Happy adult woman sitting on the sofa with eyes closed enjoying bright daylight

Why intensive counseling?

We believe that intensive counseling provides a unique opportunity to discover life-changing breakthrough with licensed and experienced therapists. Designed for both individuals and couples, our model of Integrated Clinical Soul Care (ICSC) blends the best practices of mental health with practices from contemplative spirituality and spiritual formation. This holistic approach creates an atmosphere of safety and grace where you can explore your relationships, identity, emotions, and spirituality.

We do this with intensives that are:

Goal Driven

It can take weeks or months to establish clear goals and a realistic plan in traditional counseling. We work with clients in advance to establish clear goals before, during, and after the intensive. This allows the therapist to begin with the end in mind in a way that is virtually impossible with traditional counseling.

Depth Oriented

Depth-oriented counseling deals with issues below the waterline—internal motives and purposes that are frequently outside our awareness. You may get at these issues in traditional counseling, but it can take months to years. We work to address these issues in a matter of days.

Highly Concentrated

A concentrated substance—like orange juice or dishwashing liquid—has all non-essential ingredients removed. In the same way, intensive counseling removes all non-essential ingredients for the duration of the intensive. By stepping away from normal routines and responsibilities like work, family, and managing day-to-day life, clients are able to bring all their resources and strengths to bear upon their situation.

Time Limited

While traditional counseling has no predetermined endpoint and can be sporadic, unfocused, and inefficient, our intensives have a fixed endpoint. As daily three-hour sessions build upon one another, both client and therapist gain clarity and tremendous focus.

An intensive therapy experience for anyone in need of restoration, including struggling couples, Christian leaders, and care-givers

Here are some of the people who often attend intensives:

  • Pastors and ministers, parachurch leaders, missionaries
  • Retired and active-duty military personnel
  • Physicians and healthcare workers
  • First responders such as firefighters and police officers
  • Executives, entrepreneurs, and business persons
  • Christian leaders and care-givers
  • Men and women of all walks of life who are seeking deep change

Attendees have traveled from around the US and Canada, and as far away as Africa, Europe, Asia, South America, and the Middle East.

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Is intensive counseling for you?

During the intensive week

Your intensive may be scheduled as three-hour morning or afternoon sessions. Your specific time slot will be determined based on therapist availability and spacing of clients for privacy.

No two sessions or intensives will be the same — there’s no cookie-cutter schedule, and we will tailor each session to your unique needs.

Therapists are assigned and scheduled based on a combination of factors including availability, the best fit, and presenting issues

Daily assignments or other exercises are given for outside of session homework

Each intensive is tailored to your unique needs and situation

Each intensive is designed with ample time to explore personal and relational brokenness

To ensure privacy and comfort, we do not offer group sessions

Remaining time is often spent on reflection and enjoying God’s beautiful creation in the Rocky Mountains

As an intensive counseling center, we are committed to honoring your faith and spirituality, wherever you are on your journey.

We know that it can be scary to enter counseling when you’ve been hurt by helpers or faith leaders in the past. We work to provide an environment where you may heal from that, rather than continue to experience it.

When you walk in the room with us, there will be no questions designed to bring you to shame. There will be no angry or disappointed God. No right and wrong answers. We will help you honestly explore your identity, your relationships, your woundedness, and your spirituality. 

Common topics and issues

There is no one topic you have to bring to intensive counseling, but attendees often fall into two groups — those experiencing significant, present brokenness, and those eager for a deeper dive into their story and relationships or a refresher for previous intensives.

Simple & Complex Trauma
Marriages
Broken Marriages & Relationships
ComplexBehaviors
Compulsive
Behaviors
Leadership
Leadership
Concerns
Faith
Spiritual
Wounds

For those looking to address significant brokenness

marital issues such as conflict, communication, or intimacy

adultery, sexual addiction, or struggles with pornography

difficulties with emotional and relational intimacy and attachment

burnout and exhaustion from ministry

spiritual abuse or feelings of disillusionment

For those looking for a deep dive

understanding barriers to living your life engaged and fully alive

spiritual direction and/or deepening intimacy with God

strengthening or deepening intimacy in an already good marriage

A mature adult man glides through the cool waters of Gig Harbor, Washington, a small bay in the Puget sound, paddling in a classic wood kayak.  The evening sun shines from behind, a smile on the mans face as he takes in the beauty of the great outdoors.  Horizontal image with copy space.

Benefits of intensive counseling

Address and significantly heal trauma.

Identify and treat addictions at the root level.

Restore and strengthen broken marriages.

Prevent divorce when all other options appear to be exhausted.

Cultivate one's capacity for intimacy with God, self, and others.

Learn paradigms and practices to help sustain vitality, joy, and shalom.

“Why do Christian leaders and people from all walks of life come to Restoring the Soul? Because our intensive counseling programs change lives from the inside out.”

— Michael John Cusick, Restoring the Soul Founder

Begin your soul care journey.