What is Brainspotting?
A new therapy modality that developed out of EMDR, Brainspotting is a powerful approach designed to access and process emotional and psychological experiences that are deeply rooted in your brain and body.
Brainspotting emerged from the field of EMDR when Dr. David Grand discovered that a client’s eye position could access deeper processing zones in the brain, beyond traditional bilateral stimulation. While both therapies harness the mind-body connection and use focused eye positions to release trauma, brainspotting allows for more precise and sustained access to subcortical emotional material.
Some preliminary studies and clinical observations suggest that Brainspotting may lead to faster or more profound results than EMDR, particularly for complex trauma.
Focused and Highly Efficient
A brain-body therapy approach
Brainspotting is a focused and highly efficient, mindful and somatic approach that uses the brain-body connection to promote deep healing. Brainspotting is not talk therapy; healing doesn’t occur through verbal processing, but rather, through mindfulness and a deeper connection to your body. It may feel very different than any therapy you’ve experienced before.
Some clients report that after Brainspotting, they feel tired or drained, like they’ve done a mental or emotional workout. After a session, processing continues to occur for 48-72 hours, as positive neural networks strengthen within your nervous system.
What does Brainspotting Treat?
Brainspotting is a versatile treatment modality that can treat:
- Anxiety & phobias
- Social anxiety
- Panic attacks
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Grief
- Stress & burnout
- Depression
- Low self-esteem
- Inner child wounds
- Childhood trauma
- Relational or attachment trauma
- Addiction & substance misuse
- Body image issues
- Anger
What are the results of Brainspotting?
Through Brainspotting, you can:
- Enhance your assertiveness
- Learn to self-soothe
- Increase awareness of how you feel, emotionally & physically
- Process trauma
- Cultivate a sense of peace
- Develop healthier self-esteem
- Experience inner child healing
- Improve interpersonal boundaries
- Decrease feelings of emptiness
- Improve on your performance goals (athletic, creative, etc.)
Learn more here about some ways Brainspotting can support your nervous system.
I don't think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains
-Anne Frank
Expansion Brainspotting
Expansion Brainspotting works to alleviate profound suffering, and strengthen self-worth and desired states of being.
Examples of desired states of being are the internal states of:
- Freedom
- Joy
- Peace
- Calm
- A sense of expanded possibilities
- Inner warmth and compassion
- Relief
- Gratitude
- Resilience & Capability
A trauma-informed adaptation, Expansion Brainspotting is good for everyone, including a great fit for those who have experienced complex trauma, sometimes called relational or attachment trauma (experiences of neglect, betrayal, emotional abuse, or toxic patterns in close relationships). Expansion Brainspotting still utilizes the brain-body connection, but is more based on equipping you with internal resources by cultivating a state of expansion, openness, and connection. From this state, you are able to focus less on the problem and more on the solution.
Expansion Brainspotting can treat all of the same issues as traditional Brainspotting (trauma, anxiety, depression, etc.), but with its focus on coping with emotions and getting in touch with inner capability, it’s also highly effective for grief, athletic or creative performance, and personal growth.
The word “expansion” in Expansion Brainspotting is key to its philosophy of healing. Trauma leads to contraction, getting smaller and tighter, pulling into yourself; expansion and openness is a sign of deep healing.
As a client at Smart Therapy, you can either focus solely on expansion work, traditional Brainspotting, or combine both traditional and Expansion Brainspotting in your treatment plan.