The Path To Healing Counseling:
Safe And Sound Protocol-
A Way To Re-Tune Your Nervous System
Find Inner Peace and Calm Through Safe and Sound Protocol.
Online* Or In Person SSP
Now more than ever, we need flexibility in how we get support.
*Online SSP is available in California, Oregon, and Washington.
It’s all too much for you now. Even small triggers like sounds or bright lights can cause a big reaction. You can’t function like this. Everyday you try to get things done, but you are going back and forth between fight and flight reactions and exhaustion and shut down.
You don’t want to keep feeling like this. You want to feel safe and connected to those important to you, but you cannot remember the last time you felt this way. It feels unbearable and crushing. You worry all the time and doubting yourself and your decisions while feeling defensive makes it hard to trust others or yourself. You may feel so stressed it can be hard to eat, sleep, or focus on things you need to focus on. Your on edge and and tired of not having peace in your life. It feels like no matter how hard you try, you are unable to calm yourself or stay calm.
You have been stuck for awhile, unsure how to free yourself from this pattern. You tell yourself you should be able to handle the stress, but the fact is you are struggling.
You deserve some space to heal and it does not have to be a once a week commitment.
What if you could re-tune your nervous system and connect more to a sense of safety and connection?
Based on years of research by Dr Stephen Porges and others with his Polyvagal Theory, the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is a five hour therapeutic music listening program that helps strengthen emotional regulation and neuroception (ability to know when safe or in danger) and re-tune the nervous system by taking you up and down your nervous system ladder that includes ventral vagal complex (safety and connection), sympathetic (fight, flight, and freeze responses), and dorsal vagal (shutdown response). By re-tuning the nervous system, SSP helps improve emotional regulation and also helps reduce auditory sensitivities.
SSP can address dysregulation caused by Sensory Processing Disorders, anxiety disorders, PTSD, sleep disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, and other factors that cause an overactive or under active emotional state. By reducing auditory sensitivities and improving the ability to focus on and process human voice (which helps us feel safer), the goal of SSP is to calm the autonomic nervous system so you can be more social, engaged, and responsive to your own emotional needs and with others. Other benefits may include improved digestion, improved sleep, and improved vocal tone.
The program is completed in office or online and will include an assessment to make sure it is an appropriate tool for you and to develop a listening plan individualized for you. This can be done as adjunct therapy as well which can accelerate progress in therapy and enrich your ongoing work.
The cost is $300 for access to the CORE Program of 5 hours of listening.
What Will I Get As Part Of My Intensive?
I will partner with you to help you detect or find the root of the present issue even if you do not have clear memories, intuitively guide you, and help the healing to move at a comfortable pace so you can:
Build your strengths and the ability to accept yourself and believe in yourself through a positive, growth-oriented process that recognizes that everyone is seeking wholeness and healing.
Discover your attachment style and the origins of limiting beliefs in order to update old narratives about how you get to show up in the world, who you are, and what you deserve.
Alleviate anxiety, depression, and trauma symptoms through better understanding why your brain and body react the ways they do and learning to soothe these reactions.
Achieve the change you need so you can live a full life, enjoy each moment, and feel connected to those who matter most to you.
What Will My Intensive Include?
Pre-intensive interview to assess for if an intensive is a good fit for you, as well as target unpleasant beliefs, body sensations, emotions, or images from which you are seeking relief.
Personalized treatment workbook (if you pick this option), which allows you to work on your treatment goals before, during, and after our intensive sessions.
A customized treatment program with identified coping skills to help you manage stressors, present triggers/ memories that are contributing to limiting life patterns, and how you want to feel in the future in order to change these life patterns. This includes EMDR and somatic approaches to help release stuck memories and release tension in the body to create new freedom, hope, and increased confidence to cope with stressors in the future.
Post-treatment interview to assess and support your implementation of positive changes from treatment.
