Brainspotting: Access your subcortical brain and start deep healing
What is brainspotting?
Brainspotting is a therapy approach designed to help you with unprocessed trauma and emotional difficulties. It uses specific eye positions that correlate with “brainspots” – fixed points where unresolved trauma or emotional distress is stored in your brain.
Brainspotting allows you to access and release deeply held trauma, often leading to profound relief. What’s important is that, unlike traditional talk therapy, Brainspotting works directly with the subcortical brain—the part responsible for emotions, instincts, and survival responses. This approach helps you “bypass” overthinking and activates your body’s natural ability to heal.
That’s why it’s a good idea to try brainspotting even if you’ve been in therapy before.
When is brainspotting helpful?
Trauma
Brainspotting helps you process unresolved trauma by accessing subcortical areas of the brain where distressing memories are stored.
Anxiety
Brainspotting targets the roots of anxious thoughts by calming the nervous system and helping you restore balance and confidence.
Creativity blocks
Lastly, this modality helps you remove mental and emotional barriers stored in your brain and restore “creative flow”.
Chronic pain
Brainspotting helps by addressing the mind-body connection. It reduces the emotional charge linked to pain, often leading to noticeable relief.
What can you expect from Brainspotting?
Brainspotting is so effective long-term because it uses the brain’s natural processing abilities. It helps you release stored trauma, reduce emotional distress, and improve overall mental and emotional well-being.
With brainspotting, you will feel more balanced, resilient, and in control of your emotions. Many clients also mention they experience a renewed sense of purpose in their life.
What does a Brainspotting session look like?
Brainspotting comprises finding your “brainspot” – a specific point in your visual field that connects to the emotional or physical discomfort you’re experiencing. I will help you locate this point and focus on it while helping you achieve awareness of your thoughts, emotions, and sensations. This way, your brain will be able to access and release deep, stored trauma.
Brainspotting doesn’t involve a lot of talk therapy and many clients report noticeable relief more quickly compared to traditional talk therapy.
Discover the brainspotting process
You, as a client, have full control over the brainspotting process. A Brainspotting session begins with deciding what will be processed. Then, we identify an activation spot and a calming spot—this is the basic setup in brainspotting.
You decide how long you want to stay in the activation spot. You also choose how often and for how long you want to switch to the calming spot to regulate and integrate your mental state.
You can talk during the session or process in silence. This means the experience is not overwhelming in any way; if you choose, you can process your challenge in a calm and manageable way.
Brainspotting as a resource
Brainspotting is so much more than just a way to process difficult experiences or emotions! You can use it as an expansion and connection tool to deepen positive emotions and creativity.
Expansion spots give you access to creativity, new ideas, and new perspectives.
Brainspotting and IFS
Brainspotting can be easily integrated with IFS. Clients oftentimes start with brainspotting, but at some point, the Parts step into the healing process. This is where we can start integrating IFS to make your therapy more effective.
Are you ready to start Brainspotting in New York?
If you’ve tried other therapy approaches and still feel stuck or are struggling with mental or emotional challenges, try brainspotting. Many of my clients notice significant improvement after just a few sessions. If you’d like to know more, go ahead and schedule a free initial consultation. I’m happy to answer your questions and tell you more about this approach!
I look forward to talking to you!
