What Is Brainspotting?
- Feb 23, 2023
- 11 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Are you curious about the therapeutic power of Brainspotting? You have come to the right place. We have the answers you are looking for, exploring how this innovative technique uses the brain-body connection to help people overcome trauma, emotional distress, and much more.
What is Brainspotting used for?
Brainspotting is a therapeutic technique used to help people work through traumatic experiences and a wide range of mental health issues. It is used to reduce emotional distress, improve performance, and promote personal growth by addressing the deep connection between the brain and the body.
Brainspotting can be a powerful tool for healing and personal growth. Keep reading to discover how this unique method is used to help everyone from first responders and children to those seeking to unlock their full potential.
Table of Contents
Understanding What Is Brainspotting and How It Works
The Genesis of Brainspotting: Dr. David Grand
The Brain-Body Connection: Accessing the Subcortical Brain
Brainspotting Technique Explanation: The Role of Eye Positions
Is Brainspotting an Effective Therapy for Trauma?
Efficacy Mental Health: Why Brainspotting Works
Brainspotting vs. EMDR: Key Differences
The Bottom-Up Approach Therapy Explained
Specialized Applications of Brainspotting
Brainspotting with First Responders: Healing Trauma Session
Brainspotting with Children and Adolescents: Trauma Support
Brainspotting for Anxiety and Depression
Brainspotting for Addiction and Chronic Pain
The Brainspotting Session: What to Expect
Finding a Certified Brainspotting Therapist
The Patient-Led Approach: You are in Control
Can Brainspotting be Done Online? Virtual Brainspotting
The Benefits of Therapy: Choosing Brainspotting
Emotional Health and Stress Reduction
Beyond Trauma: Performance and Creativity
Making Real and Lasting Changes
Expanding Your Knowledge: Deeper Mechanisms and Research
The Focus: Dual Attunement and the Therapeutic Frame
Neuroplasticity and Healing: How the Brain Changes
Ongoing Research and Validation
Frequently Asked Questions
Understanding What Is Brainspotting and How It Works
Brainspotting therapy is a powerful, focused treatment method. It taps into the body's natural capacity for self-healing. Its core principle is that where you look affects how you feel. It is a therapy using eye positions to heal trauma stored in the body. This approach offers profound emotional regulation.
The Genesis of Brainspotting: Dr. David Grand
What Is Brainspotting David Grand? Brainspotting was created by Dr. David Grand in 2003. He developed this therapeutic technique while working with clients using another form of therapy. He observed that when clients held a specific eye position, it seemed to activate a deeper processing of emotional or traumatic material. This realization led to the development of Brainspotting as a method to help people effectively work through difficult and traumatic experiences. This was a major discovery in mental health treatment.
The Brain-Body Connection: Accessing the Subcortical Brain
This innovative, brain-based therapy operates on a core concept. Trauma and distress are not just cognitive memories. They are stored as physical, physiological responses in the subcortical or "mid-brain." This includes areas related to the limbic system, which controls emotion and survival.
This approach is sometimes referred to as 'mind body therapy' or 'bottom-up approach therapy'. It targets the deeper, non-verbal brain and body first. It does not rely solely on the cognitive, "top-down" processing of traditional talk therapy.
By calming and focusing the mind with intentional eye movements, Brainspotting helps to access these deeper layers of unconscious memory and emotion. This allows for a more direct, precise healing process. The goal is to facilitate trauma resolution.
Brainspotting Technique Explanation: The Role of Eye Positions
The process involves locating an 'Eye Position,' or a "brain spot,' in the client's visual field. This spot correlates with the deepest activation of a traumatic or emotionally painful issue. The therapist helps the client identify the physical sensations, also known as 'somatic experiencing,' and emotional distress associated with the issue.
In a Brainspotting session, the therapist uses a fixed point. This is often a pointer or the therapist's finger. The point guides the client's eyes across their field of vision. When the client's gaze hits the "brain spot," they often notice a heightened emotional or physical response.
Holding this eye position during the processing allows the deep brain reflexes to naturally reorganize and release the stored, painful experience. This releases the trauma stuck in the body. This can be immensely helpful in achieving emotional regulation and improving overall mental health.
Is Brainspotting an Effective Therapy for Trauma?
