Intensive Therapy / VIP Days
Focused therapy for right now.
You might be reeling from a breakup, feeling emotionally maxed out from family drama, or feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of planning the next 5-10 years of your life. You might be so caught up in overthinking and mentally spiraling that you’re struggling to be present with the people that matter to you or to do the things you love.
You might not be in full-blown crisis mode, but you’re feeling stretched thin - and unsure about what you’re supposed to do about it. Do you schedule a doctor’s appointment, call your therapist, or email a financial planner?
And maybe you’ve told yourself that your overwhelm isn’t “bad enough” for therapy. That you should be able to handle this on your own.
You may have tried journaling, walked laps around your neighborhood while voice-memoing your best friend, or queued up your favorite podcasts with the hope that one of them would help you make sense of it all (hey, sometimes it works).
But deep down, you can feel it - in your chest, your jaw, and your calendar. This pace and pressure aren’t sustainable.
An intensive therapy or VIP Day gives you room to slow down and look inward with support. You don’t need to have the perfect words. You don’t need to be falling apart. You just need a space where you can stop holding it all together and start making sense of what’s really going on underneath.
Intensive therapy is for you if:
You’ve had a breakup, breakdown, or a breakthrough and need to process it
You’re facing a big decision or identity shift
You’re overwhelmed by family dynamics and need an open place to make sense of it all
You’re burned out from over-functioning and want to stop but don’t know how
You’ve outgrown a version of yourself, and you’re not sure what comes next
You just need to process all that’s going on in the world in one focused place
You need clarity now - not 10 weeks from now
VIP Day sessions are a form of intensive therapy designed for people who feel stuck or overwhelmed and want focused support that brings more clarity. This is a space to go deep quickly — a safe, direct, and nonjudgmental environment guided by evidence-based approaches like ACT therapy, CBT therapy, somatic therapy, and EMDR therapy. You might use this as a one-time intensive or continue with ongoing therapy for women or long term therapy for continued growth
What actually happens in an intensive therapy VIP Day?
After you schedule your VIP Day, I’ll send you an email with more information, as well as a form so you can give me a sense of what you'd like support with. This helps me tailor our intensive therapy session to your specific needs and goals. You’ll answer a few questions about yourself and what’s been feeling heavy, so we can dive in right away.
Then comes the VIP Day itself: a three-hour, focused therapy intensive with intentional breaks. We’ll balance processing your emotions with orienting toward your values and the future. This isn’t one long vent session (though venting is welcome). We’re here to make sense of the mess, without rushing or overanalyzing.
Using a blend of parts work, somatic therapy, and values-based reflection we’ll:
Talk through what’s actually bothering you - not just what feels “reasonable” to admit out loud
Slow down enough to notice how your body is reacting - and what it might be trying to tell you
Untangle the layers of fear, guilt, anger, or grief beneath your anxiety
Get curious about the protective patterns that helped you cope - and explore what would feel more aligned now
Reconnect with what actually matters to you (not just what feels expected), so your next step is rooted in clarity, not just urgency
After your session, you’ll receive:
A personalized session summary with reflections and key insights
Practical next steps or “homework” (if that feels supportive)
A 30-minute follow-up call (within 2 weeks) to check in on how you’re integrating everything
This isn’t about perfection or resolution. It’s about feeling like yourself again - or getting closer to a version of you that feels grounded and aligned.
What life looks like after a VIP Day
Let’s be honest: this is not a “fix your whole life in one day” type of thing. But after a focused intensive therapy session, many clients often describe feeling lighter, clearer, and unexpectedly grounded. You might finally hear your own thoughts again above the (quieter) five competing voices in your head telling you what you should do.
I want you to be able to walk away with insight, more language for what’s going on inside, and a sense of direction that feels more aligned.
After your session, you might:
Feel clearer about what actually matters to you
Set a boundary you’ve been putting off (without spinning in guilt)
Respond instead of react in a tough family dynamic
Notice you’re not as panicked about the future
Feel less pressure to prove yourself and more permission to just be
Make a decision you’ve been agonizing over
This isn’t about fixing your whole life. It’s about clearing space in the current overwhelm so you can finally hear yourself think and choose what YOU want to do.
