Do you need some time away from the outside world to focus on your healing?
Are you stable in your functioning, and ready to dig in deeper into your work than can be done in normal sessions with normal limitations?
Would you like to work with a caring, experienced professional who understands DID in a comfortable, inviting environment?
If so, you may be interested in booking an in-person intensive! For more information, please read on.
What is an in-person intensive?
An in-person intensive is a self-designed, longer-than-normal, creative, face-to-face appointment, or series of appointments, that you book with me, Kathy Broady, in advance. This cannot be booked online – we have to schedule this ourselves, with the help of Awesome Email Alex too, of course.
Intensives, by design, allow us to spend as much time together as you like — four hours, a full day, or even a week — to work on issues that cannot be adequately addressed in short, virtual sessions.
To be clear about me, Kathy. Please note that I have a Masters in Social Work, (clinical social work), recognized as MSW (graduated 1986). I began working in the field of trauma in 1984, and started working directly and specifically with DID and dissociation in 1988. While I am currently credentialed as an MSW in Australia, I do not hold an active American social work license at this time. I work as an independent consultant in the field of trauma and dissociation, and do not claim to be a licensed therapist. (Yes, I was previously licensed in the State of Texas for approximately 20 years before moving to Australia.)
Where do intensives take place?
Unless you live in the same geographic location as I do, booking your intensive will require a fair amount of coordination on both of our parts, and national, or even international travel.
As a general rule of thumb, intensives in the United States take place near Dallas, Texas (specifically, in the Athens Texas area). If another location is preferred, please talk with me about it – you might have a great idea!
Your intensive sessions are most likely held at your place of accommodation, which is typically an AirBnb of your choosing. The only requirement I have regarding this is that your selected apartment, cottage, or house have more than one room (intensives never take place in a bedroom!). Having a separated, designated sitting area is best.
If you are interested in combining your intensive with a visit to a national park, or a local landmark, or an outdoor activity, these activities can be planned in advance. Working in private, serene, peaceful locations can be particularly helpful for a number of different reasons. The goal here is to match the external environment with the specific needs of your dissociative system.
Why would I choose to book an in-person intensive versus a phone or video consultation?
The point of booking an in-person intensive with Kathy is to have a concentrated, dedicated, designated amount of time that you can devote to working on yourself and your system. You can talk about whatever you’d like and explore what’s happening for you and your system without the distractions and busy-ness of outside life. You can plan ahead for this time, and be prepared to work hard and dig deep, but also, to get relief from all that you have been holding and containing for so long.
I liken these experiences to the times when dissociative folks go to a Dissociative Hospital Unit, or a Day Program, or a partial hospitalization program and have that time away from the world to focus on their healing. What we do is similar – or actually more intense in many ways, and definitely more individualized – but this approach does not involve a crisis element, or discomfort, or the restrictions of a hospital.
Please note: Individual intensives are not a replacement for medical treatment or ongoing therapy. If you have a local therapist or doctor who is your main treatment provider, please discuss your ideas and plans, concerns and questions regarding an intensive with your local mental health professional. For the best outcomes, it is important that your therapeutic team be supportive with your decision. Yes, your therapist can be involved with the intensive process, if preferred. Please discuss these options with me.
How much can we get done during an intensive?
We can get a lot done during our time together, primarily because we don’t have to waste much time. As a dissociative consultant, I understand enough about trauma, dissociation, and DID to just jump into what we need to do — once you’re comfortable for us to go there. I know how to search around and explore inside systems, so hold on and get ready to work hard! We’ll most likely find areas of system work and healing that you didn’t even know were needed.
Yes, we will also take rest breaks, and that can be planned as part of the scheduling process. Working deep might mean you will need extra processing time, or just rest time. Scheduling rest periods in between intense days can help maintain the balance you need for safety, stabilization, and good self-care.
Hopefully, you’ll already be somewhat familiar with me, and it won’t take that long for your people to feel safe and start opening up. If you don’t have a good idea of who I am, however, I would definitely recommend first signing up for my email list, or joining the forums, or booking a few phone or video consultations first. Building a connection and sense of trust with me prior to your intensive will help maximize the time we have together.
What topics can we address during an intensive?
Intensives are a good time to do some of the heavier or more complicated healing work because you are not limited to one or two-hour appointments. You also don’t have to wait in between sessions, which gives us the opportunity to have some deeper discussions and allow them to run their course naturally.
You and your system are encouraged to switch in and out and be yourselves — anyone in your system is welcome to talk! Letting lots of people talk is typically quite helpful because that action allows a lot of pressure to be released from within. It’s a big relief when people finally get to say what they need to say. They’ll be heard, they’ll be understood, and we can brainstorm ideas to work out system conflicts too.
If it makes you feel more comfortable, we can start with a set plan, or we can just meet, start talking, and see what surfaces. It won’t be hard for me (us) to find the areas that need to be addressed, so really, it just depends on how deep you want to go with it.
Topics can be whatever you and your system need or want to work on. With that said, here are some of the more common topics I’ve addressed in my past work:
- Q&A all day long! Address any questions you or your therapist has re: your healing.
- Any system questions your insiders have.
- Letting your people come out and talk for awhile, openly, with acceptance.
- Finding, recognizing, and meeting others inside who you don’t know very well, even the hidden ones.
- Giving anyone time to say whatever they need to talk about, especially the ones who don’t typically have enough time to come out with regular session limitations.
- The heavy emotional work that takes longer to manage than the normal session length.
- Figuring out complicated internal workings that come from understanding the bigger picture and the ability to make connections between pieces.
