Brainspotting was developed by a practitioner of EMDR (a popular and highly effective form of trauma therapy) who found a more targeted and deeper way to access underlying layers of trauma and distress.

The founder of Brainspotting, Dr. David Grand, says “What’s in the body is in the brain and what’s in the brain is in the body.” There is a significant mind-body connection and to heal one we must heal the other. By working with the body via noticing physical sensations that accompany distressing thoughts and emotions, we can also release chronic bodily pains, tension, discomfort, or sleep disturbance.

The essence of Brainspotting is that we can tap into the the brain’s natural self-healing process in order to release where trauma, anxiety, self-esteem, fears, or performance concerns are trapped in our brains and bodies.

Even if you’ve tried EMDR before, Brainspotting can be helpful to address and resolve any emotional and physical pain that keeps you stuck in patterns you want to change. Many people report going deeper and subsequently experiencing greater benefits from Brainspotting compared to other modalities and even after years or decades in therapy. Different from many talk therapies, Brainspotting enables you to heal without having to tell or retell your story.

Traditional forms of talk therapy are engaging the outer portion of the brain that is highly evolved and language based; however, many of our emotional experiences (trauma, anxiety, stress, etc.) are stored in the deeper, inner portion of the brain. 

That means traditional talk therapy can only go so far and only be so effective in truly resolving your concerns. 

Brainspotting specifically targets that deep, inner portion of the brain, bypassing all of the ways you’ve tried to intellectualize, minimize, or even invalidate your own concerns. As a result, you get to experience significant and lasting relief sooner.

Brainspotting is ultimately a natural phenomenon that has been harnessed into a therapeutic process. 

Dr. Grand (founder of Brainspotting) says “Where you look affects how you feel,” and this is highlighted in Brainspotting by the therapist and client finding a fixed eye position that is attached to an unresolved issue.

Do you notice how when you’re trying to collect your thoughts and feelings or trying to remember details of a specific event, you often look off in a point in your visual space (down to the right, up to the left) while you’re thinking? This might just be looking off into that area for a quick second or for many minutes.

That “staring off” process is what our brains naturally do when we’re processing information. The field of neuroscience is ever-updating, but what we know currently is that the tissues in our eyes are connected to brain tissue, and many of the muscles in our eyes are related to systems in our body that aid in regulating heart rate and our breath. Our eyes, brains, and bodies are deeply (and literally) connected. So the process of “staring off” is one way we naturally try and tap into our brain’s natural stage of processing and healing.

However, many of us also grew up in cultures and societies that taught us it’s rude to not make eye contact with someone while we’re talking. So when this natural processing does get engaged in the middle of a conversation, we feel pulled to come back and make eye contact with the person or people we’re talking to - which interrupts brain processing. Because of this, our brains often don’t fully process what they need to because of “social etiquette.”

With Brainspotting, we are utilizing this natural brain process and making space for you to engage in your fullest capacity for healing by not interrupting that processing. I may notice where your eyes are naturally moving as you’re talking through something and ask you to stop and notice what comes up as you look off to a specific point. Or we may find a specific spot together that is most associated with the distress or with a sense of grounded-ness and calm to increase your sense of comfort in processing through difficult content. 

When you have more focused time and space to process and tap into this natural phenomenon, you can heal more deeply and quickly than in traditional talk therapy. This process can also be enhanced with a specific form of music that activates deep emotions and memories, while also increasing feelings of relaxation. 

Notably for many people, Brainspotting can work even without talking through your thoughts, emotions, and memories.

Brainspotting can help with:

• Trauma/PTSD, Adverse childhood experiences/CPTSD, abuse or neglect

• Self-esteem concerns

• Distressing events, anxiety, phobias, OCD

• Unmet emotional needs

• Overeating

• Stress and trauma-related medical illness

• Depression and negative self-talk

• Recovery from accidents/injuries, chronic pain

• Performance and creativity enhancement

• Addictions