Therapy Intensives in Edmonton, Alberta
Extended, Individualized Therapy for Meaningful Change
You've spent years being the capable one, the one everyone else leans on.
You probably understand your patterns well by now. You know why you push so hard and strive for perfection, why "no" is so difficult to say, and why you keep landing in the same kinds of situations even when you want something different.
Understanding a pattern isn't the same as knowing how to change it. Sometimes we have insight into our patterns or beliefs but our bodies haven’t caught up.
Perhaps you’re carrying experiences that continue to affect you. Maybe you're navigating a significant life transition (perimenopause anyone?), working through grief, or beginning to recognize that the way you've learned to live no longer feels aligned or authentic to who you are.
You want time and space to focus on what matters, to explore what lies beneath and begin coming home to yourself - to rebuild trust in your own inner wisdom, and rediscover your truth.
What is a therapy intensive?
An intensive is an intentional spacious type of therapy. It is a dedicated container, in person in Edmonton, Alberta, that lets you go deeper into the work weekly sessions have not had the room to hold, and it is shaped around you.
Many of the people who come to me have been in therapy before and that traditional sessions only seem to scratch the surface. What they notice, especially for those of us with neurodiversity, is that by the end of a traditional 50-minute session, they are only just getting into the work.
With an intensive, we set the time aside and clear the distractions away. Then we can go in depth. We can uncover the limiting patterns, and heal the specific traumas and negative beliefs underneath them, so you can return to yourself.
Is an Intensive right for you?
An intensive may be a good fit if:
A specific pattern has come up that you really want to dive into
There is a traumatic experience you want to work through
You have been in therapy before, and weekly sessions have not given you the room to go as far as you want
Travel, work, or parenting make weekly appointments hard to keep
You want to be intentional about going deeper, with a plan shaped around you
An intensive may not be right for you if:
You are in acute crisis, or experiencing suicidal thoughts or thoughts of self-harm
Substances would keep you from attending sober
You are living with psychosis, schizophrenia, or another acute safety concern
You have significant cognitive impairment, a brain injury, or a medical condition that may make this kind of work, including EMDR, unsafe
You do not yet have a safe, stable home to return to
What we can work on together
People-pleasing and difficulty setting boundaries. You put other people’s needs first and find it hard to say no.
Perfectionism and high expectations. You push yourself hard and feel you should always be doing more.
Anxiety and patterns that will not shift. Overthinking, self-doubt, and worry keep cycling.
Experiences that still affect you. The past still shapes how you feel about yourself and how you respond today.
Grief and loss. You are carrying a loss, or a grief that has not had room to be felt.
Life transitions, identity, and meaning. You are navigating a change in roles at home or at work, perhaps divorce, an empty nest, retirement, or perimenopause or menopause, and you are asking who you are now and what it all means.
A wish to return to yourself. You want to tune into your own needs and values, and stop organizing your life around everyone else’s expectations.
Expert care from an experienced professional
I am Margot Crane, a Registered Psychologist and Registered Social Worker (R.Psych & RSW) in Edmonton, Alberta, with over 20 years as a helping professional. As an integrative therapist, I work at the intersection of evidence-based and the contemplative.
I work from a trauma-informed lens. My training includes advanced EMDR training in Neuroaffective Embodied Self Therapy (NEST and other variations). I draw on Compassion-Focused Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, mindfulness, somatic/embodiment informed practices, and ego state or parts-informed work. This combination of experience and training can make for deeply transformative healing experiences. Learn more about me.
Alongside the work on patterns and past experience, there is room for the larger questions: what gives your life meaning, who you are becoming, and what you want your life to stand for. In the focusing session, we talk about what an individualized approach looks like for you.
Your intensive: Focus, Healing, Integration
An intensive is more than a longer appointment. It has three connected phases.
1. Focus: understand what matters most
Start by emailing connect@cranewellness.ca. We begin with a complimentary 15-minute online consultation to talk about what brings you to therapy, answer your questions, and see whether an intensive fits.
If we go ahead, we meet for a 75-minute focusing session, online or in person. We identify the patterns or experiences you want to work with, clarify what you hope for, and set our direction together.
2. Healing: go deeper, with room to breathe
This is the heart of the intensive three or four hours in a single day, in person in Edmonton, set aside for one purpose. With the distractions out of the way, we can go to the experiences and beliefs that matter most to you and stay with them long enough to work through them. Options for multi day are in the works as well if that is indicated.
