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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Brainspotting is a psychotherapy modality that works with the brain and body (somatic) to help you heal and recover from negative and traumatic experiences as well as bring clarity to emotional confusion and ambivalence regarding the issues in one’s life. Brainspotting engages in neurobiological and emotional processes that allows the person to access the deepest recesses of the emotional brain or limbic system where unprocessed trauma and negative experiences are stored and allows for healing.

— John Edwards, Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Oakland, CA

Unleash the power of your mind with Brainspotting. Thought EMDR was the answer, but still searching for more? Look no further. Brainspotting dives deep, targeting the root of your challenges with laser-like precision. No endless tapping, just profound breakthroughs. Heal from within, break free from the past, and unlock your true potential. Experience the transformative power of Brainspotting and rewrite your story today. Your journey to healing starts now; take the first step.

— Barbara (Blaze) Lazarony, Associate Marriage & Family Therapist in Pacific Grove, CA
 

Brainspotting is my favorite way to combine talk therapy with body-focused mindfulness. This treatment is based on the fact that where we look affects how we feel, meaning that we can access nonverbal memories in order to heal them. I have completed training in Phases 1 and 2. I will attend Phase 3 training in July 2023.

— Amber Keating, Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Los Angeles, CA

I have received Brainspotting training and am a Brainspotting practitioner. I am continuing to get hours of training in advanced Brainspotting techniques and practice in the modality in order to provide the best care possible for my clients. Brainspotting is a technique that involves a deeper level of processing for clients and therefore more access to getting to the root of addressing the trauma.

— Lacee Lovely Lawson, Licensed Professional Counselor in Dallas, TX
 

Brainspotting (BSP) is a profound therapeutic tool that can help provide opportunities for healing of trauma & stuck emotional states. It can also help with gaining clarity and resolving creative blocks. Using focused mindfulness to facilitate processing is achieved by the tenant of BSP that 'where we look impacts how we feel'.

— Christina Martinez, Clinical Social Worker in Chandler, AZ

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
 

At this point, I’m mostly only working with new clients who are open to it as a part of our work together because doing therapy without Brainspotting feels a little like doing therapy with my arms tied behind my back. I just can’t help people make the movement we both want them to make with traditional talk therapy. For more information on Brainspotting visit Brainspotting.com or my website.

— PK Ponti-Foss, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Portland, OR

Brainspotting is often used to reprocess traumatic memories, but it is beneficial for a wide range of issues and can be faster at targeting stuck memories than talk therapy alone.

— Kellita Thompson, Marriage & Family Therapist in Brentwood, TN
 

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, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Roseville, CA

For training, I've completed Brainspotting levels 1 and 2. I am currently currently training in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

— Nancy Lee, Licensed Professional Counselor in Foxfield, CO
 

This unique approach helps you release the psychological blocks that keep you from being your most connected, creative, actualized self. You may have heard “eyes are windows to the soul” before. As it turns out, there’s medical research that proves that this old phrase is true. As the creator of this Brainspotting, Dr. David Grand, says, “where you look affects how you feel.” Brainspotting helps track points in your visual field that reveal unprocessed trauma in the brain.

— Noelle Benach, Counselor in Baltimore, MD

I use brainspotting to help you process past traumatic experiences. I have found that by doing this you will become more effective at advocating for yourself, as well as identifying the messages that your brain and body send to you to help you function throughout your day.

— Rachelle Friedman, Licensed Clinical Social Worker
 

This mind-body approach to healing trauma is a wonderful tool for enhancing your goals in therapy. I have added this way of working since 2021, completing 72 hours of training in that time. I have been humbled by how it can open up the healing potential that lies in each of us.

— Ellen Tarby, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Ithaca, NY

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
 

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 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
 

During a brainspotting session, a trained therapist guides the client's attention to locate the brainspots related to their distress or trauma. These brainspots are typically identified through eye positions that correlate with the activation of emotional and somatic experiences. The therapist helps the client maintain their gaze on the identified brainspot while supporting them in exploring the associated thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations.

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

Brainspotting is a cutting-edge therapy method for emotional distress and trauma. By identifying visual cues called "brainspots," we address deep-seated pain and tough memories without needing to talk much. This approach accesses pathways in your brain that traditional therapy might miss, helping release stuck emotional distress and pain.

— Alexandria Parker, Licensed Clinical Social Worker