Sometimes individuals need more intensive therapy treatment. Our therapists are able to offer more frequent treatment appointments to meet those needs.

What Is Intensive Therapy?

Individuals might experience symptoms of psychological illness that are quite severe in nature. This could mean that the symptoms of mental illness interfere with one’s ability to work, socialize and do their daily activities. When symptoms are very severe, an individual might have difficulty taking care of oneself. They might have to leave their place of work or not be able to attend school.

Intensive therapy Session

Intensive therapy treatment can be helpful in these situations. Although weekly therapy sessions can be very helpful, they might not be enough. Imagine having a migraine and taking half a Tylenol. Would that be the right dosage of medication for the severity of your headache? It likely would not be. In the same way, intensive therapy treatment is different from weekly therapy sessions. The “dosage” of therapy increased when engaging with intensive therapy services. In addition, the way in which therapy is offered might be different too. 

What is intensive therapy? There is no “one way” to conduct intensive therapy. It is more about how you receive the treatment rather than the specific intervention being delivered. Intensive therapy could involve meeting with your therapist several times per week, for a longer period of time during each session or in a different manner than weekly sessions. It could also mean attending group treatment while receiving individual sessions at the same time. In all these situations, an intensive therapy program can combine different therapeutic components to try and best help the significant impact of your mental health issue. 

What Intensive Therapy Services are Offered by Forward Thinking?

We are pleased to offer a range of intensive therapy services. We offer intensive therapy treatment for depression and intensive therapy for anxiety and OCD. We will design a package of intensive therapy services that specifically address your needs and can be titrated up or down in terms of intensity as you progress throughout your treatment. This will ensure that every individual receives the right dose of treatment to meet their needs and help them progress at a pace that works for them.

If you are interested in intensive therapy for anxiety and OCD, your treatment could involve a variety of options, including: two therapy sessions per week, focusing on more intense CBT or ERP work; one weekly therapy session and a phone check-in session; or in-home visits to provide an in-depth coached exposure session.

intensive therapy treatment

We might also meet with you in your community to do exposures in environments that are very triggering. You might also work with associates of different disciplines to enhance your treatment package, in which each associate brings their own unique lens to your treatment plan. This can aid in your recovery in a very unique way, depending on the clinical issues that you are experiencing.

If you are interested in intensive therapy for depression, your treatment could also involve different options. You might want to meet more frequently with your therapist to enhance motivation and plan out values-based activities to increase mood. Similar to intensive therapy for anxiety, you might also engage in one weekly therapy session and phone check-in or community session. The latter could involve going for walks together and being more active during therapy as a means to enhance mood and receive therapeutic support. 

We have associates who are able to travel throughout the GTA. Travel costs will be discussed with you beforehand as well as costs for prolonged in-home visits or community exposure work. Matching you up with a therapist in a nearby geographical location can be helpful in terms of in-person sessions during intensive therapy for anxiety or intensive therapy for depression. 

Overall, intensive therapy is about being flexible to meet your needs and goals. For example, we have associates who will provide  sessions outdoors to provide  in-person connections, while other sessions continue to be virtual in nature. This might be due to the severity of symptoms experienced. It might also be discussed as a way of enhancing engagement in therapy. 

How Do I Access Intensive Therapy Services at Forward Thinking?

Does FTPS offer intensive therapy near me? We offer intensive therapy services throughout Ontario and British Columbia. You can contact us to learn more. We believe that the nature of therapy should be as flexible as possible to help you in the way that best suits your challenges. We feel this allows you to better progress on the road to recovery. We always want therapy to be personalized and tailored to your needs. . Ask us more at your intake call!

Frequently Asked Questions

One of the best evidence-based therapies for anxiety disorders is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). It comprises both cognitive interventions and behavioural interventions. During cognitive interventions, adults and teens  will learn about connections between thoughts, feelings and behaviours. It is recognized that our perceptions of situations can often impact how we feel and behave. Individuals will learn to recognize their unhelpful thoughts. And individuals will also learn to modify and reframe those cognitions in a more balanced way. This can be helpful to shift our perspective and gain distance from unhelpful thinking styles.

Exposure based interventions for anxiety comprise of exposure-based interventions. During these interventions you will learn to gradually face a variety of issues, including situations, people and language that you have been avoiding. Your therapist will coach you through difficult exposure therapy work so that you learn that you can face your fears.

Intensive therapy for anxiety involves all of these techniques as well. However, in intensive therapy for anxiety you might meet with your therapist more frequently than once per week so you can practice these skills with more coaching. You might also receive support in-between sessions to keep your motivation high and allow you to build more confidence as you face your fears. You and your therapist can decide on how you would like to structure your intensive therapy for anxiety in terms of what will be most helpful for your recovery. 

Intensive therapy does not have a particular in which it must be delivered. Instead, it can be individualized between you and your therapist to ensure you are receiving therapy that matches your needs. During your intensive therapy treatment you might want to meet more than once per week to have more frequent support. You might also want to have longer sessions so you can engage in longer exposure therapy sessions. Or perhaps you want more time to review material with your therapist. You might also want to have weekly sessions but then schedule a phone session in between to allow you to stay on track.

The good news is that this can be worked out with your therapist when you begin treatment. It can then be modified as you go to ensure you are receiving a unique and tailored intensive therapy treatment plan. 

Intensive cognitive therapy is very similar to weekly cognitive therapy sessions in terms of the skills and tools you will receive. However, how the therapy is delivered will be different. As described, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy involves a variety of cognitive and behavioural interventions. You can read more about our cognitive behaviour therapy services offerings.  

Intensive therapy for depression and intensive therapy for anxiety would both involve intensive cognitive therapy at FTPS. We would work with you to help you to shift unhelpful thoughts and lean into situations that you have been avoiding. You might also need to engage in more activities and this would be discussed so you could begin to increase values-based activities. Does FTPS provide intensive therapy near me? At FTPS we offer intensive cognitive therapy throughout Ontario and BC. Just contact us to learn more!

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