We begin by grounding, so you feel safe and resourced. Then we go in. Depending on what brought you, we may use EMDR, parts work, compassion-focused practices, or mindfulness to reach the belief underneath the pattern and work with it at the root. There are built-in breaks, so we move at the pace your nervous system needs, and you stay in charge of the pace.
We close by grounding again, so you leave steady, and then the integration session helps you carry the work forward.
3. Integration: keep the shift alive
Meaningful work deserves attention beyond the therapy room. We meet for 90 minutes, online or in person, to look at what emerged and what you want to carry forward. We consider what you want to nurture, what you want to practice, and how you might respond differently when familiar patterns show up. What we shine the light on grows, so we choose together what you will keep nurturing in the weeks that follow.
A few intention-setting questions arrive before your intensive, to help you enter with clarity. Afterward, a customized workbook, built from what emerged, becomes your integration tool.
Choose your intensive
3-hour intensive: $1,997. A dedicated time for a clear area of focus.
4-hour intensive: $2,337. More time, when your goals would benefit from longer dedicated attention.
Both include the complimentary 15-minute consultation, the 75-minute focusing session, your intensive in person in Edmonton, the 90-minute integration session, and a customized workbook. Not sure which fits? We can talk it through in the consultation.
A 50% deposit at booking secures your date. The deposit is non-refundable within 14 days of your intensive date. I do not direct bill for intensives. A receipt will be provided for self-submission, and coverage for extended sessions varies by plan, so I recommend confirming the details with your provider beforehand. Further policies are outlined in the agreement you sign before your intensive.
What becomes possible
Every person and every intensive is different. Shifts may be subtle or immediate. Many people come wanting freedom from the weight of anxiety, grief, trauma, and worry. On the other side of that, healing could look like freedom to:
Take up space in your own life
Choose from clarity instead of fear
Recognize a pattern as it happens, and choose something different
Trust yourself more
Softening of the inner critic
Connection with inner knowing, wisdom and intuition
The aim is meaningful progress, and a more empowered life that feels aligned and authentic to who you are.
Coming from outside Edmonton?
The intensive itself is in person in Edmonton. If you live elsewhere in Alberta, you can travel once instead of weekly. Your consultation, intake, and integration sessions can be held online, so you only travel for the intensive itself if you prefer.
Questions about therapy intensives in Edmonton, Alberta
What is a therapy intensive?
A therapy intensive is a longer, focused block of therapy in place of the usual 50 minutes. With me, it is three or four hours in a single day, in person in Edmonton, Alberta. It begins with a complimentary 15-minute online consultation and a 75-minute focusing session, and ends with a 90-minute integration session.
How is an intensive different from weekly therapy?
Weekly therapy offers continuity and room to work through concerns over time. An intensive gives you a longer, concentrated block of work, with preparation and integration around it. Neither is better than the other. The right format depends on your needs, your goals, and your circumstances.
Is an intensive only for trauma?
No. You can bring a pattern of people-pleasing or perfectionism, anxiety, grief, a life transition, ADHD, questions of identity, or the changes of perimenopause and menopause. You do not need to call what you carry trauma. We choose the focus together and shape the work around it.
Do you offer EMDR intensives in Edmonton?
Yes. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is one of the approaches I use in an intensive, when it fits your goals. It helps your brain process difficult memories so they stop taking over your present. You do not have to retell every detail, and we go at a pace that feels safe for you.
What happens in the focusing session and after the intensive?
The 75-minute focusing session is part of every intensive, whether you are new to me or already my client. We talk about what you want to work on and how you are doing right now, so the work is shaped around you. Afterward, we meet for a 90-minute integration session, online or in person, and your customized workbook becomes your integration tool.
Are there risks, and is anything guaranteed?
Deep work can bring up strong feelings, such as sadness, anger, or anxiety, and no outcome is guaranteed. We go at a pace that stays within your window of tolerance, and the preparation and integration around the intensive are there to support you. We talk through any concerns before you book.
How do I get started, and what does it cost?
Email connect@cranewellness.ca, and we will arrange a complimentary 15-minute online consultation to talk through what brings you to therapy and whether an intensive fits. The 3-hour package is $1,997 and the 4-hour package is $2,337. Both include the consultation, the focusing session, the intensive, the integration session, and a customized workbook. For intensives, I do not bill insurance directly. Please ensure that you have spoken with your insurance provider if you hope to receive reimbursement.
Ready to explore a therapy intensive?
If you have been waiting for the room to go deeper, this is it. Email me at connect@cranewellness.ca and we will set up a complimentary 15-minute consultation to see whether an intensive might be a good fit.