Why Weekly Therapy Can Feel Too Slow (And What to Do Instead)

If weekly therapy has helped you understand yourself—but you still feel stuck—it’s not a personal failure. It’s often a mismatch in format.

Weekly therapy is designed for gradual insight and ongoing support. But some problems don’t respond well to a slow drip.

Certain symptoms need:

• consistency

• therapeutic momentum

• enough time to settle into the work

• enough time to complete it

And the truth is: one hour a week can keep you in preparation mode.

The “one-foot-in, one-foot-out” effect

Many high-achieving adults spend the first 20 minutes of therapy:

• updating the week

• explaining context

• getting grounded

• trying to locate what actually matters

By the time you reach the real issue, you’re watching the clock.

You may leave with insight—yet still feel emotionally unchanged.

Why intensives work differently

Therapy intensives offer longer sessions that allow your brain and body to shift gears.

Instead of “starting again” every week, we can:

• build emotional safety and depth in one continuous arc

• stabilise the nervous system during the session itself

• work directly with the memory networks driving symptoms

• reduce the sense of disruption that some people feel after weekly trauma work

For some people, an intensive feels more containing than weekly therapy—because there’s time to close things properly.

EMDR intensives for trauma and anxiety

EMDR is especially effective when symptoms are connected to:

• earlier relational wounds

• a specific event or period of stress

• bullying, humiliation, betrayal

• medical trauma, accidents, loss

• childhood unpredictability or emotional neglect

Even when life is stable now, your nervous system can behave as if danger is still present. EMDR targets that mismatch.

Who this approach is best suited to

You might be a good fit for intensive therapy if:

• you’re tired of talking around the issue

• you feel emotionally “blocked”

• you want a structured plan

• you’re functioning but struggling privately

• you want change without therapy consuming your year

Moving forward

Therapy doesn’t have to be endless to be effective. With the right structure, it can be focused, contained, and deeply meaningful.If you’re considering intensive trauma therapy or an EMDR intensive, you can book an initial consultation to discuss the best approach for your needs.