therapy intensives for couples and Individuals in California
Accelerated healing for those who want to move through meaningful work in a focused, efficient, and immersive format.
What Is a Therapy Intensive?
The traditional 50-minute therapy hour was designed for insurance reimbursement, not for the kind of deep work that actually moves things forward.
Gone are the days of doing things the traditional way. We no longer live in a traditional world, and healing doesn’t have to happen in outdated formats either. Enter therapeutic intensives – think of them as mini local retreats designed for meaningful progress.
Therapy intensives create the time and space to actually work through the material that’s been getting in the way of your life. Instead of circling the same issue for months in weekly sessions, we can dedicate a half day, full day, or multiple days to focused, uninterrupted work that actually moves you forward.
It’s not magic. It’s just what becomes possible when we finally have the time to do the work.
Intensives can be especially helpful if you:
are too busy for regularly scheduled sessions
want a therapeutic approach that is personally and financially more efficient
feel stuck in the same problem or pattern despite talking about it repeatedly
are navigating a major life transition or couples crisis
want to jumpstart your healing rather than move slowly over months
feel like traditional formats haven’t helped you move forward
Intensive Therapy options in Southern California
Because of my pre-therapy professional background and clinical training, I offer a variety of intensives that meet your needs as a couple or individual and help you get unstuck.
For Individuals
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EMDR intensives allow us to focus deeply on moving through the 8 phases of trauma processing using EMDR without the time limitations of traditional weekly therapy.
Instead of stopping just as the work is gaining momentum, we have the space to move through multiple layers of processing in a single day, which often results in opening and closing 1-3 targets within a single session.
These are often helpful for:
complex trauma work
specific traumatic memories
long-standing patterns rooted in earlier experiences
working with a single recurring theme such as low self-esteem, people-pleasing, fear of abandonment, lack of self-trust, etc.
EMDR Intensive Formats
Half-Day:
Friday or Saturday
9am–1pm or 1pm–5pmFull-Day
Friday or Saturday
10am–4pmTwo-Day
Friday & Saturday or Saturday & Sunday
10am–4pm
Self-Investment
Half-Day Intensive: $800
Full-Day Intensive: $1,200
Two-Day Intensive: $2,200
These intensive formats are offered at a reduced rate compared to my standard session fee, reflecting a savings for committing to focused, extended trauma work. Investment also includes cost of supplies + lunch.
⟶ SCHEDULE A FREE CONSULTATION
All intensives require a brief consultation to determine whether an intensive is appropriate, clarify goals, and determine the recommended format.
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Because of my background as a professional organizer, interior decorator, and Reiki practitioner, I offer intensives that combine both internal and external therapeutic work.
These intensives bring therapy directly into your home, allowing us to organize your physical space, declutter and release what you’ve been holding onto both physically and emotionally, and create an environment that actually supports your well-being.
For many people, clutter and disorganization are closely connected to overwhelm, avoidance, trauma history, neurodivergence, grief, or major life transitions. Working directly within your space allows us to address both the emotional and practical layers at the same time, creating meaningful shifts both internally and externally.
This work can support
major life transitions
moving or downsizing
grief, loss, or life after a death
chronic overwhelm around organization
creating supportive systems for neurodivergent households
creating environments that support nervous system regulation
spiritual and energetic cleansing of your space using smoke, prayer, ritual, crystals, and/or Reiki
Format & Self-Investment:
One-day intensive: $1500
Two-day intensive: $2800
Three-day intensives: $4000
Multi-day: Custom pricing depending on scope of work
These rates include supplies and travel time and reflect a significant discount compared to my standard hourly rates for therapy, professional organizing, and energy work.
⟶ SCHEDULE A FREE CONSULTATION
All intensives require a brief consultation to determine scope, goals, and the number of days needed.
For Couples
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Couples intensives provide extended time to work through relationship dynamics that can feel impossible to untangle in short weekly sessions.
Over the course of one or two days, we slow down the patterns happening between you and your partner and begin building new ways of communicating, understanding, and reconnecting via Gottman Method skills and tools. These tools are informed by 50+ years of relationship research and, once learned, can be successfully applied by both partners with or without the presence of a therapist.
Couples intensives often focus on:
identifying perpetual issues vs. solvable issues
working with recurring conflict cycles
rebuilding trust
improving communication
understanding attachment patterns in the relationship
relationship-specific goals
What’s Included
Individual intake session with each partner (1 hour per partner), completed virtually prior to the intensive
Couples intake session (1 hour with both partners), completed virtually prior to the intensive
Relationship inventory and assessment (1 hour with both partners), completed virtually ahead of the intensive
Two-day couples intensive (10am–4pm each day), scheduled either Friday–Saturday or Saturday–Sunday
Relationship Investment
$1500 per couple ($3900 saving)
This format provides approximately 20 hours of therapeutic work, which would typically cost $5,400 at the standard hourly rate.
⟶ SCHEDULE A FREE CONSULTATION
All intensives require a brief consultation to determine whether an intensive is appropriate, clarify goals, and determine the recommended format.