If that sounds like what you’ve been needing (even if you just realized it now) I’d love to work with you.
Let’s get your questions answered.
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Nope. It’s deeper, slower, and more focused. We’re not just squeezing more time in - we’re creating intentional space for you to think, feel, process, and choose next steps. There’s more time to listen to the parts of you that usually get overridden or pushed aside in everyday life.
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Honestly? Almost anything that feels emotionally loaded or hard to untangle.
Popular focuses include:Breakups and heartbreak
Family dynamics that leave you overstimulated and confused
Career decisions or identity shifts
Processing something big you’ve been avoiding
Interrupting a coping pattern that isn’t working for you anymore
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Sometimes you don’t need weeks of easing in - you need space to get your brain and body on the same page now. VIP Days are available within the next week in most circumstances.
VIP Days are for when you want to slow down and move forward. Instead of waiting for your next 50-minute session to circle back to what you meant to talk about, this gives you space to actually say the whole thing, feel the whole thing, and understand what’s really going on. It’s an investment in clarity, direction, and grounding.
Therapy intensives can actually be more cost-effective than weekly therapy in the long run. In weekly psychotherapy treatment, time is spent on checking in at the beginning of each session, addressing current crises and concerns, and assisting you in grounding and debriefing at the end of the session. In addition, focuses can shift week to week in traditional therapy as other stressors come up. In therapy intensives, you cut this time down and focus on the subject you really want to tackle.
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This is a fast-pass, premium service. As such, higher fees are charged as they require more work, energy, and schedule flexibility.
VIP Days can also provide more value for clients.
Packages (Planning call, 3-hour intensive session, follow-up integration call) start at $1,197* Intensive hours are billed at a higher rate than weekly therapy, due to the increased value, short-term nature, & scheduling flexibility of intensives.
*Weekend (Saturday/Sunday) intensive hours are billed at a higher rate than weekday intensive hours.
I offer free phone consultations to discuss your needs and interest in a personalized VIP Day.
In accordance with the No Surprises Act, you will receive a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) as part of your intake paperwork. This document will outline the costs of your VIP Day therapy program.
Once you have confirmed your intensive dates, a non-refundable deposit for half the amount of your total intensive cost is due within 1 week, or 24-hours prior to your intensive session, whichever is earlier. This amount will be charged to your credit card number, submitted via the online client portal.
The remaining half of your intensive cost will be charged on the date of the planning call.
Note: VIP Days are a private pay offering and not eligible for insurance reimbursement. That said, many clients choose to use HSA/FSA cards if eligible. I’m happy to answer more questions about that on a consult call.
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Customized intensive programs are available. Many clients choose to do monthly or quarterly intensives for long-term support in an intensive format.
I recommend starting with a 3-hour VIP Day. During our follow-up call, we can evaluate your progress and decide whether it makes sense to conclude our work or schedule additional intensive days.
If you know upfront that you’d like a longer intensive program (to address multiple stressors, themes, or layers of complex trauma), we can customize your program from the beginning. I’m happy to talk through questions and logistics with you in a free consultation call.
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Yes, if your current therapist is supportive of it. I’m not here to replace them - think of this like calling in a specialist for a specific challenge or stuck point. If you’re not sure how to talk to your therapist about it, I can help with that too.
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That’s more common than you think - and totally welcome. Part of our consult call is helping name the fog. You don’t have to come in with a bullet-pointed agenda. You just have to show up. We’ll figure it out together.
Book your VIP Day
Please select the date and time that works for you.
If you would like a Saturday or Sunday VIP Day, please reach out via my consult page or email me at amanda@amandaetiennepsyd.com
Other questions?
Feel free to contact me via the contact form, or via phone or email via the information below.
amanda@amandaetienenpsyd.com
+1 (914) 620-2405
At this time, I work with clients virtually in all PSYPACT states.