BRAINSPOTTING
A brain-body approach for processing trauma and experiences that live below the level of words.
Are there places in your life, relationships, body, or behavior that feel stuck?
Brainspotting is an integrative therapy approach that uses your eye position and bilateral sound to locate and process trauma, fear, or difficult experiences stored in the brain, body and nervous system. While talk therapy focuses on the cognitive mind, Brainspotting reaches what is held in the deeper brain and nervous system, accessing areas below the level of conscious words or memories.
How does it work?
Brainspotting works by identifying a "Brainspot"—a specific visual focal point that corresponds with deep-seated neurobiological activation and trauma stored in the body. By maintaining your gaze on this spot during focused mindfulness, it taps into the brain's natural self-scanning and self-healing capacities to process, release, and integrate unresolved emotional or physiological experiences at your nervous system's own pace.
Who is it good for?
Brainspotting is ideal for individuals who feel stuck in a painful loop, or that talk therapy has reached its limits. Brainspotting can address most psychological, emotional, somatic, and physiological issues, especially when the root cause is trauma. You don’t have to know what the underlying trauma is, and you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, or cant.
Brainspotting Can Help With:
trauma, including medical and birth trauma
anxiety, stress, and feeling overwhelmed
panic attacks
relationship wounds
parenting challenges
loss & grief
shame, guilt, & self-criticism
feeling stuck in recurring patterns
performance anxiety, perfectionism, & rejection sensitivity
rumination and thought spirals
difficulty relaxing or trouble sleeping
chronic pain or illness
ADHD and Highly Sensitive People
FAQ
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No. You can share as much or as little detail as feels appropriate. Brainspotting can work with emotions, body sensations, memories, images, or other internal experiences without requiring you to repeatedly describe every detail of an experience.
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While both Brainspotting and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing) are body-based trauma therapies that use bilateral stimulation and visual focus to access the deeper nervous system, they work differently. EMDR typically follows a structured protocol using side-to-side eye movements to reprocess specific traumatic memories. Brainspotting is a more flexible, client-led approach that focuses on maintaining a single visual focal point (a "Brainspot") to process neurophysiological activation at your nervous system's own pace.
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Yes. Brainspotting can be incorporated into telehealth therapy. As your therapist I will guide you through the process using your visual field while you remain in your familiar environment. All you have to bring is your preferred bilateral music and headphones.
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A good starting point is about 6 hours of Brainspotting. However, there isn’t a set number, and each person’s process is individual to their process and system. Brainspotting may be incorporated into regular weekly therapy or used as part of a more focused and accelerated intensive.
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Yes. Brainspotting is used with a range of emotional and somatic concerns, not exclusively PTSD or major traumatic events. We can discuss whether it makes sense for your particular concerns during a consultation and re-evaluate throughout the course of treatment.
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I completed Phase 1 Brainspotting training with Lisa Larson.
Deep & Effective
Gentle
Start with whatever is weighing on you, sharing as much or as little as feels right. The process organically brings forward the deeper layers beneath it, and invites your brain to heal them.
Flexible
It can be used alongside other therapeutic modalities, and is deeply integrative and adaptable to your individual needs, rather than following a rigid, one-size-fits-all protocol.
Below the Level of Words
Brainspotting accesses the sub-cortical brain and unlocks the brains’ natural healing capacities. Your system is able to unwind at it’s own pace, allowing for healing to unfold rather than force anything.
Brainspotting can be incorporated into both Individual and Couples Therapy as well as multi-hour intensives.
Curious to try Brainspotting?
Have questions? I’d love to hear from you.