Some work asks for more than an hour a week. A trauma intensive is concentrated, longer-format recovery work, shaped around one area of trauma you want to give real, sustained attention. Think of it as a tailored retreat, designed with Malachi Gillihan, a trauma specialist, and paced to your nervous system.
This is for people ready to step out of the routine of daily life for a while and go deep. Instead of spreading the work across months of weekly sessions, you give it focused space in Berkeley, California, in a setting built for such depth.
Trauma Intensives, a Tailored Recovery Retreat
What Is a Trauma Intensive?
A trauma intensive gathers your healing work into a concentrated stretch of time. Rather than a standing weekly appointment, you and Malachi set aside dedicated space, anywhere from a single deep day to several days, to focus on one specific area of trauma.
The format is longer sessions of different kinds, woven together. The point isn't to rush. It's to give one piece of your story the sustained, undistracted attention that's hard to find in ordinary life, with room to settle between each part of the work.
Who Gets the Most From an Intensive?
An intensive suits people who are motivated and ready to momentarily step out of their day-to-day routine and do focused work. Maybe you've been in weekly sessions and want to go deeper on one thing. Maybe your schedule makes a regular weekly rhythm hard, and a concentrated block fits your life better. Maybe you simply know you do your best work when you can immerse yourself, away from the responsibilities of daily life.
This is deep work, and it asks something of you. It isn't always the right first step for everyone. If you're newer to trauma recovery, or you want a steady, gradual pace, ongoing weekly sessions may be a better starting point. There's a link to that below.
What Happens During an Intensive?
No two intensives look the same, but most weave together several kinds of work.
Talk-based work brings insights and integration for the mind. Somatic and body-based practices help your nervous system feel safe and present. This can include yoga, movement, and mindfulness-based practices that help settle, soothe, and rewire the embodied nervous system. Nature-based time has its own role because being outside does something for the body that being in a room can't. Sometimes the ocean, a river, mountain, meadow, or hawk brings a gift a human can’t. Self-care is built into the structure, along with readings, practices, and tools you take with you when the intensive ends.
An intensive can also bring in other trusted healing practitioners to support the process, so the work is held by more than one set of hands. The shape depends on what you need. Some of it is focused and deep. Some of it is simply restorative.
How Is an Intensive Built Around You?
Nothing here comes off-the-shelf. You and Malachi design the intensive together, based on the focus you want to work on and how your nervous system moves. The depth, the pacing, the mix of practices, all of it is shaped to you.
From there, he facilitates the whole arc, holding the structure so you can stay with the work rather than manage it. You step in, and the container is already built around you.
Who Facilitates Your Intensive?
Your intensive is led by Malachi Gillihan, a trauma specialist whose work centers on the nervous system and the body. He holds a Master of Arts in East-West Psychology and a Spiritual Counselor certification from the California Institute of Integral Studies, where he is now a PhD Candidate. He has trained under respected figures in interpersonal neurobiology and trauma, including Dr. Dan Siegel and Deb Dana.
That grounding matters for this format. Sustained, concentrated work needs someone who can keep it safe and paced, so depth never comes at the cost of your stability.
Want Ongoing Support Instead?
An intensive isn't the only way in. If a steady weekly rhythm fits you better, or you'd like to begin there and consider an intensive later, ongoing individual recovery is a strong place to start.
Book a Free Consultation Today
Every intensive starts with a conversation. You'll talk through the area you want to focus on, what you're hoping for, and whether this format fits where you are. From there, you design the intensive together, held in Berkeley, California. Reach out when you're ready to begin.
Common Questions About Trauma Intensives
How long is an intensive?
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It depends on your focus and what you want to take on. Some intensives run a single deep day. Others span several. You and Malachi decide the right format together when you design it.
Is this in person or virtual?
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Intensives are built around in-person work in Berkeley, California, since the nature-based and somatic elements need a physical setting. Some planning or follow-up can happen virtually.
How is this different from weekly sessions?
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Weekly sessions build steadily over time, an hour at a stretch. An intensive sets aside a concentrated block to go deep on one area, with longer sessions and more room to immerse. Different rhythms, suited to different needs.
How is an intensive priced?
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Because each one is custom-built, the cost depends on the length and shape you design together. Malachi will walk you through it during your consultation.