If you are ready to stop hurting and want to prioritize your needs, learn the skills you need, and get more work done on resolving your traumas, the first step to starting your journey of healing, is calling to schedule your free consultation at (707) 954-7060 or you can fill out the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Research On EMDR Intensive Therapy Is Positive
Intensive trauma-focused therapy seems to be well tolerated in people with PTSD, enabling faster symptom reduction with similar, or even better, results, while reducing the risk that clients drop out prematurely. Learn more here and here.
Intensive EMDR treatment is possible and is indicative of reliable improvement in PTSD symptoms in a very short time frame. Learn more here.
An intensive program using EMDR therapy is a safe and effective treatment alternative for complex PTSD. Learn more here.
The research is compelling: even compared to other trauma therapy, the intensive format may decrease treatment time, because of time not spent on a) checking in at the beginning of each session, b) addressing current crises and concerns, c) focusing on stabilizing and coping skills that the client won’t need after trauma healing, or d) assisting the client in regaining composure at the end of the session. Learn more here.
If you want to learn more about EMDR, you can read more about it here. If you you would like to read about frequently asked questions related to intensive, you can read about them here.
Flexible Financing with CareCredit
The Path To Healing Counseling has partnered with CareCredit, a health care finance company, to give clients financing options to fit their budget. I believe everyone should have access to all the mental health care services offered including things like EMDR Intensives.
The CareCredit health, wellness, and personal care credit card gives you a convenient, flexible way to pay for care. With everyday promotional financing for purchases of $200 or more, you can pay over time with convenient monthly payments. *
See if you prequalify with no impact to your credit score at: https://www.carecredit.com/go/265GHK/.
* Subject to credit approval. Minimum monthly payments required. See www.carecredit.com for details.
Still Have Questions? Here’s How An Intensive Works.
What Can I Expect From An Intensive?
What you can expect in an intensives is that it will start with an assessment to see what your needs are, we will work on building of your strengths or coping skills to help prepare you for trauma work, and then you will do the trauma work. Time is left at the end to close up any incomplete work and help you close your intensive feeling resourced and more able to cope with your thoughts, feelings, and past traumas. You will also have access to talk to your therapist between intensive sessions as needed.
Intensive Programs:
Intensive Half Day Program (7.5 hour program with workbook, 5.5 hours without workbook):
The process begins with a pre-intensive session in which we find out what brought you to counseling and how we can help.
We will then work on assessing for any dissociation and identifying symptoms you would like to alleviate. We will also work on identifying your attachment style, areas that still feel charged or triggers, memories, or experiences that still need attention or soothing. Then we will work on developing coping skills to help you cope with your thoughts, feelings, and trauma related symptoms as well as prepare you for trauma work.
If you choose the option with a customized workbook, you will complete parts of this prior to the intensive and afterward, which allows you to work on treatment goals before and after intensive sessions.
Half day intensive (3 hours) of client centered treatment consisting of EMDR with Crysta in her Eureka, California office or virtually. During this we will review the workbook if you chose this option, work on building your strengths and resources, and begin using EMDR to address your past traumas, present triggers, and how you want to feel in the future. Toward the end of this, you will contain any work that could not be completed and work on resources to help you leave the intensive feeling proud of the work you accomplished and more able to cope with your past and daily life stressors.
Then we will have a post treatment interview to assess and support implementing positive changes from treatment and applying them going forward. During this meeting, we will also review your goals to ensure you are satisfied with the progress you have made and that the work we have done together has met your expectations. We will discuss if the work you wanted to do is complete or if you are wanting to do any additional intensives or other kinds of therapy.
Full Day Intensive Program (10.5 hours with workbook, 8.5 hours without the workbook):
The process begins with a pre-intensive session in which we find out what brought you to counseling and how we can help.
We will then work on assessing for any dissociation and identifying symptoms you would like to alleviate. We will also work on identifying your attachment style, areas that still feel charged or triggers, memories, or experiences that still need attention or soothing. Then we will work on developing coping skills to help you cope with your thoughts, feelings, and trauma related symptoms as well as prepare you for trauma work.
If you choose the option with a customized workbook, you will complete parts of this prior to the intensive and afterward, which allows you to work on treatment goals before and after intensive sessions.