- Memory work that is too involved or too overwhelming to accomplish in shorter session times.
- Looking at your art, your system art, and exploring deeper from there.
- If you don’t know where to start, not to worry. I will bring a zillion questions with me.
- Zoom videos or phone calls with your local therapist are an option. We can speak with your therapist during your intensive hours, if that would be helpful for you.
Long story short — we’ll get a lot done! It can feel like you’ve accomplished months’ worth of therapy in just a week. And truthfully, you will have done exactly that! I’ve been doing intensives for many years, and every single one of them has gone really well.
What about safety?
The main safety issue for intensives is that you need to be able to keep yourself safe.
This means no self-harm and no self-destruction of any variety. Remember, you will be in an AirBnb-type place, instead of an official hospital. There will be no medical staff available for you other than 911 or local emergency hospitals. Discussing Dissociation does not provide medical services in emergency situations — there is no doctor or nurse on staff. If you have a medical emergency, you will need to be capable of managing these concerns on your own.
Intensives are not intended for crisis care and even though we will be doing heavy, emotional, and potentially upsetting internal work, you will still need to take full responsibility for your personal safety and stability.
If you bring any weapons or items of potential harm – ie: guns, knives, extra medication, etc – to your intensive, please disclose upfront to me what it is that you have with you. If these are items of concern, we will discuss the issues further.
If you do not know or believe you will be able to ensure and maintain your own personal safety during the full length of your intensive, this option is probably not for you.
What are some of the other benefits of booking this kind of intensive?
A big benefit to meeting and working in your place of accommodation is the fact that you won’t have to drive home to be around other people after your sessions, or deal with other outside life home-related, job-related issues right after your consultation. You will have time and space for yourself and your insiders to focus on your own stuff for a while.
Your insiders will have time to be themselves, and more time to comfortably stay out front, if this is preferred, or needed. They will not have to be shoved back inside just to manage public or family interactions. Your system switching can happen more naturally – be more relaxed – instead of being restricted to a tighter time schedule.
You will need much less grounding time, as you’ll be staying comfortably connected with your system after your sessions. You won’t have to pack up your insiders and tuck them away as far after your consultation. Instead, you will be encouraged to do more system work – journalling, writing, acronyms, art, music – as ways to process what was accomplished during the consultation. By not having to contain your work so tightly between sessions, you are able to work through more issues quickly, and with less interruption or disruption.
Convenience can be created for your daily living needs. First of all, plan ahead and pack ahead. Bring extra items for comfort or health for yourself and your insiders. Also, depending on your AirBnB location, you may be able to order in delivery for food and other necessities, so driving and being out in public may not be needed. In Texas, we have delivery options for virtually anything that you want or need!
Do you insiders want to keep their things OUT and visible instead of having to pack them up and put their stuff away? Intensives allow for exactly that. Items of comfort, or personal belongings of your system people, even your child parts, will be allowed to be visible. Recognizing and respecting the needs of many of your insiders will increase the quality of your intensive time.
How much does an intensive cost?
Each and every intensive is individually planned. And, because you are helping to design your intensive, you can be in control of the final costs. I am open to mix-n-matching these sessions in whatever manner works best for you.
My current rates for in-person intensives (in USD) are:
- $185.00 USD an hour
- $700.00 USD for half a day (up to four hours)
- $1,200.00 USD for a full day (up to six, seven, or a maximum of eight hours)
- $5,500.00 USD for a full week (five full days)
- $5,000.00 USD per week for 4 or more full weeks (or 20 full days).
Please note that these rates do not include the price of your airfare, accommodation, travel costs, foods, or living expenses you incur while participating in your intensive. You will maintain all responsibility for these items.
While we are happy to work with you as long and as intensely as possible, we also encourage you to work within your budget!
How can I pay for my intensive?
The preferred payment for in-person intensives is either cash upfront or a direct bank deposit into the Discussing Dissociation bank account. Please note: PayPal payments are not accepted for intensives.
*** Payments are required in advance to confirm your reservation and to remove such large chunks of time from Kathy’s always-busy schedule. For longer intensives, a non-refundable deposit will be required prior to your arrival. These details can be discussed in the planning stage, and need to be settled prior to your arrival. The amounts to be paid in advance will depend on your personal intensive plan. ***
If you prefer to pay by direct bank deposit, or via wire transfer, you can organize these transactions at your local financial institution. Please contact Kathy and/or Alex for banking details.
If you have another method of payment in mind, please discuss your proposal and ideas with Kathy and/or Alex at Admin@DiscussingDissociation.com.
In conclusion…
Thank you for considering an intensive with me, Kathy Broady. This is a big thing! And a big decision! I appreciate your interest, your willingness, and I feel deeply honored that you would trust me with working with you and your inside people. Investing heavily in your own healing, your mental health, your stability, and your system work is an important decision. Rest assured knowing that I will do everything I can to make sure that you have reached significant gains during your time with me.
If you have any other questions or concerns, please discuss these with Alex or myself at your convenience at Admin@DiscussingDissociation.com.
I most definitely look forward to talking with you and your insiders. It will be good to spend some in-depth, high-quality time addressing the issues that have been a concern for you and your people.
If any of these policies and guidelines are not acceptable terms for you, please discuss your concerns with Kathy and Alex openly and upfront. We need to be in full agreement prior to your arrival, and it is important that all administrative hiccups are addressed before you even leave your house. If you are not comfortable with any of these requirements, please stay home, as an Intensive with Kathy may not be the right service for you.
If you are in agreement with these policies and guidelines, please confirm by completing the form below.