With traditional one-on-one therapy, you attend an hour-long therapy session once a week, maybe every other week; eventually moving to as-needed sessions. Our therapeutic intensives offer multiple hours of therapy in a given day, and are scheduled in multi-day increments.

These elongated sessions are particularly helpful for addressing trauma work. This is because you have more time to cover content and do more therapeutic work in a given day vs. over several weeks. Intensives may be a great fit for those whose schedules might make weekly therapy a challenge.

It is very normal to feel apprehensive about sharing your story, and nothing will be forced in this process. We do invite you to lean into discomfort because that is where the real healing happens. By sharing our stories with others, we reclaim pieces of history for ourselves, but now we are in control of writing the narrative.

"Shame cannot survive being spoken," Brene Brown says. "It cannot survive empathy."

First, let’s define what we mean by trauma. Judy Crane writes, “Trauma is anything less than nurturing that changes your vision of yourself and your place in the world.” Yes, trauma can come in the form of single major life events such as physical or sexual abuse and death, but it may also be more contextual, such as bullying, a narcissistic partner, attachment breaks, emotional neglect, and chaotic or unhealthy generational patterns learned from our families.

Yes, it is possible that you do not have trauma, but more often than not it is simply part of the human condition. We would love to explore this with you further, especially if the above list of issues resonates with you.

One of the benefits of an intensive is that many clients are able to make gains forward that might take months of weekly counseling. We offer a very small group size, with a maximum of 12 participants.

Most weekend workshops start at $1500, and all-inclusive options may be upwards of $4000. This is in addition to travel expenses.

In an effort to serve our community and keep our offerings affordable, the Connections workshop intensive is priced at $700, and $650 if you register by our early bird deadline on September 13, 2025 (CODE: EARLYBIRDSEPT). You may reserve your spot immediately with a $200 deposit and pay monthly installments until the workshop date.

Space in each workshop is limited, so register now. Registration ends one week prior to workshop date to give time for all materials to be prepared. We are also offering payment plan options. Please reach out directly to Dr. Stivers to set up a payment schedule.

Please note any food allergies or special food accommodations when you register.

Prior to the workshop, Dr. Courtney Stivers will email you a history questionnaire so the workshop can be customized to the specific needs of each person and the group.

Please email courtney@summitfamily.net if you have any questions or concerns about the intensive.

Your registration fee is non-refundable, but transferable. Once registered, if unforeseen circumstances prevent you from attending a workshop, you will have the opportunity to transfer your fee to any other service provided through Summit Family Therapy including other workshops, intensives, groups, or retreats within 12 months of the registration date instead. However, there will be a $75 transfer fee applied. All classes are enrolled on a first come, first serve basis. If the workshop is cancelled by the presenters, the option will be given for a full refund or a complimentary transfer will be provided.

For our out of town guests, we recommend a few local hotels. For those who live in the area, we still advise that it is best to stay at a hotel. This is not required, but will assist you in temporarily unplugging from the busyness and stress of regular life.

We have a block of rooms reserved (held until October 24) at $165.30 per night at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites East Peoria - Riverfront.

Our group reservation code is EG9.

Here are two other hotel options, without reservation blocks:

Embassy Suites by Hilton East Peoria Riverfront Hotel & Conference Center

Peoria Marriott Pere Marquette

Workshop registration does not include the cost of your hotel room.