Short-Term Therapy at IMPACT
For clients who want focused work on a specific concern, with a clear sense of how long it will take. Several of our therapies are built for that.
✔ Tailored Treatment
✔ Safe & Supportive Environment
✔ Inclusive Care
✔ Expert Clinicians
✔ Specialized Testing
What is short-term therapy?
Short-term therapy is focused work on a specific concern, usually over a set number of sessions, often eight to twenty depending on the approach. The work has a clear goal from the start, visible progress along the way, and an honest conversation at the end about whether to wrap up, continue briefly, or move into longer-term therapy.
Some concerns are well-matched to this kind of work: a single traumatic event, a stuck pattern in a relationship, a focused symptom, a time-limited transition. Other concerns need more room to unfold, and part of our job at intake is to tell you plainly when that is the case.
The therapies on this page are the ones our clinicians are trained to deliver as short-term work. Each has its own structure, its own research base, and its own typical length.
KEY BENEFITS
Who Can Benefit From Short-Term Therapy?
Short-term therapy can benefit anyone experiencing mental health challenges, emotional distress, or life transitions.
Whether you're seeking support for the first time or have previous experience with therapy, our individualized approach ensures your specific needs are addressed.
working on a specific, well-defined concern: a single trauma, a stuck pattern in a relationship, a focused symptom
a time-sensitive goal: an upcoming surgery or birth, a transition, a court date, a new school year
a structured, measurable approach to therapy
returning to therapy for a specific issue after prior work
trying therapy for the first time who want to see how it fits
faster, focused help for a child's externalizing behavior, emotional regulation, or a specific developmental hurdle
IMPACT's Approach to Short-Term Therapy
How we structure short-term work:
Collaborative goal-setting
At your first few sessions, you and your clinician will name the specific concern or goal, agree on an approximate number of sessions, and decide how you will know progress is happening.
An honest conversation at the end
When the agreed sessions wrap up, we talk openly about whether the work met the goal, whether there is a natural stopping point, or whether longer-term therapy would serve you better. We will tell you what we think and leave the choice with you.
Clear check-ins along the way
At set points (often at the midpoint and before the planned end) we pause to look at what has changed, what still needs attention, and whether the plan should adjust.
A plan if more support is needed
If a short-term approach uncovers something that calls for different care (longer therapy, a different modality, a psychiatric consultation, a referral to a specialist), we help you figure out the next step. You do not leave with a dead end.
Finding the Right Short-Term Clinician
Not every clinician in our practice works short-term, and the ones who do each have their own style. One might lean toward structured skills-building, another toward solution-focused work, another toward EMDR for a specific trauma.
During your consultation, we will listen to what you are working on, what pace feels right, and what approach you want. Then we connect you with the clinician in our practice whose way of working is the best fit and someone whose approach lines up with what you want from the work.
Short-Term Approaches We Offer
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A structured approach for processing traumatic memories that still feel vivid or activating.
EMDR helps the brain reprocess memories that remain stuck, the ones that still feel vivid, intrusive, or physically activating years after the event. Sessions use guided eye movements or other bilateral stimulation while you briefly focus on the memory, which allows your mind to file it the way it files most experiences.
OFTEN USED FOR
Single-incident trauma, accidents, medical trauma, phobias, performance blocks, grief complicated by trauma.
TYPICAL LENGTH
Often 6 to 12 sessions for a single-incident focus; more for complex or multi-event trauma.
CLINICIANS
Delivered by our EMDR-trained clinicians, including Jess Harman and Hannah Fordin.
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A short-term, structured therapy for children who struggle with anger, defiance, or aggression.
RFPC is a time-limited therapy developed and researched by our co-founder Dr. Tracy Prout for children with externalizing behaviors. It helps children recognize and tolerate difficult feelings rather than acting them out, through play and conversation calibrated to their developmental stage. Parents are part of the work throughout.
