What is Brainspotting?

Brainspotting is based on the idea that our gaze and eye position are connected to the way we process emotions and memories in the brain. By locating specific points in the visual field that are linked to the emotional or physiological response related to a distressing experience, emotion, or memory, the therapist can help clients process unresolved traumatic memories.

What can I expect during a Brainspotting session?

During a Brainspotting session, the therapist guides the client’s eye movements using a pointer to find the spots in the visual field connected to the distressing experience or traumatic memory. When the eyes are focused on this spot, it activates the neural networks associated with the unresolved emotional experience, allowing the client to process the trauma or distress in a safe and controlled environment. This quickly leads to the release of emotions that have become stuck in the physical body and deep within the brain, and facilitates healing.

Like with EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), Brainspotting is often done with bilateral music playing in the client’s ears. This decreases the fight, flight, freeze response and enhances the brain’s ability to reprocess and integrate the traumatic memories. Brainspotting is often used in conjunction with other therapies and within my practice, I often combine Brainspotting with Internal Family Systems (IFS), and somatic therapies.

What does Brainspotting treat?

Like many bottom-up therapies, the goal of Brainspotting is to access the body and mind’s innate capacity to heal itself. Brainspotting is used to treat a wide variety of psychological symptoms rooted in trauma or unprocessed emotional experiences and can also be used to remove negative beliefs, disrupt unhealthy patterns, strengthen natural resources, increase resilience, and enhance performance.