When 50 Minutes Isn't Enough: What Is a Deep-Dive Therapy Session?
Sometimes 50 minutes is exactly what you need from therapy.
And sometimes, just as you finally get past what happened this week, settle into the room, and start talking about what is actually underneath everything… time is up.
Maybe you've finally realized that the resentment you're feeling isn't really about the dishwasher.
Maybe you've started connecting the way you react to something now with an experience from years ago.
Maybe you've stopped explaining what happened and have finally started feeling what happened.
And then your therapist says, "We're going to have to stop here for today."
For some people, that rhythm works beautifully. Having a week between sessions can give you time to reflect, practice something different, and come back with new information.
But not everyone resonates with the 50-minute session model.
That's why I offer Deep-Dive Therapy Sessions.
What is a Deep-Dive Therapy Session?
Deep-Dive Therapy is my name for a longer, focused psychotherapy format sometimes referred to as a therapy intensive, intensive psychotherapy session, extended therapy session, or half-day therapy session.
My Deep-Dive Sessions are three hours long.
The goal isn't to cram as much therapy as possible into a morning.
It's almost the opposite.
We're creating enough time that we don't have to rush.
Instead of repeatedly warming up, reaching something important, stopping, waiting a week or two, remembering where we were, and beginning again, we have a longer stretch of uninterrupted therapeutic time.
We can get settled.
We can talk.
We can make connections.
We can stay with an emotion when it comes up.
We can follow a pattern back into your past.
We can use an experiential exercise when it would be useful.
We can take a break.
And then we can come back to the work.
Why might someone want a longer therapy session?
Some clients need time to warm up.
Even when you really like your therapist and feel comfortable with them, it can take a while to transition from everyday life into therapy.
You've just been answering emails, getting kids somewhere, finishing a meeting, driving across town or thinking about what needs to happen after your appointment.
Your mind doesn't necessarily switch into deep emotional processing because the clock says 10:00.
Some people also naturally process by talking their way toward something.
You may begin with:
"I'm just really irritated lately."
And eventually we realize:
"I'm carrying far more than everyone around me realizes."
Which may eventually become:
"I don't know how to ask for what I need because I've learned that being a good mother means being the one who handles everything."
That's very different from simply talking about being irritated.
Having more time allows us to follow those threads.
What actually happens during three hours of therapy?
You aren't expected to talk continuously for three hours.
We create a plan beforehand, but the session itself is flexible.
Depending on what you bring in, we might:
explore what is happening in your life now
look for patterns across relationships or experiences
connect present reactions with earlier experiences
explore guilt, resentment, anger, anxiety or self-criticism
look at the expectations you've internalized around motherhood, work and relationships
clarify your needs
explore what makes boundaries feel so difficult
use chairwork or another experiential exercise
pause to reflect or journal
take a bathroom, movement, food or drink break
slow down when something emotionally important emerges
My approach is psychodynamic, Gestalt-informed and feminist, so I'm particularly interested in what sits underneath the presenting problem.
We're not just asking, "How do we stop you from getting angry?"
We may also be asking:
What is the anger protecting?
What is underneath it?
What have you been carrying?
What have you learned you're not allowed to need?
Where did those expectations come from?
What would have to change for your life to actually feel different?
What could you bring to a Deep-Dive Session?
It doesn't have to be the biggest or most traumatic thing that has ever happened to you.
If something is affecting you and you want to understand it, it is worth bringing to therapy.
You might come in thinking:
"Why am I so angry all the time?"
We might explore resentment, invisible labour, feeling unsupported, unmet needs and what has been building underneath the anger.
You might think:
"I don't know who I am anymore."
We might explore who you were before motherhood, who you've needed to become, what parts of yourself have been put aside, and what you want to reclaim.
You might think:
"I know I need boundaries, but I can't actually set them."
We may look underneath the boundary itself at guilt, family dynamics, fear of disappointing people, perfectionism and beliefs about what you owe others.
Or maybe you're facing something very specific:
returning to work
a parenting situation
a friendship rupture
a difficult family relationship
burnout
a major decision
a recurring trigger
relationship strain
a transition
a situation at work
a season of intense overwhelm
The important part isn't whether someone else would consider your issue "big enough."
It's whether you want space to work on it.
Is this supposed to replace weekly therapy?
No.
Deep-Dive Therapy isn't better than weekly therapy.
It's different.
Some people love having therapy at the same time every week.
Some need regular support because life is actively difficult and things are changing from week to week.
Others don't want another appointment every Tuesday for the foreseeable future.
Some people may use Deep-Dive Therapy occasionally when something specific comes up.
Some may do a Deep Dive and then decide they would like weekly therapy.
Some may already have a regular therapist and, when clinically appropriate, use an extended session for focused work around a particular issue.
And some may return for another Deep Dive several months later.
There isn't one correct way to do therapy.
How does Deep-Dive Therapy work?
I offer Deep-Dive Therapy on a limited number of dates, generally one designated Deep-Dive day every two weeks.
Before your Deep Dive, we start with a complimentary consultation to determine whether this format is appropriate for you.
If we decide to work together, you'll then have a 50-minute virtual intake and planning appointment.
We'll clarify what you want to focus on, what we already know about the issue, what may be useful to explore, and how to prepare for your longer session.
Then we meet for the three-hour Deep-Dive Therapy Session, either virtually or in person in Russell, Ontario.
Approximately two weeks afterward, we have a 50-minute virtual integration appointment.
That's our opportunity to look at what has stayed with you, what you've noticed since the session, what feels clearer, and what — if anything — you want to do next.
If more than one Deep-Dive Session makes sense, the sessions are generally spaced apart so you have time to process between them.
What is the goal?
The goal isn't to promise that you'll accomplish six months of therapy in three hours.
Therapy doesn't work like a mathematical equation.
And I can't guarantee that everything you want to work through will be resolved in a single session.
What the longer format offers is more continuous therapeutic space.
You may leave with a better understanding of why you've been feeling the way you do.
You may finally have language for something you've struggled to name.
You may recognize a pattern.
You may understand your resentment differently.
You may become clearer about a need or boundary.
You may know what you want to continue working on.
Or the session may open up another piece of your story that deserves attention.
The goal isn't to get through everything.
It's to give something important enough room to be explored.