Finding You at Evoke Intensives

Posted by Travis Slagle on January 13, 2021

IMG 7165Whether you are new to therapy or have been seeing a therapist for years, participating in a therapeutic intensive can be a life-changing experience. Each month I hear the stories of our courageous alumni, and I answer calls from those who are curious to learn what Evoke Intensives are all about. Recently, I was discussing the process with a participant, and they described “being forever changed” by their Intensive experience. He said, “It’s almost unexplainable how different I feel in such a short time.” He went on to use words like “supercharged,” “life saving,” and “breakthrough” to talk about the radical shift that occurred for him. Many of our participants share similar stories and refer to their intensive experience as a critical turning point in their lives.

At Evoke Intensives, we are passionate about breaking through barriers in treatment. We design customized therapeutic workshops and retreats for individuals, families, and couples that offer a level of depth and personal insight that goes far beyond the traditional 50-minute session. Imagine that in less than a week you could experience a radically new way of thinking and being in your relationship with your Self and the people you love. I often hear our alumni comment on the feeling of safety they experience in the process. Our team of therapists work tirelessly to create a safe space for self-discovery. This allows us to get beneath the symptoms and distractions in order to address the unhealed reactions that are often rooted in the past. Piecing together the experiences that have shaped our behavior is a formidable challenge. It takes courage to rediscover the parts of ourselves that can be deeply wounded and heavily defended.

The author Jack Canfield once wrote,“Everything you want in life is on the other side of fear.” We all have a choice about how to address fear and anxiety in our lives. Indeed, there’s no definitive line between mental illness and mental health. Each of us exist on a continuum of illness and wellness, experiencing a range of anxieties, insecurities, and the desire for control. As Dr. Brad Reedy suggests, we must learn to “make friends with our mental illness.” This is as equally true for children in treatment as it is for parents.

Being an Intensive therapist, I am continually reminded that the greatest challenge we face in life is often ourselves. Engaging in an Evoke Intensive offers an accelerated therapeutic process with the time and clinical expertise to help you face your fear and put new insight into practical action.

Living in a culture that has mastered the art of distraction, it’s not hard to unconsciously project our fears and anxieties onto each other and our children. It’s easy to stay busy and to get wrapped up in the daily demands of parenting and careers, planning for the future, and tending to the needs of others. Evoke Intensives offer new hope to break free of unconscious habits and avoidant behaviors by embarking on a path of truth and emotional discovery.

During an intensive, we ask you to imagine having the opportunity to go back in time to have a conversation with yourself and the people who have impacted your life. What transpires in this process is both cathartic and deeply informative. At Evoke Intensives, we learn about the unique ways that we compensate for our fears and anxiety. Through this process, we develop greater capacity for empathy as we recognize compensatory behaviors in ourselves and others. As one participant noted, “I am learning that loving and listening to myself is the best way I can love and listen to others.”

For parents with children in treatment, families, couples, and individuals struggling to find meaning and deeper connection in their relationships, Evoke Intensives offer therapeutic options to cultivate personal insight that transcends the barriers of traditional therapy. In a Finding You intensive, participants experience more than 30 hours of direct contact with a highly-skilled therapist in a matter of four-and-a-half days. This process provides the time to build the trust and safety to get beneath the symptoms and defenses to uncover deep wisdom and courageous possibilities.

World-renowned author and psychiatrist Dr. Dan Siegel suggests, “We are neurobiologically shaped by love and fear.” Almost every fiber of the human brain and nervous system is designed by the need for connection and the fear of experiencing life without it. Through all the intricate complexities of the human psyche, love and fear continue to be the most primal of all human emotions. During an intensive, we create a supportive space where the duality of love and fear can be fully processed, and the capacity for new insight and self-awareness can be the catalyst for healing in relationships.

As Joseph Campbell wrote, “we are all the heroes of our own life story.” We each must face the monsters and darkness that lie within us. We can’t think our way out of an emotional dilemma. The path forward requires adequate time and a safe place to allow ourselves to fully experience an emotional truth; that’s where genuine wisdom and transformative healing can be found. It’s often said, we cannot truly understand others if we haven’t done the work to understand ourselves. This is the power and clinical framework that inspires our team of experiential and attachment-based therapists to continue innovating and individualizing the intensive experience. We are here to help you answer the call to discover new understanding and emotional freedom in your life, and guide you on a courageous journey of Finding You.

 

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