Brainspotting is a highly effective, cutting-edge therapy. It is increasingly becoming recognized as one of the best therapy options for trauma and a range of other mental health concerns.
Efficacy Mental Health: Why Brainspotting Works
The efficacy of Brainspotting lies in its ability to bypass the cognitive defenses of the neocortex, which is the thinking part of the brain. It goes straight to the emotional and physical storage centers of the mid-brain. This direct access promotes a deep, physiological, and emotional processing. This is often not achieved in traditional talk therapy sessions.
For individuals struggling with conditions like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and chronic pain, Brainspotting offers a way to not just manage symptoms but to resolve the underlying trauma that causes them. Research and clinical experience point to its significant potential in providing lasting relief and empowering transformation. This leads to a much better therapy outcome than solely relying on talk.
Brainspotting vs. EMDR: Key Differences
People often ask about the difference between Brainspotting and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). Both use eye movements.
Feature | Brainspotting (BSP) | EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) |
Primary Mechanism | Locating and maintaining a fixed brain spot (eye position) that correlates with the deepest activation of the trauma. | Guided, rhythmic, back-and-forth eye movements (bilateral stimulation) while recalling the trauma. |
Approach | Patient-led, non-verbal. The therapist is a supportive guide, allowing the client's body and brain to lead the process. | Protocol-driven, structured. Follows a specific sequence of steps for processing. |
Focus | Accesses the deep brain (subcortical brain) to process trauma stored at a physiological level. | Focuses on shifting cognitive beliefs and desensitizing the trauma memory. |
What is the difference between EMDR and Brainspotting? While both are effective trauma related therapy techniques, Brainspotting is often considered a more focused, gentle, and deep-reaching mind body therapy. EMDR utilizes reliving the trauma. Brainspotting utilizes working through emotions without reliving them.
The Bottom-Up Approach Therapy Explained
Brainspotting is a clear example of a "bottom-up" therapeutic approach. What is bottom up therapy? It starts by addressing the raw, non-verbal, physiological responses held in the body and the survival centers of the brain.
Contrast this with "top-down" therapies. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one example. These primarily focus on changing thoughts and behaviors. By healing the deep brain-body connection, Brainspotting allows for emotional regulation and calm to filter up to the cognitive centers. This leads to a profound, integrated recovery. This is why it is becoming an invaluable tool in mental health treatment.
Specialized Applications of Brainspotting
The versatility of Brainspotting means it is used successfully in a wide array of clinical settings. Its reach extends far beyond core trauma resolution.
Brainspotting with First Responders: Healing Trauma Session
First responders, including police, firefighters, and paramedics, face chronic exposure to intense, distressing, and traumatic events. This leads to high rates of PTSD and other mental health challenges. How does Brainspotting help First Responders?
Unlike traditional talk therapy techniques, Brainspotting concentrates on connecting physical sensations with psychological issues. This allows for a more holistic healing experience. It helps these brave individuals process the intense and distressing emotions they experience in the line of duty.
They often do not have to verbally recount the traumatic event in detail. This direct processing can quickly reduce symptoms of PTSD and other mental health issues that arise from prolonged exposure. This provides an avenue for long-term healing and much-needed trauma support.
Brainspotting with Children and Adolescents: Trauma Support
Brainspotting is also an effective psychotherapeutic technique for children and adolescents who have experienced trauma. Can Brainspotting be used for children and adolescents? Yes, it provides an invaluable tool in overcoming behavioral, emotional, and psychological challenges.
For younger clients who may struggle to verbalize their experiences, the simple, non-verbal nature of Brainspotting is particularly powerful. By using "brain spots" associated with emotional pain, a therapist can initiate the healing process.
This technique helps children and adolescents develop healthy coping strategies for managing ongoing stressors. They gain better insight into how their past experiences have shaped their behavior. They move forward with greater confidence. This promotes long-term emotional health.
Brainspotting for Anxiety and Depression
While widely known for trauma, Brainspotting is also highly effective for treating anxiety and depression. Often, underlying, unprocessed emotional pain contributes significantly to these conditions.
Brainspotting Anxiety: By targeting the deep brain areas that hold stress and fear, Brainspotting can rapidly decrease the physiological arousal and distress associated with panic attacks and generalized anxiety. It aids in emotional regulation, shifting the person from a state of constant 'fight or flight' to one of calm and safety. This makes it a great choice for stress therapy.
