Brainspotting

Developed in 2003 by Dr. David Grand, Brainspotting is a relatively new form of treatment that has been shown to be effective for a variety of conditions, particularly with helping to identify and heal underlying trauma that contributes to anxiety, depression and other behavioral issues. The goal of brainspotting is to bypass conscious thinking to access the deeper, subconscious emotional and body-based parts of the brain to facilitate healing. According to Dr. Grand, “where you look affects how you feel.” With this in mind, therapists using brainspotting techniques help their clients to position their eyes in ways that enable them to target negative emotion. Think this approach may work for you? Contact one of our brainspotting specialists today to try it out.

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I began training and certification in Brainspotting in 2020. This modality is in the same family as EMDR, using bilateral stimulation and eye positioning to help reduce activation in our brains and bodies related to specific events or sensations. Brainspotting can also be used to enhance performance for artists and athletes.

— Brandi Solanki, Counselor in Waco, TX

BSP is an effective and focused treatment method that works towards identifying, processing and releasing core neurophysiological sources of emotional/body pain, trauma, difficult emotions, dissociation and a variety of other challenging symptoms. Brainspotting allows for a treatment that is deep, direct, and powerful yet focused on containing to release trauma that is stored in the body through mindful processing and the therapist/client attunement with use of the ‘brainspot’.

— Jenny Moon, Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Torrance, CA
 

Brainspotting is a body-based modality for healing trauma and regulating the nervous system. Brainspotting locates points in a client’s visual field that help access unprocessed trauma in the subcortical brain. The subcortical brain is the most primitive part of the brain and what lights up on a brain scan when the body detects a threat and goes into a stress response of fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. Brainspotting helps you experience prfound healing on a neurobiological level.

— Janelle Stepper, Associate Marriage & Family Therapist in Roseville, CA

Brainspotting is a treatment approach which helps by identifying, processing, and releasing stored negative or traumatic experiences from the brain to help affected individuals heal from within. BSP is based on the idea that where you look affects how you feel. . I have found Brainspotting to be one of the most effective tools in healing anxiety, depression and trauma. (really any issue you face!) I have seen amazing progress in clients in a shorter amount of time vs. regular talk therapy.

— Chris McDonald, Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Supervisor in Raleigh, NC
 

I have Levels 1 & 2 training to help with somatic movement of stored trauma in the body.

— Jessica Reynolds, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Santa Cruz, CA

Brainspotting is a treatment method that utilizes your visual field to connect with the parts of your brain that hold onto unprocessed trauma. Brainspotting invites clients to process distressing experiences by following the lead of their body.

— Shavonne James, Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Long Beach, CA
 

Brainspotting is mind/body approach that can help you connect deeply with the root of where issues are stored in your brain, body and nervous system. It helps you clear issues, ranging from difficult trauma to everyday challenges. It is also very helpful in building positives, such as confidence, relaxation optimal performance, etc. Here are links to videos "Who does Brainspotting work with?” https://vimeo.com/187492731 "Brainspotting" https://youtu.be/lm3Plvaf3

— Elinor (Elly) Nygren Szapiro, Licensed Professional Counselor in Northwest, AR

I love so much about Brainspotting; it compliments attachment theory & "parts" work & allows clients to do "deep work," that sometimes isn't possible with talk therapy alone. It's a way to clear through "stuff" in a completely different way so that clients can heal and move forward with their lives. I've taken variety of Brainspotting trainings & am in the process of being certified by Winter 2021.

— Jennifer Dolphin, Licensed Professional Counselor in Anchorage, AK
 

I have completed Phase 1 and 2 of Brainspotting training and use this within session as clients desire. This approach focuses on the connection between the body and brain and strives to quickly reduce activation and increase emotional regulation. This approach is helpful for reducing symptoms related to trauma, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and chronic pain and chronic fatigue.

— Brandi Solanki, Counselor in Waco, TX

Brainspotting is mind/body approach that can help you connect deeply with the root of where issues are stored in your brain, body and nervous system. It helps you clear issues, ranging from difficult trauma to everyday challenges. It is also very helpful in building positives, such as confidence, relaxation optimal performance, etc.

— Elinor (Elly) Nygren Szapiro, Licensed Professional Counselor in Northwest, AR
 

Brainspotting is a brain/body based processing technique that I have found helpful for clients wanting to process trauma and/or move through "stuckness."

— Birch Snogles, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in ann arbor, MI

Brainspotting is a somatic approach to healing from trauma. It is based on the same principles as EMDR and incorporates ideas from somatic experiencing. The goal of this process is to access the subcortical parts of your brain, which are connected to functions of memory, emotion, and pleasure. By tapping into these parts within an attuned relationship, we create space for your mind and body to process traumatic experiences and other blocks. We move at your pace and comfort level.

— Augustin Kendall, Counselor in Minneapolis, MN
 

Brainspotting is a therapeutic approach that helps treats and processes traumatic experiences. Therapists use eye positions to identify "brainspots," which are related to the trauma. By maintaining the gaze on these spots, the brain can access and process the trauma at a deeper level, allowing for emotional release and healing. This method helps individuals process and integrate traumatic memories, reducing their emotional impact and promoting a feeling of safety and security.

— Alo Johnston, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Los Angeles, CA

Using Brainspotting to help clients get an understanding of their own self, connect with their deeper mind for a new understanding

— XiaoRan(Alice) Zhao, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in , MD
 

Brainspotting is mind/body approach that can help you connect deeply with the root of where issues are stored in your brain, body and nervous system. It helps you clear issues, ranging from difficult trauma to everyday challenges. It is also very helpful in building positives, such as confidence, relaxation optimal performance, etc.

— Elinor (Elly) Nygren Szapiro, Licensed Professional Counselor in Northwest, AR

Where you looks affects how you feel. BSP makes use of this natural phenomenon through its use of relevant eye positions. This helps the BSP therapist locate, focus, process and release a wide range of emotionally and bodily-based conditions. BSP is also a brain-based tool to support the therapy relationship. We believe that BSP taps into and harnesses the body’s natural self-scanning, self-healing ability.

— Eric Strom, Clinical Social Worker in Minnetonka, MN
 

BSP is a cutting-edge therapeutic approach to accessing and processing deep emotional experiences and traumas. BSP it acknowledges that our eye positions can uncover unresolved emotional issues held in the brain and body. In a BrainSpotting session, the therapist helps the client find specific "BrainSpots" that activate the processing of trauma-related emotions. This occurs by focusing on a spot where the client's gaze naturally falls,facilitating the release of stored emotions.

— Tania Buchanan Boyd, Mental Health Counselor in Plantation, FL

Brainspotting is a combination of relational and neurophysiological work useful for treating trauma. This treatment method is thought to give access to the limbic system and midbrain, allowing for transformative work. If you feel stuck in your efforts to deal with painful past experiences, Brainspotting may be the approach for you!

— Amy Rager, Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate in Indianapolis, IN
 

I was first trained in 2013, and my respect for this method of working only grows the more I use it. As a contemplative therapist, I experience Brainspotting as a very specific and targeted mindfulness practice. As such, it's a natural tool for resolving trauma and accessing creativity in contemplative therapy. I enjoy working with it because it's very precise and relatively gentle when compared with other modalities, though the results are most powerful.

— Christine Bates, Licensed Professional Counselor in Oxford, MS