Why a Therapy Intensive Should Be on Your New Year’s Resolution List
- Budd Therapy
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Every January, people make resolutions with the best intentions:This will be the year I finally feel better.I’ll slow down, set boundaries, and stop carrying so much anxiety.I’ll work on myself… eventually.
Yet by February, many of those resolutions fade—not because you didn’t care, but because real emotional change often requires more than willpower or another to-do list.
If your goal this year is true, lasting change—not just surface-level improvement—a therapy intensive may be one of the most powerful investments you can make in yourself.
Why Traditional Resolutions Often Don’t Stick
Most New Year’s resolutions focus on behavior: exercising more, working less, being more confident, or managing stress better. But beneath those goals are often deeper emotional patterns:
Feeling like you’re never doing enough
Constant self-criticism or perfectionism
Anxiety that won’t turn off
Emotional reactions that feel bigger than the situation
A sense that you “should be past this by now”
Weekly therapy can be incredibly helpful, but for many people, progress feels slow—especially when you’re juggling work, family, and responsibilities. One hour a week can mean spending more time managing symptoms than truly resolving what’s underneath.
What Is a Therapy Intensive?
A therapy intensive is a concentrated, extended therapeutic experience—often spanning one to several full or half days—designed to help you go deeper, faster.
Instead of touching on an issue and waiting a week to return to it, intensives allow you to:
Stay focused on core issues without interruption
Process unresolved experiences more thoroughly
Create momentum that’s hard to achieve in weekly sessions
Experience meaningful shifts in a shorter period of time
For many people, an intensive feels like months of therapy compressed into a focused, intentional experience.
Why Intensives Are Especially Powerful at the Start of a New Year
The beginning of the year naturally invites reflection. You may notice patterns more clearly—what you’re tired of carrying, what no longer works, and what you truly want to feel differently.
A therapy intensive at this time can help you:
1. Break Long-Standing Emotional Patterns
If you’ve been stuck in the same cycles—anxiety, self-doubt, overfunctioning, emotional burnout—an intensive allows you to work directly with the root of those patterns, not just the symptoms.
2. Rewire Negative Self-Beliefs
Many people enter the new year carrying quiet but powerful beliefs:
I’m not enough.
I have to hold everything together.
If I slow down, everything will fall apart.
Intensives, especially those using trauma-informed approaches like EMDR, help the nervous system release these beliefs at a deeper level—so change feels real, not forced.
3. Make Time for Healing Instead of Pushing It Off
When life is busy, therapy is often the first thing postponed. Scheduling an intensive creates protected space to focus on your emotional health without distractions or constant rescheduling.
4. Feel Real Relief—Not Just Insight
Understanding why you feel the way you do is helpful. But lasting change comes when your body and nervous system no longer react as if the past is still happening. Intensives allow for that deeper integration.
Who Is a Therapy Intensive For?
Therapy intensives are especially helpful if you:
Feel stuck despite being self-aware or having done therapy before
Are high-functioning but emotionally exhausted
Want relief from anxiety, perfectionism, or self-criticism
Are navigating a life transition, burnout, or unresolved experiences
Want focused, efficient therapy without a long-term weekly commitment
You don’t have to be in crisis to benefit. Many people choose intensives because they’re ready for meaningful change—now.
A Different Kind of Resolution
This year, instead of resolving to “do better” or “try harder,” consider a resolution that supports your nervous system, your emotional health, and your long-term well-being.
A therapy intensive isn’t about fixing what’s wrong with you.It’s about finally giving yourself the time and space to heal what’s been carrying too much for too long.
Schedule a Free Phone Consultation
Budd Therapy Group | EMDR Intensives in New Jersey
At Budd Therapy Group, we specialize in EMDR and trauma-informed therapy intensives tailored to your unique needs. If you’re wondering whether an EMDR intensive is right for you, we invite you to schedule a free phone consultation.
This could be the year you stop managing symptoms—and start feeling truly free.
About the Author
Sue Tepper is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker based in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, specializing in EMDR therapy with a focus on Intensive Therapy. She is passionate about helping clients heal more efficiently through EMDR Intensives, which allow for deeper work in a shorter period and support lasting emotional wellness. Clients who participate in Intensive Therapy often describe feeling calmer, lighter, and more connected to the best version of themselves.
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