EMDR Therapy
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, an evidence-based psychotherapy approach for treating trauma and PTSD.
At St. Charles Advanced Therapy™, you can experience a profound shift in how your brain processes the past with our EMDR therapy—a evidence-based path designed to desensitize traumatic triggers and restore your natural capacity for resilience and peace.
We integrate EMDR with Polyvagal Theory to ensure your nervous system stays grounded and safe throughout the healing process.
In a documentary with Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry is seen undergoing a form of therapy known as EMDR (eye movement de-sensitization and reprocessing) to treat unresolved anxiety stemming from the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, when he was 12.
EMDR was developed in the 1980s by a U.S. psychologist, Francine Shapiro. While walking in a park, Shapiro suspected that her eye movements were lessening the distress of her own traumatic memories. She tested the approach on others and over time built up a standardized psychological therapy for treating people with traumatic memories.
What is EMDR? Watch Now!
The therapy is recommended for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and it is used for a variety of problems brought on by past trauma. Many patients will have a deeply disturbing event in their past that resurfaces through intrusive thoughts, nightmares or flashbacks, causing fear, anxiety and sometimes an urge to avoid situations that trigger the memory.
People who have EMDR therapy take part in several (6 to 8) sessions during which they are asked to focus on the experiences that trouble them and the sensations they cause. In Prince Harry’s sessions with the psychotherapist Sanja Oakley, Harry describes flying into London as being a “trigger” for his own anxieties and sense of feeling “hunted”.
While focused on a particular experience or event, people undergoing EMDR receive what is called “bilateral stimulation”. This often means following the therapist’s finger as it moves left and right, or playing sounds into one ear and then the other. In Harry’s case, he crossed his arms and tapped his chest alternately on the left and right side to provide the stimulation. There is no hypnosis involved: people are fully conscious during the therapy.
The aim of EMDR is to reduce the distressing emotions that particular memories and triggering situations bring on. How it works is unclear, but the thinking is that traumatic events are not stored in the same way as normal, healthy memories, and so they can resurface and intrude. In EMDR therapy, people are forced to divide their attention, focusing on the bilateral stimulation at the same time as they are concentrating on the traumatic event. The therapy doesn’t help people to forget bad memories, but it is said to dampen down the distress they cause by allowing the brain to process and store the memory normally.
What Conditions Does EMDR Treat?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Anxiety and panic attacks
Depression
Phobias
Complex trauma
Grief and loss
Performance anxiety
Disturbing memories
How Does EMDR Work?
At St. Charles Advanced Therapy™, we integrate EMDR with Polyvagal Theory to ensure your nervous system stays grounded and safe throughout the healing process. EMDR therapy uses bilateral stimulation—such as eye movements, tapping, or sounds—while you recall traumatic memories. This process helps your brain reprocess these memories, reducing their emotional intensity and allowing natural healing.
What to Expect in EMDR Therapy Sessions
Typical treatment: 6-12 sessions
Session length: 60-90 minutes
No homework required
You remain fully conscious
Safe, structured 8-phase protocol
Why Choose St. Charles Advanced Therapy™ for EMDR?
Over 35 years combined clinical experience
EMDR-trained and certified therapists
Serving Geneva, Batavia, St. Charles, and Kane County since 2019
Insurance accepted: BCBS, Aetna, Cigna, Health Alliance Plan, UHC/Optum
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