I think this is an excellent point. I did the brunt of my exposure therapy sessions after about six months in therapy. The exposure sessions went on for about three months. It took another 3-6 months to deal with the fallout from them, though (I was finally able to deal with the memories and flashbacks, so they hit me full force). I'm still chipping away at all of it, nearly two years in, but I do think that the exposure sessions and those that followed it were the worst.

I would add also that it was to my benefit that these happened during the school/working year (and not in the summer) because I had work to distract me. We all function differently, though, so that might not be good for you. The summer after I did all that work was rough, because I ruminated and obsessed about the trauma a lot more.