How Intensives Work
Your Story Matters
You have a story. That story matters. It contains astonishing beauty… and probably more heartache than you realize. No one makes it to adulthood without experiencing harm. Many people are quite willing to name the ways they have done harm to others, but sometimes it can be harder to name the ways we have been harmed.
Once our heart is wounded, we often begin living in ways that promise to relieve the pain and assure that we will never be hurt that way again. Neuroscience research over the past 15 years has discovered that your past experiences in life become a filter through which you see and experience everything in the present. Counseling is about looking at how the story of your past is currently influencing the way you are living your life. William Faulkner said it best: "The past isn't dead; it's not even past."
The Power of Being Heard
"It is rare to find anyone who listens carefully and thoroughly. It is rare to find our stammering understood, our clumsy speech deciphered, our garbled syntax unraveled, sorted out and heard – every syllable attended to, every nuance comprehended. Our minds are taken seriously. Our feelings are taken seriously. When it happens we know that what we say and feel are immensely important. We acquire dignity. We never know how well we think or speak until we find someone who listens to us." — Eugene Peterson
When you begin to honestly share your story and find that you are truly heard by another, a new freedom and new vitality come into your life. Each of us needs someone to bear witness to the core stories of our lives, and to help us make sense of why our life looks and feels the way it does. The goal of counseling, however, is not merely to understand our lives. The goal is to live—and to love—in a way that is simultaneously more tender and more strong, more alive to both the beauty and tragedy of life.
What We Address in Individual Intensives
During your intensive, we'll work on issues such as:
- Recurring behavioral patterns causing problems in relationships
- Long-standing relationship difficulties
- Sexual integrity concerns
- Extended depression and anxiety
- Deep-rooted wounds and trauma
- Self-sabotaging behaviors
- Spiritual blocks and faith struggles
- Any significant hindrance in your life that needs resolution
Forgiving God
Many people struggle with this concept, but Scripture shows us that people can become offended with God. When Jesus sent word to John the Baptist, he said, "Blessed are those who are not offended with me." Jesus was teaching that freedom from offense is essential to our relationship with God and to life itself.
If you have thoughts against God or feel offended by Him, we need to uncover these feelings and bring them into the light. The process involves three steps:
- Honestly acknowledging your thoughts against God
- Humbling yourself before Him
- Choosing to release those thoughts and offenses
Addressing offense—both toward yourself and toward God—is vital to your freedom.
Addressing Self-Contempt
Often, one of the most crucial issues we address is self-contempt—when you haven't fully accepted God's forgiveness and continue to hold something against yourself.
"I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (Galatians 2:21)
This verse is foundational to our work. When you refuse to forgive yourself, you're actually frustrating (rejecting) God's grace. Accepting God's love and forgiveness is essential to your healing journey.
We'll help you work through this by guiding you to forgive yourself—which really means accepting God's forgiveness—and moving to a place of genuine thanksgiving. This breakthrough is absolutely vital to the healing process.
How We Begin
When you arrive for an intensive, you'll meet with one or two of our trained counselors. We start every session with prayer and worship, creating a spiritually grounded atmosphere for the healing work ahead.
Understanding Your Story
We take time to understand your complete history, exploring your relationships with your parents and siblings, significant life transitions, and experiences of rejection or betrayal.
Our goal is to identify everything that may be creating obstacles in your life today. We want to understand the people and circumstances that have caused hurt, so we can address them properly.
Creating a Path Forward
After gathering your complete history, we carefully prioritize which issues are most important and strategic to address first. This triage process ensures we focus our time where it will make the greatest impact.
Inner Healing Prayer
Inner healing is a specialized form of spiritual counseling where we focus on identifying the root wounds in your life. We work to connect with these deep places in an intimate way, inviting the Lord into the pain itself.
Through this process of prayer, we've consistently witnessed something remarkable: God brings peace to places where peace seemed impossible. This is the biblical "peace that passes understanding"—peace that doesn't make logical sense given the trauma or wound.
Step-by-Step Breakthrough
We pray for God's guidance to show us which areas need attention first. Then, section by section, we work toward peace and breakthrough in each area before moving forward.
Why Intensives Work
Many people accomplish as much in a two-day intensive as they would in dozens of hours of outpatient counseling. This effectiveness comes from the focused, uninterrupted time together and the intentional prayer that goes into each intensive.
Intensive counseling sessions provide focused, in-depth healing through prayer, thorough exploration, and spiritual guidance.
Flexible and Customized
Individual intensives are highly flexible and can be customized to your specific needs. We welcome your input about what matters most to you, and we'll suggest important issues as they emerge.
Often, we uncover strategic issues that may seem small initially but prove to be key to your breakthrough.
Remarkable Results
Some of our greatest testimonies at Samaritan's Well have come through individual intensives. We've seen lives completely transformed through 12, 16, or even 24 hours of focused work over two or three days.
We encourage you to consider whether an individual intensive might be right for your healing journey.
Serving the Dallas Area and Beyond
We help individuals in Dallas, Richardson, Garland, Plano, Murphy, Lake Highlands, Addison, Sachse, Rowlett, Wylie, Allen, Parker, and surrounding communities. We also often have people come in from out of the area or even state to take part in an intensive.