Brainspotting Therapy
Brainspotting™ (BSP) is an internationally recognized brain-body method for healing from stress, anxiety and depression naturally, as well as expanding performance and creativity. BSP accesses the deepest regions of the brain where “neuroplasticity” can reawaken neural networks to allow lasting positive change. It is extremely effective for healing trauma, releasing mental blocks, and maximizing creative potential.
Imagine living a life where you are fully present, peaceful and balanced; where past hurts and painful experiences are no longer impacting your current relationships and circumstances. I am an internationally certified consultant in Brainspotting, a powerful method to release trauma and emotionally charged experiences that are stored in the brain and body. Brainspotting can help you deeply process and fully release the negative thoughts, unhealthy coping, emotional pain, and difficult past experiences that keep you from thriving in the present.
HOW DOES BRAINSPOTTING WORK?
Brainspotting is a therapeutic process grounded in connection, compassion, and curiosity. It uses specific points in the client’s visual field to access unprocessed trauma in the subcortical brain. Brainspotting uses relevant eye positions, somatic awareness, focused mindfulness and the therapist’s attunement to process and release the stored traumas which underlie a wide range of emotional and physical problems. It is a brain-body based treatment which integrates well with other types of therapies.
Often Brainspotting is used in conjunction with bilateral sound - music or nature sounds which move back and forth between right and left ears, which balances activation of the right and left brain hemispheres and activates the parasympathetic, or calming, part of the nervous system.
Brainspotting therapy was developed in 2003 by Dr David Grand, an EMDR therapist and relational analyst. There are now over 12,500 BSP therapists trained over six continents, with about 50 trainers worldwide.
Brainspotting Therapy uses the brain’s and body’s natural ability to self-scan and to self-heal, or move back to a state of equilibrium. When a brainspot is activated, the deep brain appears to reflexively signal the therapist that a neural network holding unprocessed trauma has been found.
Trauma can be processed while connecting to either distressed or calm areas within the body. BSP Therapy can allow the client to move quickly through processing of the trauma in a contained and supported way. Because the processing occurs mostly in the subcortical brain, this may happen with less talking than in traditional talk therapy. It is common for clients to experience both rapid relief of distress and profound insights.
HOW IS BRAINSPOTTING DIFFERENT FROM TALK THERAPY?
This powerful form of therapy is grounded in research around the role of the deep brain in storing traumatic experiences. A key difference between Brainspotting and traditional therapies is that talk therapy primarily accesses the cerebral cortex, while trauma is stored deep in the brain's limbic system. Based on the idea that “Where you look affects how you feel”, Brainspotting accesses the subcortical brain through the use of a "spot" in the field of vision. It is this “brainspot” that offers a window into the deep brain structure.
Brainspotting helps focus and process emotional and somatic problems held in parts of the brain and body that may be otherwise inaccessible to the conscious mind, helping you develop a healthier relationship with your body and your emotional reactions to stress. As with EMDR, Brainspotting clients find lasting relief from the physiological effects of trauma, stress and related issues, feeling more grounded, secure, self-confident, and connected.
Brainspotting and performance expansion
Brainspotting is extremely effective in helping to dissolve creative blocks, and to enhance expansive thinking and creative process. As well as feeling more healthy and at peace in life generally, many clients find that creativity and confidence flow more freely once inner obstacles and blocks are removed. Whether you want to improve public speaking, artistic performance, or to expand performance in business or other areas, Brainspotting can balance and enhance your brain’s functioning, resulting in improved mental clarity and new capacities. Read more about my work with creatives here.
BRAINSPOTTING can HELP WITH:
Stress & overwhelm
Anxiety, grief, anger & other big emotions
Shame & self-esteem
Behaviors you have a hard time controlling (over-eating or shopping, binge watching or scrolling, bursts of irritability, lack of focus or procrastination)
Difficulty in relationships (over-extending yourself, frequent arguing, loneliness, feeling misunderstood)
Trauma, painful memories & life experiences
Creativity (audition anxiety, writer’s block, enhancement of performance or creative process)
Fears & phobias
Preparation for & recovery from birth or surgery