EMDR Intensive - Perinatal Trauma

An EMDR Intensive may be appropriate if you are seeking focused trauma treatment for a specific birth, reproductive or medical experience that continues to affect you.

This format may be helpful if you:

• Continue to experience distress linked to a traumatic birth, pregnancy, fertility or medical experience

• Feel that a specific experience remains unresolved

• Would benefit from a concentrated period of trauma-focused work rather than a traditional weekly therapy format

• Have sufficient stability and support around you to engage in trauma processing.

Suitability is determined through an initial consultation, comprehensive assessment and treatment planning session. This ensures the intensive is clinically appropriate and that we have clear treatment goals for the work.

An intensive is not the right format for everyone or every stage of treatment.

This approach may not be recommended if you are currently experiencing:

• Acute safety concerns or significant risk

• A mental health crisis requiring more immediate or intensive support

• Significant life disruption or instability that makes trauma processing difficult to engage in safely

• Circumstances where your immediate needs require ongoing stabilisation, crisis support or a higher level of care.

An intensive works best when there is enough stability to reflect on and process traumatic experiences. 

The purpose of the assessment process is to determine whether this model of care aligns with your current needs.

If an intensive is not recommended, this is not a reflection of whether your experiences are significant or deserving of support. It simply means another treatment approach or timing may better support your current circumstances.

Where appropriate, recommendations for alternative care will be discussed.

The EMDR Intensive is designed as a focused episode of specialist care with a clear beginning, middle and completion point.

The program provides dedicated time to work on identified birth, reproductive or medical trauma treatment goals, followed by an integration session to support consolidation of the work and discuss next steps.

Ongoing therapy with me following completion of the intensive is not available as part of this program.

This structure allows me to maintain a dedicated focus on providing specialist trauma treatment and consultation work, while supporting continuity of care through your existing psychologist or healthcare team where appropriate.

If further therapy is recommended following the intensive, this will be discussed during the integration session and recommendations for ongoing support can be provided.

Yes, absolutely!

Many people who attend this program are already connected with a mental health clinician. The intensive is designed to complement your existing care, not replace it.

An intensive provides focused treatment for identified therapy goals. However, it is not designed to address every life experience, difficulty or area of distress.

Many people come to therapy with layered experiences, including previous trauma, attachment experiences, grief, relationship difficulties, mood challenges or longstanding patterns that may extend beyond the specific focus of an intensive.

During assessment, we will identify the most clinically relevant goals for the intensive and determine what can reasonably be addressed within this format.

For some people, the intensive may provide the focused trauma treatment they are seeking. For others, further therapeutic work may be recommended afterwards.

This is not because the intensive has been unsuccessful — it reflects that psychological experiences are complex and sometimes require different forms of support over time.

Payment plans are not available for this program.

To secure your intensive booking:

• A 50% deposit is required at the time of booking in order to reserve your booking

• The remaining 50% balance is payable at the commencement of the intensive day.

Your appointment is not considered booked or held until the deposit has been received.

The assessment session, EMDR treatment planning/preparation session and the follow up session are payable on the day of each appointment.

Please note: that cancellations within 14 days of the intensive date will result in the deposit being forfeited, as this time has been reserved specifically for your treatment.

If you have a referral under a valid Mental Health Treatment Plan and remaining eligible sessions available under the Better Access initiative, Medicare rebates may be available for eligible appointments within the program.

Eligible appointments include:

• Comprehensive Assessment & Formulation session — one Medicare rebate

• EMDR Treatment Planning & Preparation session — one Medicare rebate

• 5-hour EMDR Intensive Day — one Medicare rebate

• Integration Session — one Medicare rebate

The 5-hour intensive day is considered one psychology consultation (not 5) for Medicare purposes, meaning than only one Medicare rebate can be claimed for the intensive day.

Where eligible, this allows for up to four Medicare rebates across the program based on the current Medicare rebate at the time of your treatment. Medicare eligibility and rebate amounts are determined by Medicare and may change over time.

To access Medicare rebates, you will need:

• A current Mental Health Treatment Plan from your GP

• Remaining eligible psychology sessions available under the Better Access initiative

• Your Medicare card details.

Eligible rebates can be processed following payment of each appointment.

If you are unsure about your Medicare eligibility or remaining sessions, your GP or Medicare can assist you with confirming this before commencing the program.

To ensure you can access any eligible Medicare rebates, please ensure your referral is current and provided prior to your first appointment.