What is Brainspotting?

Brainspotting is a somatic approach that uses specific spots in your visual field to access unresolved distress, trauma, and experiences stored in the body. Developed by Dr. Daivd Grand in 2003, Brainspotting is rooted in the understanding that where you look affects how you feel. By identifying and focusing on these targeted “Brainspots”, we can bypass the thinking brain and unlock deep emotional release and healing - without the need for talking. 

How Does Brainspotting Work?

When you experience a traumatic event, your nervous system can become overwhelmed, causing memories, sensations, and feelings to be “misfiled” in the brain. These unprocessed experiences often resurface later in life as intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, anxiety, or physical pain and tension. 

Brainspotting works by focusing on a brainspot - a point in your visual field that connects to these stored experiences. It’s believed that brainspots activate your subcortical brain, where trauma and unprocessed emotions are stored, facilitating deep reprocessing of feelings, thoughts, and memories. Brainspotting provides for a more integrative and embodied healing process, with many clients noticing a stronger connection to their emotions and body after sessions. 

What Brainspotting Can Help

Although Brainspotting was initially developed as a trauma therapy and evolved from EMDR; it can be helpful for a variety of concerns, especially situations where you feel “stuck” or blocked from moving forward. Brainspotting bypasses the thinking regions of the brain, allowing for a more body-driven and connected experience. Many clients of Brainspotting report rapid progress, much different than traditional talk therapy.

Research suggests Brainspotting is effective for: 

  • Anxiety and panic

  • Depression

  • PTSD

  • Chronic Pain

  • Sleep 

  • Creativity 

Anecdotal evidence suggests it can be helpful for:

  • Grief and loss 

  • Relationship stress 

  • Unmasking and exploring neurodivergent identity 

  • Burnout and work stress

  • Nightmares 

  • Intrusive thoughts

  • Life transitions

  • Decision making

  • Performance anxiety 

  • Coping with chronic illness 

What to Expect With Brainspotting at Crooked Tree Arts & Wellness

Collage made from art made during a Brainspotting & bilateral art session

  1. Identify the issue

    We’ll begin by identifying the concern you want to work on - whether it’s trauma, anxiety, chronic pain, or something hard to name. I’ll guide you into noticing the parts of the experience that are the most activating, and we’ll explore where and how you feel this in your body. 

  2. Find the Brainspot
    Using subtle eye movements and tracking body sensations, we’ll locate the brainspot connected to the experience. This is the point where your brain holds the most activation. 

  3. Process and Release
    You’ll mindfully focus your gaze on the Brainspot, allowing your brain to process at its own pace. You might notice sensations, emotions, images, or memories coming up. Whether you prefer to sit in quiet reflection or narrate your experience, I’ll support you every step of the process. 

  4. Reconnect
    Near the end of the session, we’ll check in to see what’s shifted and how you’re feeling. We may explore what came up and discuss follow-up activities to deepen your integration. 

Brainspotting sessions move at a pace that feels comfortable and empowering for you. You don’t have to retell or talk through traumatic experiences for Brainspotting to work. Instead, we focus on how these experiences show up in your body, approaching them with gentle curiosity and openness. 

Integrating Brainspotting with Art & Music

Depending on your preferences and processing style, we might also integrate music and art. 

Brainspotting often uses biolateral sound - gentle, rhythmic music and sounds alternating between ears to help facilitate the experience. This back-and-forth music helps regulate the nervous system while stimulating both hemispheres of the brain, enhancing processing and helping to create a sense of calm. 

We can also integrate the expressive arts into the Brainspotting experience. This might include drawing-based body scans or moving between periods of Brainspotting and bilateral art making. Much like biolateral sound, creating with both hands engages both hemispheres of the brain, helping to process emotions, regulate the nervous system, and deepen somatic awareness. Moving between Brainspotting and expressive arts creates another pathway for release and integration, especially for neurodivergent clients who may prefer non-verbal or sensory-based ways of processing. 

My Personal Experience With Brainspotting

Art inspired by my Brainspotting session

I first became interested in Brainspotting while looking for somatic approaches to better support my neurodivergent clients. Intrigued in what I was learning, I knew I had to try it for myself. At the time, I’d spent the last few years battling pretty intense driving PTSD after multiple car accidents. I hadn’t driven in years, and even as a passenger, I was flooded with anxiety. Despite a ton of therapy, I could only manage very short drives with my partner beside me - and even then, I was fighting off panic attacks. 

Then I tried Brainspotting. 

My first session shook me. I felt a wave of emotions - empathy, sadness, joy, and grief wrapped with memories, images, and full-body sensations. After, something shifted. Something felt different and lighter.  That afternoon, I got in the car and drove. Not only did I drive, but I did it without panic and anxiety. 

During my second Brainspotting session, we integrated bilateral art-making to enhance my experience. After that session, I started driving independently, driving myself to and from the office. Instead of panicking, I felt calm and confident - as if I hadn’t avoided the driver's seat for the last 5 years.

It was life-changing. I continued Brainspotting, no longer focused on driving but instead exploring other areas of my life. Like previous experiences, I felt lightness, clarity, and renewed confidence. The experience was rapid and transformative, and I was hooked. During Brainspotting training, I had the opportunity to experience Brainspotting again as the client, and it was just as powerful, allowing me to access deep emotions and relief.

Art inspired by Brainspotting

Health & Wellness, Therapy, NeurodivergenceKristina RisolaBrainspotting, ND Affirming Therapy, therapy, trauma, mind body, BSPComment