Trauma Intensives

Focused Trauma Therapy Using EMDR

Trauma can continue to affect how you feel, think, relate to others, and respond to everyday situations long after the original experience has passed.

For some people, standard weekly therapy provides enough time to work through these experiences gradually. Others may benefit from a more concentrated format that allows for longer periods of focused therapeutic work.

At The Relational Practices, we offer Trauma Intensives using Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) for adults in Barbados and across the Caribbean region.

Our Trauma Intensive provides extended therapy sessions designed to help you work more deeply with traumatic or distressing experiences over a shorter period.

What Is a Trauma Intensive?

A Trauma Intensive is a concentrated form of trauma therapy using extended EMDR sessions.

Rather than meeting for a standard 50-minute appointment, you attend three-hour therapy blocks, allowing more time for assessment, preparation, trauma processing, and stabilisation within the same session.

The extended format can reduce the amount of time spent starting and stopping difficult therapeutic work and can provide greater continuity when processing traumatic memories.

A Trauma Intensive does not mean rushing through trauma.

The work is carefully paced according to your readiness, needs, and ability to remain emotionally regulated throughout the process.

What Can a Trauma Intensive Help With?

A Trauma Intensive may be considered when difficult experiences continue to affect your daily life.

This may include:

Traumatic or distressing memories
Post-traumatic stress symptoms
Anxiety or persistent fear related to past experiences
Experiences of violence or abuse
Sexual assault
Accidents or medical trauma
Difficult or traumatic losses
Relationship trauma or betrayal
Childhood experiences that continue to affect adult life
Distressing experiences related to work or professional roles
Experiences that continue to trigger strong emotional or physical reactions
Negative beliefs about yourself connected to past experiences

You do not need to have a formal diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to be considered for a Trauma Intensive.

Why Choose an Intensive Format?

Trauma therapy often requires time to settle into the work, access difficult material, process memories, and return to a regulated state before the session ends.

A standard 50-minute appointment may sometimes feel too short for this process.

Three-hour sessions provide more uninterrupted time to:

Prepare carefully for trauma processing
Work with distressing memories without frequent interruptions
Allow the therapeutic process to develop naturally
Practise emotional regulation and grounding
Review what emerged during the session
Ensure adequate time to stabilise before finishing

For some clients, this concentrated structure may also be easier to fit into their schedule than weekly therapy over a longer period.

Our Approach: EMDR Therapy

Our Trauma Intensives primarily use Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, or EMDR.

EMDR is an evidence-based psychotherapy used to help people process traumatic and distressing experiences that continue to have an emotional impact.

Traumatic memories can sometimes remain highly distressing even when you know intellectually that the event is over.

EMDR helps the brain process these experiences so that memories may become less emotionally overwhelming and less disruptive to everyday life.

You remain awake and aware throughout the process, and you do not have to describe every detail of what happened.

What Happens During a Trauma Intensive?

The process begins before trauma processing itself.

Your therapist will first spend time understanding:

What has brought you to therapy
The experiences you would like to address
How those experiences are currently affecting you
Your emotional and psychological resources
Your ability to manage distress
Your current support system
Any safety or clinical concerns that may affect treatment

Preparation may include developing grounding skills, strengthening emotional regulation, and identifying resources you can use during and between sessions.

EMDR processing is introduced only when you and your therapist agree that you are ready.

Trauma Intensives Are Carefully Paced

An intensive does not mean that all traumatic experiences will be addressed at once.

Trauma work needs to be paced carefully.

Some people may be ready to process a specific memory relatively quickly. Others may need more preparation before beginning trauma processing.

Your therapist will continually assess how you are responding and adjust the pace of treatment accordingly.

The aim is focused work, not overwhelming you.

Who May Benefit From a Trauma Intensive?

A Trauma Intensive may be particularly useful if:

You want to focus on a specific traumatic or distressing experience
You have already done therapy and feel ready for more focused trauma work
Weekly therapy feels too fragmented for the work you want to do
You prefer longer sessions with more continuity
You have limited availability for regular weekly appointments
You are travelling to Barbados and want concentrated trauma therapy
You live elsewhere in the Caribbean and want access to specialised EMDR therapy

Suitability is assessed individually.

Is a Trauma Intensive Right for Everyone?

No.

An intensive may not be appropriate if you are currently experiencing significant instability or if there are concerns that need to be addressed before trauma processing begins.

This may include:

An immediate risk of suicide or serious self-harm
An acute mental health crisis
Active and unmanaged substance misuse
Significant difficulty remaining emotionally regulated
Current circumstances in which you are not physically or emotionally safe

This does not necessarily mean that trauma therapy is not appropriate. It may mean that additional preparation or support is needed before an intensive.

Online and In-Person Trauma Intensives

Trauma Intensives are available virtually to suitable clients in Barbados and across the Caribbean region.

Selected bespoke in-home intensive services are also available in Barbados.

Your therapist will assess whether online or in-person work is clinically appropriate for your needs.

Who Provides the Trauma Intensive?

Trauma Intensives are facilitated by Jomo Phillips, MSSW, RMFT Canada, Founder and Clinical Director of The Relational Practices.

Jomo is an EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ and has extensive experience working with trauma, individuals, couples, and families.

His approach combines trauma-focused therapy with a relational understanding of how difficult experiences can affect emotions, identity, relationships, and everyday life.

What Happens After the Intensive?