Full day intensive (6 hours) of client centered treatment consisting of EMDR with Crysta in her Eureka, California office or virtually. During this we will review the workbook if you chose this option, build your strengths and resources, and begin using EMDR to address your past traumas, current triggers, and how you would like to feel in the future. Toward the end of this, you will contain any work that could not be completed and work on resources to help you leave the intensive feeling proud of the work you accomplished and more able to cope with your past and daily life stressors.
Then we will have a post treatment interview to assess and support you in adopting positive changes from treatment and applying them going forward. During this meeting, we will also review your goals to ensure you are satisfied with the progress you have made and that the work we have done together has met your expectations. We will discuss if the work you wanted to do is complete or if you are wanting to do any additional intensives or other kinds of therapy.
3 Day Weekend Intensive Program (16.5 hours with the workbook, 14.5 without it):
One 90 minute, pre-intensive session to assess if you are a good candidate for the 3 day EMDR intensive, gain insight, and identify obstacles. We will also target unpleasant beliefs, body sensations, emotions, or images from which you are seeking relief.
Assessments to identify your symptoms you would like to alleviate, your attachment style, areas of charge or triggers, memories, or experiences that still need attention or soothing.
Preparation for your intensive treatment experience and specific treatment goals will be identified.
If you choose the option with a personalized workbook, you will complete parts of this prior to the intensive and afterward, which allows you to work on treatment goals before and after EMDR intensive sessions.
One weekend (12 hours total), 4 hours on Friday through Sunday, client centered treatment consisting of EMDR resourcing and reprocessing memories, triggers, and identifying how you want to feel in the future at Crysta’s Eureka, California office or virtually.
Then we will have a 60 minute post treatment interview to assess and support adopting positive changes from treatment and applying them going forward. During this meeting, we will also review your goals to ensure you are satisfied with the progress you have made and that the work we have done together has met your expectations. We will discuss if the work you wanted to do is complete or if you are wanting to do any additional intensives or other kinds of therapy.
What Is The Cost Of An Intensive?
I know what your likely thinking, this likely costs a lot of money and how do I know it will help? I can honestly say I’ve been doing this work since 2007 and for those who are committed to the process, willing to do the work both in and out of session, and really want to change the patterns in their lives, it works and they achieve lasting change.
Just like other major medical procedures such as surgery though, intensives are a financial investment in you and your health. Although you will be investing a larger amount upfront, you will have a fixed cost (that is typically less money in the long run) to work with rather than the unknown expense of ongoing weekly therapy. With EMDR Intensives not only do you save time, but you save money as well.
Half day intensives (without the assessment and follow up sessions) are $500 and full day (without the assessment and follow up sessions) are $1000.
I currently offer the half day intensive program (including assessment, intensive, and follow up session) at $1110 with the workbook and $775 without it.
The full day intensive program (including assessment, intensive, and follow up session) is $1610 with the workbook and $1275 without it.
For the 3 day weekend program (including assessment, intensive days, and follow up session), the cost is $2615 with the workbook and $2280 without the workbook.
For those with insurance, these costs will be less as the initial and follow up meeting is covered by insurance and so is the first hour of the intensive, so ask about this at your initial consult to find out your total cost. This is usually around $334 for a half day intensive and $835 for a full day intensive unless you request the workbook which is an additional cost.
If you are interested, but concerned about cost, please check out the care credit options above that can help.
The cost of the intensive is paid the day of the intensive.
What If I Don’t Know What Option Is Right For Me?
I usually suggest beginning with a free consultation and if it feels like a good fit you can then do an assessment session and we can decide together which option seems best for you.
I’m Ready To Schedule, What Are My Next Steps?
It is possible to feel better, heal from your past, and feel better able to function, connect with those you care about again, and enjoy your life and present moment again. With the right support, you can start taking steps forward into the life you want to have.
If you are ready explore doing an intensive, you can fill out the information below to schedule your free 15 minute consultation to explore doing an intensive today.