Brainspotting

Developed in 2003 by Dr. David Grand, Brainspotting is a relatively new form of treatment that has been shown to be effective for a variety of conditions, particularly with helping to identify and heal underlying trauma that contributes to anxiety, depression and other behavioral issues. The goal of brainspotting is to bypass conscious thinking to access the deeper, subconscious emotional and body-based parts of the brain to facilitate healing. According to Dr. Grand, “where you look affects how you feel.” With this in mind, therapists using brainspotting techniques help their clients to position their eyes in ways that enable them to target negative emotion. Think this approach may work for you? Contact one of our brainspotting specialists today to try it out.

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Where you looks affects how you feel. BSP makes use of this natural phenomenon through its use of relevant eye positions. This helps the BSP therapist locate, focus, process and release a wide range of emotionally and bodily-based conditions. BSP is also a brain-based tool to support the therapy relationship. We believe that BSP taps into and harnesses the body’s natural self-scanning, self-healing ability.

— Eric Strom, Clinical Social Worker in Minnetonka, MN

Brainspotting was added to my practice in 2023. I'm trained in level 1 and 2, and nearly certified. While I am admittedly biased, countless times I've witnessed profound and lasting results with this bottom up trauma informed model to deeply and rapidly heal trauma, grief, and complex relational issues. Our eyes are connected to our subcortical brain where trauma is held, as well as our reptilian brain where we go under distress. Go to Brainspotting.com for more information.

— Pujita Latchman, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Berkeley, CA
 

One of the newest therapeutic techniques, Brainspotting can help process trauma and other issues using you eyes to focus outwardly while the brain heals inwardly. As a certified Brainspotting practitioner, I will use this technique in areas where words may not bring healing or understanding.

— Karl Thomas, Student Therapist in St. Paul, MN

Brainspotting is mind/body approach that can help you connect deeply with the root of where issues are stored in your brain, body and nervous system. It helps you clear issues, ranging from difficult trauma to everyday challenges. It is also very helpful in building positives, such as confidence, relaxation optimal performance, etc.

— Elinor (Elly) Nygren Szapiro, Licensed Professional Counselor in Northwest, AR
 

Brainspotting is mind/body approach that can help you connect deeply with the root of where issues are stored in your brain, body and nervous system. It helps you clear issues, ranging from difficult trauma to everyday challenges. It is also very helpful in building positives, such as confidence, relaxation optimal performance, etc. Here are links to videos "Who does Brainspotting work with?” https://vimeo.com/187492731 "Brainspotting" https://youtu.be/lm3Plvaf3

— Elinor (Elly) Nygren Szapiro, Licensed Professional Counselor in Northwest, AR

At this point, I’m mostly only working with new clients who are open to it as a part of our work together because doing therapy without Brainspotting feels a little like doing therapy with my arms tied behind my back. I just can’t help people make the movement we both want them to make with traditional talk therapy. For more information on Brainspotting visit Brainspotting.com or my website.

— PK Ponti-Foss, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Portland, OR
 

Brainspotting is my favorite way to combine talk therapy with body-focused mindfulness. This treatment is based on the fact that where we look affects how we feel, meaning that we can access nonverbal memories in order to heal them. I have completed training in Phases 1 and 2. I will attend Phase 3 training in July 2023.

— Amber Keating, Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Los Angeles, CA

Brainspotting is a cutting-edge therapy method for emotional distress and trauma. By identifying visual cues called "brainspots," we address deep-seated pain and tough memories without needing to talk much. This approach accesses pathways in your brain that traditional therapy might miss, helping release stuck emotional distress and pain.

— Alexandria Parker, Licensed Clinical Social Worker
 

I am currently a certified Brainspotting (BSP) practitioner and have been using it in my practice for the last three years. When I was a child in the Philippines I knew my grandmother was anxious because she would talk about how much her arms were swelling. Not everyone talks in therapy. BSP, in my opinion, is a non-oppressive form of therapy because it allows for a larger range of processing that isn't dependent on the client saying the right things.

— Marivi Acuna, Clinical Psychologist in Fort Worth, TX

I was first trained in 2013, and my respect for this method of working only grows the more I use it. As a contemplative therapist, I experience Brainspotting as a very specific and targeted mindfulness practice. As such, it's a natural tool for resolving trauma and accessing creativity in contemplative therapy. I enjoy working with it because it's very precise and relatively gentle when compared with other modalities, though the results are most powerful.

— Christine Bates, Licensed Professional Counselor in Oxford, MS
 

Brainspotting (BSP) is a powerful, focused method for treating trauma and other unresolved psychological issues. This unique approach helps you release the psychological blocks that keep you from being your most connected, creative, actualized self. Brainspotting offers deep neurological healing that talk therapy alone often cannot access. This technique gives us a way to access the subcortical brain, the place where emotional and somatic experiences are kept.

— Noelle Benach, Counselor in Baltimore, MD

There’s so much I love about Brainspotting; it compliments attachment theory and parts" work while allowing clients to dig deep in a way that isn’t possible with talk therapy alone. It's a way to clear through all the “stuff" in a completely different way so you can actually move forward with your life. I started training in November 2020 and became a Certified Brainspotter in January 2022.

— Jennifer Dolphin, Licensed Professional Counselor in Anchorage, AK
 

Brainspotting is a treatment approach which helps by identifying, processing, and releasing stored negative or traumatic experiences from the brain to help affected individuals heal from within. BSP is based on the idea that where you look affects how you feel. . I have found Brainspotting to be one of the most effective tools in healing anxiety, depression and trauma. (really any issue you face!) I have seen amazing progress in clients in a shorter amount of time vs. regular talk therapy.

— Chris McDonald, Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Supervisor in Raleigh, NC

Brainspotting is a therapeutic approach that targets and processes emotional and traumatic experiences by identifying specific "brainspots" within the individual's field of vision. These spots are connected to the activation of unresolved issues in the brain. Through focused attention and bilateral stimulation, often using eye movements, Brainspotting helps individuals access and release deep-seated emotions, allowing for healing and relief. It's a unique and effective method that taps into the

— EH Psychotherapy, Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Cary, NC
 

My expertise in Brainspotting comes from extensive training and a deep understanding of its principles, focusing on the mind-body connection to address trauma. This approach allows me to help clients access and process unresolved issues, facilitating profound healing. By utilizing Brainspotting, I guide individuals through their healing journey, addressing emotional and psychological challenges at their core, promoting resilience, and fostering a powerful path to recovery and wellness.

— Michele Ramey, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Las Vegas, NV

Brainspotting is a body-based modality for healing trauma and regulating the nervous system. Brainspotting locates points in a client’s visual field that help access unprocessed trauma in the subcortical brain. The subcortical brain is the most primitive part of the brain and what lights up on a brain scan when the body detects a threat and goes into a stress response of fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. Brainspotting helps you experience prfound healing on a neurobiological level.

— Janelle Stepper, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Roseville, CA
 

I am a Certified Brainspotting Practitioner and have experienced deep processing and healing in receiving Brainspotting.

— Jacqueline Casumbal, Psychotherapist in Gaithersburg, MD

I am trained to utilize Brainspotting and use this to address past trauma, OCD symptoms, and eating disorders.

— Allison Summer, Licensed Professional Counselor
 

Brainspotting is often used to reprocess traumatic memories, but it is beneficial for a wide range of issues and can be faster at targeting stuck memories than talk therapy alone.

— Kellita Thompson, Marriage & Family Therapist in Brentwood, TN