A Trauma Intensive is not necessarily the end of your therapeutic work.

At the conclusion of the intensive, we review what has been addressed, what has changed, and whether additional treatment may be helpful.

Depending on your needs, you may:

Continue with further EMDR sessions
Return to your regular therapist
Continue individual therapy with The Relational Practices
Take time to integrate the work before deciding on next steps

If you were referred by another therapist, the intensive can also be provided as a focused period of EMDR treatment before you return to your primary therapist.

How Do I Get Started?

The first step is a consultation.

We will learn more about what you would like to address, discuss whether an intensive format is appropriate, and explain the assessment, preparation, and treatment process.

Ready to explore a Trauma Intensive?

Contact The Relational Practices to schedule a complimentary consultation and learn whether a Trauma Intensive may be appropriate for you.

Book a Free Consultation

Frequently asked questions

A Trauma Intensive is a concentrated form of trauma therapy using extended sessions.
At The Relational Practices, Trauma Intensives use three-hour therapy blocks to provide more uninterrupted time for preparation, EMDR processing, emotional regulation, and review.
Regular individual therapy is usually provided in shorter sessions over a longer period.
A Trauma Intensive provides extended sessions so that more focused therapeutic work can take place without needing to stop after approximately 50 minutes.
The intensive format does not mean rushing the process. Trauma work is still paced according to your readiness and needs.
Trauma Intensive sessions are generally structured as three-hour blocks.
Breaks can be incorporated as needed, and the therapist will monitor how you are responding throughout the session.
There is no fixed number that is appropriate for everyone.
The number of sessions depends on your history, the experiences you want to address, your treatment goals, and how you respond to EMDR.
Some people may focus on a specific experience, while others may need a longer course of treatment.
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing.
It is an evidence-based psychotherapy used to help people process traumatic or distressing experiences that continue to affect them emotionally.
EMDR uses a structured process that includes bilateral stimulation while you briefly attend to aspects of a distressing memory.
No.
You will need to provide enough information for the therapist to understand what you want to work on and to plan treatment safely.
However, EMDR does not require you to describe every detail of a traumatic experience repeatedly.
No.
You do not need a formal diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
A Trauma Intensive may be appropriate when traumatic or distressing experiences continue to affect your emotions, relationships, beliefs about yourself, or everyday functioning.
Trauma Intensives may be used to address experiences such as:
- Sexual assault
- Abuse or violence
- Accidents
- Medical trauma
- Traumatic loss
- Childhood trauma
- Relationship betrayal
- Workplace or professional trauma
- Other distressing experiences that continue to have an emotional impact
Suitability is assessed individually.
Potentially, yes.
Experiences from childhood can continue to influence emotional responses, self-beliefs, relationships, and coping patterns in adulthood.
Your therapist will assess which memories or experiences may be appropriate to address and how the work should be paced.
Yes, but this does not mean every traumatic experience will be processed during one intensive.
Your therapist will work with you to identify priorities and determine which experiences should be addressed first.
More complex or longstanding trauma may require additional preparation and a longer course of treatment.
Before beginning trauma processing, your therapist will assess your history, current concerns, safety, emotional regulation, support system, and readiness for EMDR.
Preparation may also include learning grounding and coping strategies.
Trauma processing begins only when it is clinically appropriate.
The length of the session allows the therapist to work at a careful pace rather than requiring three continuous hours of intense trauma processing.
Time is also used for preparation, discussion, breaks, grounding, and stabilisation.
Your therapist will monitor your level of distress throughout the session.
Not always.
If you are experiencing an acute mental health crisis, significant risk of self-harm, unmanaged substance misuse, or serious difficulties maintaining emotional stability, an intensive may not be the safest starting point.
Additional support or stabilisation may be recommended first.
Yes.
A Trauma Intensive can sometimes be provided as an adjunct to your existing therapy.
With your consent, we may coordinate with your primary therapist so that you can receive focused EMDR treatment and then return to your ongoing therapy.
Not necessarily.
Some clients come specifically for EMDR work and continue their regular therapy with another clinician.
The roles of each therapist should be clear so that your treatment remains coordinated.
Trauma Intensives are facilitated by Jomo Phillips, Founder and Clinical Director of The Relational Practices.
Jomo is an EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ with extensive experience providing trauma-focused psychotherapy.
Yes.
Virtual Trauma Intensives are available to suitable adult clients in Barbados and across the Caribbean region.
Your therapist will assess whether online EMDR is appropriate based on your needs, privacy, safety, and ability to participate effectively from your location.
Selected bespoke in-home Trauma Intensives are available in Barbados.
Our Client Care Coordinator can provide more information about available options.
Trauma processing can be emotionally and physically tiring.
We recommend allowing yourself time after the session to rest and avoid scheduling demanding activities immediately afterwards where possible.
Your therapist will also discuss what you may notice between sessions and what to do if distress arises.
At the end of the intensive, your therapist will review your progress and discuss recommendations.
You may continue with additional EMDR sessions, return to your primary therapist, continue individual therapy, or take some time to integrate the work.
The first step is an assessment.
We will discuss what you want to address, your current circumstances, previous therapy experiences, emotional resources, and any concerns that could affect the safety or effectiveness of intensive trauma work.
You can begin by scheduling a complimentary consultation with our Client Care Coordinator.
We will explain the Trauma Intensive process, learn more about what you would like to work on, and determine whether this format may be appropriate for you.