Brainspotting Depression: For clients struggling with the weight of depression, this therapy can help access and release stored emotional burdens and negative self-beliefs. This powerful release often leads to improved mood, greater life satisfaction, and a clearer path forward. This makes it a powerful tool for depression therapy techniques.
Brainspotting for Addiction and Chronic Pain
The brain-body connection is key in addiction and chronic pain as well.
Addiction: Addiction often stems from using substances to cope with unprocessed emotional pain or trauma. Brainspotting helps resolve the root emotional distress. This reduces the urge to self-medicate and supports long-term recovery.
Chronic Pain: The brain and body are not separate. Chronic pain can be stored in the nervous system, often in connection with past stress or trauma. Brainspotting addresses the deep brain patterns that maintain the pain loop. It can offer significant relief and a path toward somatic experiencing without pain.
The Brainspotting Session: What to Expect
A Brainspotting session is a collaborative process. It is between the client and a qualified practitioner. It is a client-led, supportive experience focused on deep healing.
Finding a Certified Brainspotting Therapist
Because of the specialized nature of this therapy technique, it is essential to look for a certified Brainspotting therapist. These professionals have undergone specific training. They master the technique. They understand the intricacies of brain-based trauma processing. A simple therapist search can help you locate a qualified mental health professional near you.
The Patient-Led Approach: You are in Control
One of the defining features of Brainspotting is its client-led, non-judgmental approach. The client's body and brain lead the way. The therapist's role is to act as a support therapist. They hold a safe and contained therapeutic space. The goal of Brainspotting is to increase the patient's self-awareness while reducing symptoms related to trauma.
The client is always in control. They can stop the process at any time. This is crucial for those with a history of trauma. The process helps the patient explore their emotions and thoughts about the event. This leads to insight into their reactions and a more effective way to address them.
Can Brainspotting be Done Online? Virtual Brainspotting
In the modern world of online therapy, many are asking, can Brainspotting be done virtually? Yes, Brainspotting online is an increasingly common and effective practice.
Using a stable internet connection, a quiet private space, and tools like a cursor on a screen or a point on the wall, the essential elements of the "brain spot" and focused processing can be successfully replicated in a virtual setting. This makes access to this powerful therapy that works easier than ever for people around the globe.
The Benefits of Therapy: Choosing Brainspotting
Choosing any form of therapy is a commitment to improving your well-being. Choosing Brainspotting offers unique and powerful benefits of therapy.
Emotional Health and Stress Reduction
Brainspotting can have a dramatic positive effect on emotional health. By processing and releasing old trauma and stress stored in the brain-body system, clients often report a noticeable reduction in chronic stress, anxiety, and emotional reactivity.
The mind-body connection is strengthened. This leads to improved emotional regulation. This allows individuals to respond to life's challenges from a place of calm rather than reaction. This makes it an excellent option for stress therapy.
Beyond Trauma: Performance and Creativity
The therapy's applications extend into performance enhancement. This is often referred to as 'Resource Brainspotting.' By targeting eye positions that are associated with calm, focus, and peak performance, athletes, artists, and professionals can clear mental blocks and access their natural abilities more consistently. This helps unlock creative potential and improve overall function. It moves a person toward their full potential.
Making Real and Lasting Changes
Ultimately, Brainspotting's focus on the deep brain ensures that the changes are not just temporary coping mechanisms. They are fundamental shifts in how the nervous system processes information and responds to the world. By gaining a deeper understanding of the brain-body therapy connection, people are able to make real and lasting changes in their lives. This leads to a healthier, more productive mindset.
Expanding Your Knowledge: Deeper Mechanisms and Research
To fully appreciate the power of Brainspotting, it helps to understand the subtle elements that make it so effective.
The Focus: Dual Attunement and the Therapeutic Frame
A unique aspect of Brainspotting is "Dual Attunement." This describes the therapist's ability to be fully attuned to the client's relationship and their brain-body processing simultaneously. The therapist focuses on two things at once:
Relational Attunement: Creating a safe, non-judgmental, and trusting bond with the client. This safety is the foundation for deep work.
Somatic/Neural Attunement: Paying close attention to the client's subtle body shifts, facial expressions, and physiological cues while they are focused on the brain spot.
