Brainspotting - What it is & How it Can Help You
When you hear or read about something new, you may be eager and interested to learn more. Brainspotting. You've never heard the term before, so it's common to be curious about it. You start by asking questions. The next step is spending a little more time researching on your own. After some initial research, you may even start to think about the potential ways it can work for you. Will this work for me? Is it invasive? How do I get started?
Let's learn more about Brainspotting, what it is, and how it can help you.
What is Brainspotting?
Brainspotting is a brain-based therapy that helps clients process past traumatic or overwhelming experiences through various relevant eye positions. Brainspots refer to the eye position that correlates to areas of the brain that hold onto certain thoughts and emotions. "Where you look affects how you feel" could be called the tagline of Brainspotting. Brainspotting allows clients to guide themselves through their own subconscious. A therapist will work with you to help guide your eyes through various fixed positions depending on the issue you want to explore.
What a Brainspotting Session Looks Like
Brainspotting allows clients to feel the connection between their brain and body more deeply, and to even feel how traumatic events have been stored in their bodies. Working with a trained therapist is a great way to ensure you'll be in a safe space throughout the treatment process. The first step with a Brainspotting therapy session is bringing up the issue you'd like to explore further with your therapist. Your therapist will then work with you to help identify any physical feelings that may be tied to the issue. After the client is able to locate the feelings and activation in their body, their therapist will help guide their eyes to different spots.
The client may explain what they are noticing in their feelings and/or thoughts. The therapist will work to stay attuned to the client, following where their process leads. Some clients process quietly and internally, while some talk about what they are feeling or connecting with. Your therapist will help you process and sort through all of the information.
What Brainspotting Can Help With
Brainspotting is a “bottom up” therapy, meaning that the process connects and begins in the limbic part of the brain, which is also where traumatic memories may be stored. However, Brainspotting isn’t just a trauma therapy, but has also been used to help with other conditions, such as:
Anger
Anxiety
Attachment issues
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Chronic pain
Depression
Major depressive disorder
Substance use
Persistent Fatigue
Phobias
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
The Benefits of Brainspotting
There are several benefits of Brainspotting, including that many clients report a reduction in symptoms and feeling better overall after only a few sessions. Here are a few of the other benefits of Brainspotting:
Better sleep
Experiencing less negative thought patterns
Increased energy
Reduced sense of pain
Less painful memories
Next Steps
There isn't a one size fits all type of therapy. What works for one of your friends or family members may not be the best solution for you and your experiences. But having a basic understanding of what you would like to work on or improve, and what modalities you are interested in, is a good place to start. Brainspotting may be a great option for you depending on your experiences and what you're looking to get out of your therapy experience. Reach out today to set up a consultation for Brainspotting.