Brainspotting

Brainspotting is a brain based therapy that was discovered by David Grand in 2003. It is based on the idea that where you look affects how you feel. "Brainspotting uses our field of vision to find where we are holding these traumas in our brain." (Brainspotting by David Grand, 2013)

Brainspotting is a powerful, focused treatment method that works by identifying, processing and releasing core neurophysiological sources of emotional/body pain, trauma, dissociation and a variety of other challenging symptoms. Brainspotting is a simultaneous form of diagnosis and treatment, enhanced with Biolateral sound, which is deep, direct, and powerful yet focused and containing.

What to expect

• Although I am there guiding you, much of this is self-directed. You will start with some relaxing breathing and possibly listening to bilateral sound (music designed to move from one ear to the other) in headphones.
• Once you have settled into a more mindful state, you will identify a place in your body where you feel the most distress and rank it on a scale of one to 10. 
• With my help, you will then find your “brain spot,” or spot where your eyes naturally focus on when the physical discomfort is the strongest. You will be guided to focus on this spot by a pointer, and I will help you identify the spot where you are “stuck” or feeling the most activation.
• I may take either an “Outside Window” or “Inside Window” approach. In the “Outside Window” approach, I observe the client’s gaze and recommend a point; in the “Inside Window” approach, the client is the one identifying the point to process.
• From here, you will hone in on the feelings coming up, as you stick with this one area of focus.
• You will then take some time to process the whole experience of what came up and what it may mean.

At the end of the session, you will again rate your level of distress—typically it will be lower than it was when you started. Some people report feeling a sense of release either mentally or even physically, through a mild tingling sensation or mild shaking as though you have the chills.

Following the session, you may feel exhausted or more emotional than usual. 

(Adapted from verywellmind.com, 2022)