Intensive 1:1 Therapy: What You Need to Know

Feeling Good Institute’s Intensive 1:1 Therapy Program has helped patients get better faster and assist collaborative providers in arming their patients with skills to complement and accelerate recovery. Given its success, Kevin Cornelius, M.A., LMFT, will lead ongoing efforts to make Intensive 1:1 Therapy more accessible.

Why are you excited about your new role leading the Intensive 1:1 Therapy Program?

I’ve been interested in Intensive 1:1 Therapy since Dr. Burns, the creator of TEAM-CBT, first told me about it — four years ago. It’s a unique opportunity for people to make a lot of progress in a short period of time. And it’s a great tool for other providers to complement their treatment plans. It is especially rewarding to help patients find recovery from depression and anxiety who come to our office in Mountain View from all over the United States and other parts of the world. The intensive format ultimately takes less hours than traditional weekly 50-minute sessions, so it is more economical for the patient, too. 

How is Feeling Good Institute’s Intensive 1:1 Therapy program different from other intensive therapy programs available?   

One powerful difference is that our Intensive 1:1 Program is individual therapy, while other programs are usually done in groups. The TEAM-CBT model creates a customized treatment plan, designed to be as effective as possible for each individual. Another unique feature is our use of testing before and after every session, which allows us to quickly adapt the treatment plan, when needed—to ensure the patient can achieve their goals. Also, the tools we use for assessing and lowering resistance allow for profound change to take place in a short amount of time.

Feeling Good Institute is known for the high-quality therapy and philosophy of continuous improvement. How are these standards reflected in the Intensive 1:1 Therapy program?

The FGI Certification Program is particularly helpful in ensuring our therapists are well-trained and very prepared for providing high quality treatment in our Intensive 1:1 Therapy Program. The therapists at Feeling Good Institute also go through mandatory weekly training and case consultation to constantly improve their skills in all aspects of effective therapy, such as in testing, methods and empathy, and relapse prevention capabilities. 

“One powerful difference is that our Intensive 1:1 Program is individual therapy, while other programs are usually done in groups. The TEAM-CBT model creates a customized treatment plan, designed to be as effective as possible for each individual.”

Who is the Intensive 1:1 Therapy program best for?

Intensive 1:1 Therapy is a great fit for individuals, ages 12 and older, who are able to participate in a focused manner for two to five hours of therapy in a single day. An Intensive TEAM-CBT patient will be doing a lot of work over a short amount of time, with homework in-between sessions, so it does require a level of commitment and stamina that is different from weekly therapy. 

Often, we will work with a college student who is on a break from school. I remember a student I worked with for a week who wanted to lower her depression. She had been referred to Feeling Good Institute by a therapist she had been working with for several months. The therapist was providing wonderful supportive counseling to the patient, and noticed that the patient could benefit from CBT skills to effectively lower her depression. The patient and I worked together for 9 hours over three days, in which she lowered her depression score on the Burns Brief Mood Survey from 12 out of 20 (moderate symptoms) to 4 (which is within the ideal range of 0-4 on this scale). We completed treatment with Relapse Prevention Training and then she went back to school the following week with a set of tools that she could use to maintain her progress. She resumed therapy with the therapist who referred her to me, as she still got a lot of benefit from the supportive counseling.

How does someone get started with Intensive 1:1 Therapy?

To get started, you can click the large yellow "Book a Free Consult" button in the top right corner. This allows you to set up a free 15-minute phone consultation to talk with a Feeling Good Institute therapist and determine if the program is a good fit before moving forward with setting up treatment. Or if you’d like more information, you can visit our Intensive 1:1 Therapy Frequently Asked Questions section. 

What according to you makes a great team?

I love being involved in a team when there is true collaboration and support. When everyone is working together to achieve a common goal, we can do amazing things together– especially when everyone lifts each other up and works for the good of the whole group. I love working with the team at Feeling Good Institute because of the commitment to high quality and the ways everyone supports each other so we can provide our patients with the very best therapy.

While research shows Intensive 1:1 Therapy results in improved patient outcomes, it’s underutilized today. Longer and more frequent individualized therapy sessions over a shorter period of time increase effectiveness. We encourage you to book a free 15-minute consultation to learn more about how adaptable Intensive 1:1 Therapy treatment plans can accommodate busy schedules for a variety of mental health concerns.