This deep, focused presence within the "therapeutic frame" allows the client's brain to feel safe enough to complete the incomplete trauma processing.
Neuroplasticity and Healing: How the Brain Changes
Brainspotting therapy is highly effective because it leverages the concept of neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. When a person holds a brain spot, it seems to activate specific neural networks associated with the emotional pain.
The focused attention, coupled with the bilateral sound or point of focus, creates a contained environment.
This containment allows the previously "stuck" trauma memory to re-process.
The brain forms new, healthier pathways, effectively unwiring the distress.
This profound reorganization leads to lasting trauma resolution and improved emotional regulation.
Ongoing Research and Validation
While still a relatively new therapeutic technique, the body of research supporting Brainspotting's efficacy is growing. Studies continue to validate its use for:
PTSD symptom reduction.
Decreasing anxiety and depression scores.
Treating performance-related blocks.
Reducing chronic pain perception.
As a brain-based model, it aligns perfectly with modern understandings of psychology and neuroscience, cementing its place as a crucial tool in modern mental health treatment. It is a therapy that works at the deepest level.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Brainspotting and how does it work?
Brainspotting is a powerful, brain-based therapy. It uses specific eye positions, or "brain spots," to access and process trauma and emotional pain stored deep in the subcortical brain and body. By maintaining the eye position associated with the trauma, the brain's innate healing mechanisms are activated to release the stored emotional and physiological distress.
Is Brainspotting considered an evidence-based therapeutic approach?
While newer than some other modalities, Brainspotting is considered an evidence-based therapeutic approach by a growing number of practitioners and organizations. Ongoing research supports its efficacy, particularly in treating trauma and PTSD.
What is the difference between Brainspotting and traditional therapy techniques?
The main difference is that Brainspotting is a "bottom-up" approach. It accesses the non-verbal, deep brain-body connection directly through eye position. This often bypasses the need for extensive verbal recounting of the trauma. Traditional talk therapy is generally a "top-down" approach, focusing on cognitive processing and verbal insight.
Can Brainspotting help with conditions other than trauma?
Yes. Brainspotting is also highly effective for a wide range of issues. This includes anxiety, depression, chronic pain, addiction, performance anxiety, stress reduction, and improving focus and creativity.
How many Brainspotting sessions are typically needed to see results?
The number of sessions varies widely based on the individual and the complexity of the issue. Some people report significant relief and clarity within a few sessions. Deeper, more complex trauma may require a more extended course of therapy that works. Your therapist will guide you in determining the best treatment plan.
Whether you're exploring Brainspotting for personal growth or to help heal from past trauma, we at Chateau Health and Wellness Treatment Center are here to support you. We understand that taking the first step can be challenging, and our team is committed to providing a safe, compassionate space for your journey. We believe in the power of a collaborative approach, and we're ready to partner with you to help you achieve your goals and find lasting relief. If you or a loved one is ready to start this journey with us, please don't hesitate to reach out. We're here to answer your questions and guide you toward a healthier, more fulfilling life. Give us a call at (801) 877-1272 to begin your path to healing today.
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About The Author
Austin Pederson, Executive Director of Chateau Health and Wellness
Brings over eight years of experience revolutionizing mental health and substance abuse treatment through compassionate care and innovative business strategies. Inspired by his own recovery journey, Austin has developed impactful programs tailored to individuals facing trauma and stress while fostering comprehensive support systems that prioritize holistic wellness. His empathetic leadership extends to educating and assisting families, ensuring lasting recovery for clients and their loved ones.
Danny Warner, CEO of Chateau Health and Wellness
Brings a wealth of experience in business operations, strategic alliances, and turnaround management, with prior leadership roles at Mediconnect Global, Klever Marketing, and WO Investing, Inc. A graduate of Brigham Young University in Economics and History, Danny has a proven track record of delivering results across diverse industries. His most transformative role, however, was as a trail walker and counselor for troubled teens at the Anasazi Foundation, where he directly impacted young lives, a personal commitment to transformation that now drives his leadership at Chateau.
Ben Pearson, LCSW - Clinical Director
With 19 years of experience, Ben Pearson specializes in adolescent and family therapy, de-escalation, and high-risk interventions. As a former Clinical
