EMDR for Complex Trauma

Chicago, IL

therapist illinois

Does this sound like you?

You may be carrying unresolved memories from childhood—times when your needs weren’t met or your family system felt unsafe. Now, depression, anxiety, people-pleasing, or perfectionism may keep your nervous system stuck in survival mode.

These parts hold negative memories related to negative core beliefs, such as “I am not enough”, “I am not important”, “I am helpless”, etc.

Perhaps you avoid setting boundaries out of fear of disappointing others, or you turn to substances, scrolling, or other distractions to escape overwhelming feelings.

These are not personal flaws—they’re learned survival responses. EMDR can help your brain reprocess the past so you can live with more freedom, clarity, and ease.

There is hope. 

Trauma therapy can set you on the path to a more fulfilling life.

How I can help

“You can’t hurry trauma…”

So, it’s imperative that we first get to hear your story voiced out loud and build a strong foundation for our work together. We will focus on building necessary skills for emotional regulation during processing with EMDR. Throughout the therapeutic relationship, we will get to know your parts that could stand in the way of processing specific memories.

We will build compassion towards these parts to honor their hard work via parts work. These parts will help us uncover the encoded messages that younger parts hold in memories and reprocess it with EMDR.

There are eight stages of EMDR, including processing past memories related to negative core beliefs and reprocessing to positive core beliefs such as “I am ok as I am” and “I am enough”. You can choose to complete EMDR therapy on weekly bases or via intensives.

I am always available for direct and honest conversations about the therapy process, so please do not hesitate to bring up your feedback.

EMDR for trauma can help you…

  • Process and resolve the pain of emotional neglect or abuse, and experience profound healing for your inner child.

  • Reduce or even completely eliminate symptoms of anxiety or depression, both emotionally and somatically (in your body).

  • Learn to regulate intense emotions so you no longer feel so out-of-control.

  • Find relief from the unrelenting pressure of people-pleasing, perfectionism, and overachieving, so that you can live at peace with yourself.

  • Learn how to set and reinforce boundaries, speak up about your needs and get them met, and say no without guilt.

  • Cultivate healthy relationships where you can experience love, belonging, safety, and joy, opening the door to a meaningful and deeply satisfying life.

Let’s work toward the peace you deserve together.

FAQs about EMDR Therapy in Illinois

  • EMDR is for you if:

    • Grew up with unmet emotional needs, criticism, chaos, or neglect

    • Learned to survive through people-pleasing, perfectionism, or over-achieving

    • Feels “on” all the time—rarely relaxed or at ease

    • Struggles with depression, anxiety, or chronic stress

    • Avoids conflict, setting boundaries, or asking for needs to be met

    • Feels disconnected from self or others despite appearing “high-functioning”

    • Numbs with scrolling, overwork, food, or substances to avoid intense emotions

    • Longs for deeper connection, self-trust, and a sense of safety inside

    • Ready to heal the root experiences driving these patterns

  • Contact me via contact page or schedule an appointment to get started! I will reach out to schedule a consultation, and we can talk in more detail about what you’re looking for, what I have to offer, and if we would be a good fit.

  • That depends. Sometimes, working through trauma can take a long time. Many people begin to see results in 3-6 months of therapy, though it can take much longer before you find complete healing. EMDR Intensives, however, have been shown to provide the same level of healing as traditional therapy, but in a much shorter timeframe—often in as little as weeks, or even days.

  • The success of therapy depends on many factors, including how well you are matched with your therapist, how ready you are to do the work, and whether the modality you’re engaging in meets your needs. Just because you tried therapy before and you didn’t get out of it what you wanted doesn’t mean that therapy is not for you. I would love to meet with you to see if we would be a good fit. Sometimes, an EMDR Intensive can be a great way to get “un-stuck” and make lots of progress, if traditional weekly therapy didn’t feel right for you.

  • My rate for a traditional 50-minute session is $175. For pricing on EMDR Intensives, please click here.

  • If you are currently in crisis—such as experiencing severe substance use, active thoughts of harming yourself or others, or legal issues connected to the event you want to process with EMDR—please seek immediate help. For life-threatening situations, call 911, go to your nearest emergency room, or call or text 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline).