini-Intensives may be scheduled during any day of the week as openings are available (evening blocks may be available upon request). Below is a listing of the various time-frames and their related fees:
One-Day Mini Intensive 4 to 6 Hours $150/Hour
Two-Day Intensive 8 to 10 Hours $140/Hour
Three-Day Intensive 12 to 15 Hours $140/Hour
Four-Day Intensive 16 to 20 Hours $135/Hour
Five-Day Intensive 20 to 25 Hours $135/Hour
Prerequisites
Intake: A pre-intensive interview may be required prior to one’s participation in an Intensive. This will be charged at the regular counseling fee of $150/hour and can be done in office or over the phone.
Use of Assessment Tools: Various assessment tools will be used throughout the Intensive process to help you and the counselor get a clearer understanding of personality characteristics, behavioral tendencies, relational dynamics, and possible problem areas. The cost of these assessment tools will vary and may be a separate, additional fee to the cost of the intensive.
Payment
Deposit: To reserve your spot in a Counseling Intensive, we require a $250 to $500 deposit, depending on the length of your Intensive. This deposit is nonrefundable but can be transferred to another date within six months of the original service date.
Methods of Payment: Payment of the balance amount will be due at the time of service. Payment plans are available, but must be coordinated prior to the service date. We accept cash, checks and major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, and Discover).
Insurance
LifeGate Solutions is an out-of-network provider for all insurance companies. Health insurance policies differ in their coverage of counseling services, thus, deductibles and co-pay amounts will vary. Some insurance companies may apply coverage to the cost of an intensive. Where the coordination of these benefits is between the insurance company and the client(s), LifeGate can provide you a receipt suitable for filing with your insurance company in order that you may obtain reimbursement for covered expenses. Feel free to call our office if you have any questions about your insurance and our services. All clients, insured or uninsured, are responsible for the cost of their care.
How can I sign-up for an Intensive?
If you are interested in signing up for an Intensive, or you’re wondering if an Intensive is right for you, call us at 817-545-3400. We offer a free 20-minute consultation to answer any questions and help you determine if a Counseling Intensive is a good fit for you and your situation.