What Is Brainspotting Therapy?

Trauma and emotional pain can leave deep imprints on the brain, making it difficult to fully heal or move forward. Brainspotting is a powerful therapeutic approach designed to help individuals access and process trauma by using the connection between the brain and body. Based on the principle that "where you look affects how you feel," Brainspotting enables clients to reach deeper parts of the brain where trauma is stored, allowing for profound emotional release and healing

How Does Brainspotting Work? 

Brainspotting was developed by Dr. David Grand in 2003 and focuses on the idea that trauma is stored in subcortical regions of the brain—areas responsible for instinctual and emotional responses. These areas aren’t easily accessed through traditional talk therapy. Brainspotting provides a direct way to reach these parts of the brain, facilitating healing in a focused and mindful way.

Here’s what happens in a Brainspotting session:

1. Identifying the Brainspot:

Your therapist will help you find a specific point in your visual field, known as a "brainspot," that corresponds to your emotional or physical distress. This brainspot is identified through subtle physical cues, such as eye movements, blinking, or shifts in body sensations.

2. Focusing on the Brainspot:

Once the brainspot is located, your therapist will guide you to focus on that spot while you notice your thoughts, emotions, and body sensations. This focused attention allows your brain to access and process the underlying trauma or emotional pain tied to the brainspot.

3. Processing in a Safe Environment:

As you focus on the brainspot, your therapist will provide support as your brain naturally begins to process and release the stored trauma. This approach enables healing without requiring you to relive or verbalize the full details of the traumatic experience.

4. Accessing Deeper Brain Regions: 

While traditional therapy typically engages the conscious, thinking part of the brain (the neocortex), Brainspotting reaches into subcortical areas. This allows for direct access to trauma and emotional pain that is often beyond the reach of talk therapy.

Benefits of Brainspotting Therapy

Brainspotting is highly effective for a variety of emotional and physical issues. Some of the most notable benefits include:

  • Brainspotting is particularly useful for processing trauma and PTSD, enabling individuals to release trauma and any related negative beliefs about themselves in a deep way that talk therapy alone cannot achieve. 

  • By addressing the root cause of emotional distress in the brain, Brainspotting helps to relieve chronic anxiety and stress.

  • Since trauma can often manifest in physical symptoms, Brainspotting can help alleviate chronic pain, tension, or discomfort linked to emotional trauma.

  • Many clients experience greater emotional stability and resilience after Brainspotting therapy, as it helps regulate overwhelming emotions.

  •  Brainspotting helps individuals gain deeper insights into their emotions, behaviors, and thought patterns as they process unresolved trauma.

Is Brainspotting Right for You?

Our practice, specializing in deep trauma treatment and healing, views Brainspotting as an equally valuable and effective approach to EMDR. Both therapies harness the brain's innate ability to heal, offering powerful avenues for individuals seeking relief from trauma, PTSD, anxiety, and emotional pain.

Brainspotting extends our repertoire of therapeutic techniques, giving clients an alternative or adjunct option that aligns with our commitment in providing the most effective trauma treatment and client-centered care.

If you're struggling with trauma, emotional pain, anxiety, or physical symptoms that seem ingrained, Brainspotting might offer the pathway to healing you've been searching for. Click any of the “get started now” buttons to get scheduled and start your journey to healing and creating the life you want.