OFTEN USED FOR
Children with externalizing behaviors (tantrums, aggression, opposition), often in middle childhood.
TYPICAL LENGTH
Typically around 16 sessions, following the structured protocol.
CLINICIANS
Supervised by Dr. Tracy Prout, who authored the model and the published randomized clinical trial supporting it (Prout et al., 2022, Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy).
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A structured short-term approach for couples who feel stuck or distant.
EFT helps couples recognize the cycle they get stuck in, understand the softer emotions driving each person's reactions, and build new ways of turning toward each other. The work moves through specific stages with clear markers of progress.
OFTEN USED FOR
Couples feeling distant, stuck in recurring arguments, recovering from a breach of trust, or facing a major transition together.
TYPICAL LENGTH
Often 8 to 20 sessions of 60 minutes each (longer than our 45-minute individual sessions).
CLINICIANS
Available with our EFT-trained couples clinicians. See /fees-insurance for current rates.
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A short-term approach that builds on what is already working in your life.
Solution-focused brief therapy spends less time on why a problem exists and more time on what is already working, however small, and how to do more of it. Sessions are practical, specific, and goal-driven, with clear tasks between visits.
OFTEN USED FOR
Focused goals, concrete behavior change, or a problem where the client already has some skills to build on.
TYPICAL LENGTH
Often 4 to 10 sessions.
CLINICIANS
Available with the clinicians in our practice trained in solution-focused work; ask at consultation and we will match you with the right fit.
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Focused modules in the four core DBT skill sets.
For clients who want the skills side of DBT without a full year-long program, we offer time-limited work on one or more of the four modules: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. This can stand alone or supplement therapy you are already doing elsewhere.
OFTEN USED FOR
Emotional reactivity, impulsive behavior, relationship conflict, difficulty tolerating distress, or wanting a concrete skill set to practice.
TYPICAL LENGTH
Varies by module; often 6 to 12 weeks for one skill area.
CLINICIANS
Delivered by clinicians trained in DBT and DBT-A.
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An evaluation that uses testing as the engine of a short-term intervention.
Therapeutic Assessment is a short-term, collaborative model that turns psychological testing into the work itself. You and the clinician agree on the questions you want answered, move through the testing together, and end with a feedback session (and often a written letter) that gives you something you can actually use.
OFTEN USED FOR
Clients who want to understand themselves or their child more clearly, who are stuck in treatment elsewhere, or who need an assessment that will also move things forward.
TYPICAL LENGTH
Typically 4 to 10 sessions, start to finish.
CLINICIANS
Our testing team specializes in this model and uses gold-standard measures throughout.
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Short-term, goal-oriented work on planning, follow-through, and daily systems.
Executive functioning coaching is practical and skills-based. Together you identify two or three concrete goals (turning in assignments, managing a workload, keeping a home running) and build the structures and habits that support them. The work is active, measurable, and tied to real-life outcomes.
OFTEN USED FOR
Students, young adults, and adults (including many who are neurodivergent) who want targeted support on executive-function challenges.
TYPICAL LENGTH
Often delivered in 8- to 12-session packages, with the option to continue.
CLINICIANS
Available with our executive functioning coaches.
What a Short-Term Approach Offers
A clear plan
You know from the start what you are working on and roughly how long the work will take.
A manageable commitment
A defined course of sessions is easier to fit around work, school, and family than open-ended therapy.
A real first step
If you have never tried therapy, a short-term approach is a straightforward way to see what it is like.
Visible progress
Built-in check-ins let you see what is changing and where to put more attention.
A bridge to more care if you need it
If short-term work shows that something larger needs attention, we help you move into the right next step.
Lower overall cost
Fewer sessions means a smaller total investment, which can make quality care more accessible.
Not sure if short-term therapy is right for you?
A free 15-minute consultation is the easiest way to find out. We will listen to what you are working on, say honestly whether a short-term approach fits, and help you take the next step either way.