Brainspotting Therapy
What Is Brainspotting Therapy?
Brainspotting is a versatile, brain-based, relational therapeutic treatment designed to help clients heal from the effects of trauma, recover from addiction, and develop peak performance. As clients use Brainspotting to gain an awareness of how eye position impacts their physical state and emotions, they can target the physiological effects of trauma that create discomfort and distress.
Developed in 2003 by Dr. David Grand as a continuation of somatic (body-based) techniques and EMDR (or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing - another type of trauma-informed therapy), Brainspotting sought to emphasize the concept that “where you look affects how you feel.” Interestingly, Grand conceived of this therapy while working with a figure skater who could not master the triple loop on the rink. After noticing that her eyes darted and froze when stressed, Grand trained the skater to keep her eyes on a specific fixed point, which allowed her to process intrusive associations and let go of her performance anxiety. Grand’s client flawlessly executed the triple loop after just one treatment.
Brainspotting is a relatively new form of therapy and research continues to be done on its effectiveness. However, there is plenty of evidence to support Brainspotting as a safe, gentle treatment that is particularly beneficial for targeting post-traumatic stress. A recent study done by the Newton-Sandy Hook Community Foundation found that a larger percentage of trauma survivors (59 percent) reported a reduction in their symptoms using Brainspotting than those using EMDR (31 percent) ¹.
Because trauma is often interrelated with a wide array of mental health issues, Brainspotting can be an effective treatment for anxiety, depression, and addiction. And for those who have suffered attachment injuries, which can result from early trauma or violations in a close relationship, the Brainspotting technique can help them facilitate trust and repair their connections.
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“Where You Look Affects How You Feel.” – Dr. David Grand
If you want to know a little bit about how Brainspotting works, you can try it yourself to get a sense of the technique.
Think about something slightly disturbing and notice the sensations that happen in your body in response to that thought. Now, move your eyes all the way to the left and then slowly scan your eyes across to the right. You will likely notice the sensations increase or decrease at a particular point. A clinician trained in Brainspotting will use this focal point to help you find the eye position that produces either the most or least activated spot, letting the brain naturally process and heal physical, mental, and emotional distress.
As opposed to other therapies that target the “thinking” part of the brain, Brainspotting allows you to access the “feeling” part of the brain—otherwise known as the subcortical region—where unprocessed trauma is stored. The “brainspot” is the precise point in the brain that responds to activation and eye position. When you locate the brainspot, you are able to clear neural pathways and release stored trauma.
A central tenet of the Brainspotting technique is that your brain knows what it needs to heal. For this reason, Brainspotting therapy is typically client-driven and doesn’t require the same amount of verbal processing as other common forms of psychotherapy.
How The Brainspotting Technique Promotes Sobriety
In addition to treating symptoms that directly result from trauma, Brainspotting can be particularly beneficial in addiction recovery and treatment. By allowing clients to activate the part of the brain that triggers cravings in Brainspotting therapy sessions, they can pinpoint the brainspot that will help them create a strong association between acting on the craving and its consequences, thereby reducing the urge to use.
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Brainspotting Therapy At Insights Counseling Center
At Insights Counseling Center, we firmly believe that deep, meaningful healing lies within healing the brain itself. Therefore, we incorporate other brain-based modalities—including EMDR and Neurofeedback—into Brainspotting treatments. We aim to be on the cutting edge of trauma-informed therapy, so our clinicians invested ample time researching, evaluating, and getting trained in the Brainspotting technique to ensure our clients’ success in treatment.
Not every problem can be “reasoned” its way out of—especially when it comes to trauma. And while our clients have made and continue to make great strides in talk therapy, there often comes a point when they get stuck, and their stored trauma needs to be addressed in another way. Upon realizing that our clients could benefit from treatments that go beyond the logical reasoning and behavioral adjustments that are characteristic of conventional talk therapy, we began incorporating Brainspotting into our practice in 2020.
Not only does this form of therapy allow our clients to target their trauma and stress responses, but it also allows them to create a vision of how to move forward so that they can become the best version of themselves possible. Because we specialize in treating sex and porn addicts, we have seen firsthand how beneficial Brainspotting can be in establishing lasting sobriety. And for those who have been betrayed by their partner’s addiction, Brainspotting can help them to process their trauma and re-establish a sense of trust and stability.
Heal Your Brain, And You Will Heal Yourself
If you struggle from the crippling effects of post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, or addiction, Brainspotting can help where other treatments may have fallen short.
To schedule your first appointment or to book a free, 10-minute consultation to find out more about the Brainspotting technique, please email us or reach out via our site.