In a field where change is typically measured in months or years, one Austin-based therapy practice is compressing the timeline. Open Heart Healed Mind, founded by Licensed Professional Counselor Andrea Duran, has built its approach around multi-hour and multi-day therapy sessions—what the practice calls “intensives”—designed to produce meaningful progress faster than the standard weekly 50-minute appointment.
The model departs from conventional outpatient care. Rather than spacing sessions a week apart, clients engage in focused, immersive work over extended periods—sometimes an entire day or multiple consecutive days. Andrea tailors each intensive to the individual’s clinical history, nervous system patterns, and specific goals, treating conditions including trauma, PTSD, OCD, anxiety, and relational challenges.
Andrea brings considerable clinical experience to the work. She has facilitated over 10,000 hours of therapeutic care across individual, group, and family settings, and holds advanced training in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and trauma-informed care. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with both her Bachelor’s in Psychology and Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and maintains licenses in Texas, Colorado, and Idaho.
Beyond Talk Therapy
The practice integrates evidence-based methods with somatic and nervous system-focused approaches. Andrea is a certified breathwork facilitator and is currently completing advanced training in sex therapy. She also offers ketamine integration therapy, providing structured support before and after ketamine experiences to help clients process insights and apply them to everyday life.
The clientele reflects the breadth of the approach: high-functioning professionals managing internal struggles that aren’t visible externally, individuals navigating complex trauma, Spanish-speaking clients, and members of the LGBTQIA+, and Neurodivergent communities. Many arrive seeking more than symptom management—they want sustainable change.
Expanding the Model
Andrea’s vision extends beyond her current practice. Over the next few years, she plans to build a team of clinicians trained in intensive mental health care, expanding access across multiple states. She’s also developing immersive healing retreats that combine clinical expertise with experiential practices like breathwork and somatic work, offered in locations worldwide.
The retreat concept aims to remove clients from their daily environments entirely, creating space for focused healing work in what the practice describes as transformative settings. It’s an approach that blurs the line between clinical treatment and experiential wellness, betting that immersion can produce results that traditional settings cannot.
Open Heart Healed Mind offers both in-person sessions in Austin and telehealth services across multiple states. As mental health care continues to evolve beyond the constraints of the traditional therapy hour, practices like this one are testing whether depth and intensity can replace frequency—and whether clients are ready to invest in accelerated therapeutic transformation that moves at a different pace.
