What Is Brainspotting and What Is It Used For?

Dealing with any kind of trauma, negative thoughts, or invasive memories can have a huge impact on your overall quality of life. You might start to think you will never be able to move forward without the lasting side effects of your traumatic experience.

Thankfully, there are a variety of modalities that can help you process trauma, stress, anxiety, and more. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all option. Maybe you’ve looked into other types of therapies in the past, or you might have tried one or two, only to find that they didn’t have the effect you had hoped for.

If that’s the case, it might be time to consider brainspotting. It’s a science-backed psychotherapy technique that focuses on the connection between your central nervous system and how it could be impacting your mental health.

Let’s take a closer look at brainspotting and what it’s used for.

Digging Deeper Into Brainspotting

Brainspotting is a form of talk therapy and you’ll work with your therapist to discuss certain thoughts, memories, and experiences. However, it focuses more on the connection between those experiences and where they are being stored in the brain.

Through the brainspotting process, your therapist will use specific eye positions (brainspots) to identify unprocessed traumas stored in the brain. By fixating on each individual brain spot, you and your therapist will be able to work through those traumas or thoughts. You will uncover the challenges they’re causing and learn how to process them effectively.

How Does It Work?

When your eyes are focused on a specific spot, your therapist will encourage you to focus on how you feel. They’ll want you to pay attention to any bodily sensations, feelings of tension, or even things like changes in the way you’re breathing. This activates the area of the brain responsible for processing emotions.

Brainspotting taps into the midbrain, which is responsible for the fight-or-flight response. It’s also the area of the brain that stores traumatic memories. If those memories or thoughts aren’t released, it can cause you to feel like you’re in a constant state of distress. You might also feel like you’re always in a heightened state of fear.

What to Expect in a Session

As you remain focused on a specific brainspot, you might start to experience emotions, images, or even flashbacks of a traumatic event. While that isn’t necessarily an easy thing to think about, it’s the best way to release those emotions so you can start to process them.

Your therapist might use specific techniques to make processing these emotions easier, such as bilateral stimulation. Brainspotting takes a bottom-up approach. While it is a form of talk therapy, it focuses on bodily sensations first. It’s designed to dig deeper into the areas of the brain that you might not access on your own simply by talking about your experiences.

Who Is It for?

Brainspotting can be an extremely effective therapy for anyone who has experienced trauma or someone who is dealing with PTSD. However, it can also help with complex trauma, anxiety, depression, and even addiction issues.

If you are someone who doesn’t want to spend a lot of time sharing details about a traumatic event or you have a difficult time talking about it, brainspotting could be one of the best therapeutic options for you, especially if opening up has been an obstacle in the past.

Because some people consider brainspotting to be relatively new, it is understandable to have some questions. I’m happy to provide more information. Reach out to my office to set up a consultation for trauma counseling and work through those questions before starting treatment.