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For many couples, the environment they share plays a huge role in the patterns they fall into together. Clutter, unfinished projects, disorganization, or simply living in a space that no longer reflects who you are can quietly add stress and tension to a relationship.
These intensives combine couples therapy with hands-on support in your shared home. Together we work through relational dynamics while also organizing and resetting the physical space you live in, helping your environment support connection rather than contribute to overwhelm.
This work can include:
decluttering shared spaces
reorganizing systems that create daily friction in the home
releasing objects that carry emotional weight or old stories
creating environments that support calm, connection, and regulation
exploring relational patterns that emerge around shared responsibilities and space
working through communication dynamics and emotional layers connected to how you live together
By the end of the intensive, couples often experience not only greater clarity in their relationship, but also a home environment that feels calmer, more supportive, and aligned with the life they want to build together.
Format & Relationship Investment:
One-day intensive: $1800
Two-day intensive: $3400
Three-day intensives: $4800
Multi-day: Custom pricing depending on scope of work
These rates include supplies, travel time, and represent a significant savings compared to booking therapy, professional organizing, and energy work separately.
⟶ SCHEDULE A FREE CONSULTATION
All intensives require a brief consultation to determine scope, goals, and the number of days needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Therapy intensives can be a great option for people who are ready to engage deeply in the work and want to make meaningful progress in a shorter amount of time. A brief consultation helps determine whether this format is appropriate based on your goals, current circumstances, and the type of work you’re looking to do.
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Intensives allow us to stay with the work long enough for meaningful movement to happen. Instead of stopping just as the process is unfolding, we have the time and space to move through the material more fully, which can create breakthroughs that might otherwise take months of weekly sessions.
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No. Many people book intensives without being current therapy clients.
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Each intensive is tailored to your goals and the type of work we are doing together. Most intensives include focused therapeutic work, time for processing and reflection, and practical tools to help you integrate what comes up. Because we have extended time together, we’re able to stay with the process longer and move through material that might otherwise take months in traditional weekly sessions.
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Preparation typically includes an initial consultation and, depending on the intensive, intake sessions or assessments completed ahead of time. This allows us to use our time together more effectively and focus directly on the work you want to do.
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Yes. We will break for lunch and take breaks as needed throughout the day. At the same time, the goal of an intensive is to create enough continuity to do deeper work, which is something I assess during our consultation to ensure this format is a good fit.
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Yes and no. For some people, an intensive can replace months of weekly therapy or provide a powerful reset that helps them move forward on their own. Others choose to continue with periodic therapy afterward to integrate and build on the work we began during the intensive.
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Yes and no. For some people, an intensive can replace months of weekly therapy or provide a powerful reset that helps them move forward on their own. Others choose to continue with periodic therapy afterward to integrate and build on the work we began during the intensive.
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After the intensive, we will discuss recommendations for integration and next steps. This may include follow-up sessions, continued therapy, or practices and tools to help you maintain the progress made during the intensive.
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No. Insurance only reimburses for one 50-minute session in single day. Intensives are offered as private-pay services.
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My calendar is typically booked about 30–45 days in advance, so if you’re interested in scheduling an intensive it’s best to inquire as soon as possible. Occasionally last-minute openings do become available.
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In some cases we may determine during the process that additional time would be helpful. When possible, we can discuss extending the intensive or scheduling additional days depending on availability.
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A 50% nonrefundable deposit is required to reserve your intensive date. The remaining balance is due two days prior to the intensive and is nonrefundable at that point.
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Yes. I regularly work with clients traveling from outside Southern California. Any additional travel-related expenses are covered by the client. In some cases I may also be able to travel to you, though all travel expenses would similarly be covered by the client.
About Clara Mackinlay
I’m an integrative therapist and lifelong problem solver. It’s what I do, it’s what I’ve always done, and it’s the lens I bring to my work with individuals and couples.
I work at the intersection of trauma healing, relationship dynamics, and life systems. My own healing journey has been holistic, weaving together Western somatic therapy, psychedelic medicine, Eastern practices, nature and nutrition, solo work, and deep relational work. Because of this, my approach to therapy is whole-person and whole-life focused.
Over the years I’ve spent thousands of hours working with individuals, couples, families, and groups in traditional therapy settings, retreat environments, and intensive formats. My work often focuses on helping people untangle complex emotional patterns, relationship dynamics, and life circumstances that feel stuck or overwhelming.
Before becoming a therapist, I built and led businesses across multiple industries in New York City and Los Angeles. My background includes nonprofit leadership, startup operations and strategy, high-level business coaching, hospitality and event production, professional organizing, and digital design. I also spent six years working alongside Dr. Nadine Macaluso, a trauma therapist and relationship expert known for her work on trauma bonds and narcissistic relationship dynamics
My entrepreneurial background deeply informs my therapeutic work. I approach people and relationships the way I approach complex systems: by identifying patterns, understanding what isn’t working, and helping create practical, sustainable change.
Outside of my clinical work, I’m also a Reiki master, yoga instructor, retreat host, and facilitator in medicine spaces outside the U.S. I continue to offer business coaching, website design, and home organization projects because at the core of everything I do is the same instinct: helping people move from chaos toward clarity, alignment, and meaningful change.