Therapy Intensives: Why Trauma Healing Doesn’t Fit in 50 Minutes

Your client finally gets close to the real work. Then the clock hits 50 minutes. “Let’s pick this up next week.”

What if the 50-minute hour is part of the problem?

In this episode, Ashley Charbonneau and Morgen Villegas talk with trauma therapist Alli Christie Disney, LPC. Almost all of Alli’s practice is now therapy intensives. She uses EMDR, IFS, and somatic experiencing to help high-achieving women heal in days, not years.

Alli explains what an intensive really is. (Hint: it means more time, not more emotional intensity.) She shares her “surgery vs. physical therapy” analogy for knowing when a client needs an intensive and when weekly therapy fits better. She also talks about EMDR 2.0 research that questions how long we spend on stabilization before trauma processing.

Then the conversation turns to the system. Why does insurance get to decide how long healing takes? And why is some of the most effective care so hard to afford?

IN THIS EPISODE:

• What counts as a therapy intensive (and what doesn’t)
• Why weekly sessions can leave clients with emotional whiplash
• How many clients process their worst memory in 90 minutes or less
• What EMDR 2.0 says about preparation and stabilization
• How the insurance model shapes the way therapy is delivered

Guest Bio:

Alli Christie Disney, LPC, is a trauma therapist who helps high-achieving women heal through therapy intensives. Her clients are ready for deep, lasting change, and they don’t want to spend years getting there.

Alli has more than 18 years of clinical training. She draws on EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Somatic Experiencing (SE) to get to the root of anxiety, self-doubt, old patterns, and unresolved trauma. Instead of short weekly sessions, she works in focused blocks of three hours or more, so clients can make real progress in days rather than months.

The result? Women who trust themselves, feel lighter, and move forward with more confidence and freedom.

Learn more about Alli and her work at www.allichristiecounseling.com.

Your Hosts:

Ashley Charbonneau, LCSW, LAC, ACS, is a therapist, evaluator, clinical supervisor, consultant, and educator. She works with people affected by the legal system, with a focus on offender accountability, survivor healing, and restorative justice. She trains professionals across the country on restorative justice, addiction, clinical supervision, sexual offending, therapy boundaries, and mandatory reporting and is the author of The Resilient Therapist (Bloomsbury, 2026) and Supporting Clients of Sexual Trauma (PESI, 2026). Learn more at https://www.ensopllc.com/

Morgen Villegas, LCSW, LAC, ACS, is a therapist, consultant, EMDRIA Consultant, and author of Shadows to Light. Through her practice, Vida Idílica Therapy & Consulting, she specializes in helping women heal from trauma, attachment wounds, emotional neglect, and the lasting effects of overfunctioning and caregiving. Morgen also provides consultation to EMDR therapists seeking greater confidence and nuance in working with complex trauma. You can reach Morgen at https://www.vida-idilica.com