“Where you look affects how you feel”
WHAT IS BRAINSPOTTING?
Brainspotting is a type of therapy that trusts the natural abilities of our brain and body to heal itself. By looking at specific spots with our eyes, Brainspotting helps us focus on the main issues causing problems, so we can work on healing more deeply and effectively.
Our bodies and minds already know what's best for us; we just need to relearn how to listen to them. Sometimes, the answers we need are hidden in our subconscious mind or buried beneath our negative thoughts, worries, and fears. Brainspotting acts like a guide, helping us break through these obstacles to discover the real issues that are bothering us inside. It's like unlocking the secrets to feeling better and understanding ourselves better.
For information on Brainspotting Intensives go here.
HOW DOES BRAINSPOTTING WORK?
According to therapist and creator David Grand, the direction in which you look or gaze can affect the way you feel. To some extent, brainspotting is a natural phenomenon most of us have encountered. Think about what happens when you try to remember an obscure fact or date, or when you’ve had a harder conversation in the past. Our eyes often drift to a specific location or “brainspot.”
During brainspotting, a trained therapist helps you position your eyes in ways that help you target the source of painful emotions, memories, or thoughts. With the aid of a pointer, the therapists slowly guide your eyes across your field of vision to find appropriate “brainspots.” These brainspots allow you to be more focused on the here and now of the brain/body connection. Brainspotting can access some of the deeper parts of the brain that traditional talk therapy cannot get to.
WHAT IS A BRAINSPOTTING SESSION LIKE?
A brainspotting session is always collaborative. Once you’ve identified a thought, feeling, or behavior that you want to focus on, you’ll work together with your therapist to find a brainspot that creates some activation. The therapist will also be looking for reflexive cues that you may not even be aware of; this could be rapid blinking, swallowing, a tightening of the jaw, or a change in breathing. Every client's experience is different.
Once the brainspot is located, you’ll be encouraged to notice what's happening in your mind and body. Some clients process this out loud and some are silent. Clients have reported quick links to other memories, experiencing body sensations, imagery, or changes in emotional state. Experiencing some mental or physical discomfort can be normal during this process as we need to “feel it to heal it.” The therapist stays attuned to your emotional state and will help guide you through this. Most clients report a lower activation level at the end of a session, but some need multiple sessions to “clear” a concern.
One thing that clients might notice is different with a brainspotting session is that the therapist is less likely to be directive or to point out any observed connections in what the client is reporting. In this way, the client’s brain is better able to make the necessary connections and insight with minimal interference. At the end of the processing, the therapist will leave time to debrief the session and discuss ways to support you between sessions.
WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM BRAINSPOTTING?
Brainspotting is for anyone that feels “stuck” on a concern; for those that “just can’t get over it.” Brainspotting can be used for almost any concern you would bring to counseling, from a traumatic event to concerns around finances. The following list is some examples of concerns that brainspotting can help with:
All forms of trauma or emotionally charged experiences
Anxiety
Adverse Religious Experiences
Grief
Depression
Relationship concerns
Shame
Self-Worth
Performance issues
Think Brainspotting Could work for you?
Interested in a healing even faster? Learn more about Brainspotting Intensive here.