What is the Brainspotting Method?

Introduction

If you are new to therapy, you may be wondering what treatment approach is best suited for your needs. Or, suppose you have previously engaged in therapy, but did not see the results you were hoping for. In either case, it is important to know that different therapeutic approaches can be more effective or may feel like a “better fit” for you. Brainspotting is an emerging therapeutic approach that is helping people experience healing, change, and relief. 

What is Brainspotting?

Brainspotting is a powerful form of treatment that works by accessing, processing, and releasing neurophysiological sources of emotional and physical distress, trauma, and a variety of other troubling conditions. 

Founded by David Grand, he observed that having his clients keep their eyes in this activated position allowed them to access strong emotions and traumatic memories and that after processing, they began to experience these emotions and memories differently in their present lives. “This processing, which appears to take place at a reflexive or cellular level within the nervous system, brings about a de-conditioning of previously conditioned, maladaptive emotional and physiological responses. Brainspotting appears to stimulate, focus, and activate the body’s inherent capacity to heal itself from trauma” (Brainspotting.com).

What Happens In A Brainspotting Session?

In a brainspotting session, the client’s visual field is used to locate eye positions or brainspots; ”an activated eye position which is related to the energetic/emotional activation of a traumatic/emotionally charged issue within the brain” (Brainspotting.com). In locating these eye positions, a therapist helps clients connect to distress stored in long-term memory.

When an activated eye position is located, the clinician guides the client into mindfulness processing as they keep their eyes in that position. Clients are then encouraged to process any thoughts, emotions, and somatic sensations that arise. 

As A Client, Why Choose Brainspotting?

Brainspotting can be an effective form of treatment for a variety of emotional, psychological, and somatic conditions that can be used in combination with various treatment approaches.

This modality is found to be particularly helpful in the processing of trauma-related concerns and identifying and healing from underlying trauma that can contribute to symptoms of anxiety, depression, physical symptoms, and other behavioral and emotional difficulties.

Any life event that causes significant physical or emotional pain or distress, in which a person experiences being overwhelmed, helpless, or trapped can become a traumatic experience and lead to lasting impacts on the brain and body.

When a person experiences this trauma, the human body goes into a state of heightened arousal. This experience becomes imprinted in the brain and these memories become stored through fragments of visual images, smells, sounds, tastes, or touch. Often a person will only stay in emergency mode or heightened arousal for a short period, or until the immediate threat has passed, but sometimes people keep re-experiencing it afterwards. 

This might look like:

• Visual Flashbacks - “Reliving it” where your mind is triggered and transported back to images of the event or traumatic experience.

• Somatic Flashbacks - Where you feel sensations, pain, and/or discomfort in areas of the body impacted by the trauma. 
  

• Emotional Flashbacks - Emotions from the past are triggered. These flashbacks are often misunderstood as being overly emotional or irrational.

Traditional trauma treatment approaches through talk therapy have emphasized talking through the event, gaining a better understanding, and over time decreasing the emotional intensity of the experience. While this can be helpful, it might not address the sensory responses in the body. There is now more insight into the difference between what happens when people talk about past trauma and what happens in their bodies when they re-experience it. Brainspotting works in conjunction with traditional talk therapy to bridge this gap; targeting stored emotions in both the brain and body.

To learn more about Brainspotting you can schedule a call with me today and/or visit https://brainspotting.com.