Brainspotting Therapy

Brainspotting therapy is a revolutionary treatment modality that addresses and treats a wide variety of brain, body, and trauma-based issues. Brainspotting therapy targets, unlocks, and releases stored trauma deep within the subcortical region of the brain which enables unprocessed and unresolved concerns to surface and re-integrate with a sense of relief and peace.

 

Deep emotions and memories are stored within the subcortical region of the brain, which is organized around the eyes. Brainspotting therapy uses a pointer to find relative eye positions along someone’s visual field that correspond to where trauma is stored in the subcortical area. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most frustrating stuck places in therapy is when we have a sense of knowing without a felt sense of believing. Traditional top-down therapies and strategies neglect to integrate the brain's knowing with the body and soul's somatic wisdom. With Brainspotting therapy, the body and mind unite once again, and the central nervous system is able to be recalibrated, similarly to how it responded and functioned before the trauma or significant life event. 

 

The power and effectiveness of Brainspotting therapy was acknowledged by Dr. Robert Scaer in his book “The Trauma Spectrum: Hidden Wounds and Human Resiliency," when he wrote

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"Brainspotting is based on the profound attunement of the therapist with the patient, finding a somatic cue and extinguishing it by down-regulating the amygdala. It isn’t just PNS (Parasympathetic Nervous System) activation that is facilitated, it is homeostasis."

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Brainspotting therapy has been found effective for a wide variety of issues including

physical & emotional trauma stemming from abuse, neglect, intimate partner violence, trauma resulting from war + natural disasters, trauma from bodily injury, trauma resulting from medication interventions + treatment, stress + trauma-related medical illnesses (i.e. fibromyalgia, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome), chronic pain disorders, asthma, stuttering, mood disorders (i.e. depression, bipolar 1 + 2), anger, rage, anxiety, panic, phobias, addictions (both chemical and behavioral), and ADD/ADHD

 

What Does a Brainspotting session look like?

 

Brainspotting therapy uses Biolateral Stimulation music, which essentially activates both the right and left hemispheres of the brain allowing for deeper processing. The music is also relaxing and calming, which contributes to the memory reconsolidation process of the therapy. As the session progresses, the therapist will help locate a “brainspot,” which is a fixed point along someone’s visual field. The therapist will use a pointer to guide the client’s eye gaze to a brainspot, where the deep emotional and body based processing can begin. Before the end of the session, the therapist will assist the client in grounding, relaxing, and bringing awareness back to the present. 

 

If you’re curious to find out more about Brainspotting therapy, reach out for a free consultation or check out the resources below. 

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Brainspotting Resources

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Dr. David Grand's Biolateral Sound Healing Album 

(available for free on YouTube and Spotify)

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The Baltimore Brainspotting Collective webpage

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"Get Ignited!" by Dr. Christine Ranck 

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"Ignite the Genius Within" Dr. Christine Ranck 

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