How Does Brainspotting Work?

If you're looking for a therapeutic healing process, Brainspotting might be for you. Learn what to look for when you search "Brainspotting near me."

Brainspotting Therapy Near Me

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Therapeutic Intervention

There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all therapeutic intervention. One of the reasons for the uniqueness of human minds may be the patterns in which emotional experiences are stored in the brain.

As a result, talk therapies may not be beneficial for one person while they may work wonderfully for another. In such cases, to assist their clients in better understanding themselves and their emotions, therapists use brain-based and biological therapeutic approaches. Therapy should be customized to fit each patient’s unique individual needs and expectations. This is where Brainspotting comes in.

Brainspotting Therapy

Brainspotting therapy is a new and innovative treatment that can help with many mental health issues, including anxiety, trauma, mental blocks, negative emotions, and others.

It’s important to note that out of EMDR, CBT, and DBT, Brainspotting was found to be the most beneficial. Brainspotting is a gentle healing technique that doesn’t re-traumatize you by replaying past events.

What is Brainspotting?

It’s commonly stated that “The eyes are the access to the soul.” Brainspotting is a technique that uses eye position to connect emotions and physical symptoms.

Developed by Dr. David Grand, Brainspotting is a new, fast-growing therapy in psychology. This new therapy has proven to be a powerful and focused treatment that identifies a person’s “brainspots,” initiates the processing of thoughts and feelings held in the subcortical brain, and allows a person to release emotional/physical pain associated with the traumatic events.

How Does Brainspotting Work?

The Brainspotting technique, whose roots in EMDR, operates similarly when reprocessing the bad memories stored in the mind. It’s a quick and effective treatment that provides relief in the short term.

Once the brainspot is activated, the negative emotion, thought, memory, or experience will be released. This allows you to process, resolve, conquer, and recover rapidly. The ultimate goal of Brainspotting is to help you regain control over your life and emotions.

How Effective is Brainspotting?

Brainspotting therapy has been shown to provide excellent relief for anxiety, trauma, PTSD, and depression and reduce the symptoms associated with these mental conditions. Because of its model of therapy, which is well known for its fast results and positive outcome, therapists are increasingly adopting Brainspotting to treat mental and psychological issues.

Due to its effectiveness, it’s also used as adjuvant therapy in managing physical pain. The Brainspotting process also addresses issues like poor focus, low motivation, tension, and emotional disorders.

What Types of Issues Can Brainspotting Help With?

Most Brainspotting therapies have been used to treat PTSD and anxiety, but nothing is out of bounds when it comes to Brainspotting. This modality can work with a variety of different psychological issues! It’s been generally stated that Brainspotting can be used to address creativity blocks, trauma, or negative emotions.

Examples of Brainspotting Uses

Other types of issues Brainspotting helps with include:

  • Fear of loss
  • Feelings of inadequacy
  • Failure
  • Social anxiety
  • Self-doubt
  • Loss of a relationship and loss of a loved one
  • Sexual abuse, and more
brainspotting process 

How Do I Know If Brainspotting Worked?

This is a common question asked following a Brainspotting session. For starters, it worked because you did it! Following a Brainspotting session, you may have the following feelings:

  • Increased awareness of themselves
  • Increased insight
  • Some movement or progress on an issue after they had been stuck
  • Reduced distress related to the issue when confronted with it again
  • New realizations

Of course, each client’s reaction to a Brainspotting session is different. Most issues won’t be resolved in a single Brainspotting session, but they’ll be resolved over consistent treatment and dedication.

How Does Brainspotting Work


Rather than forcing the client to relive the trauma, Brainspotting works by tuning into the brain’s limbic systems to help release painful trauma from memory.

Brainspotting therapists use a pointer to slowly direct clients’ eyes across their field of vision to discover appropriate “brainspots.” When a brainspot is found, and the client’s eye position is fixed on it, the client can feel the distress and emotional and physical pain that the brainspot has opened. This then leads to healing.4

What Happens in a Brainspotting Session?

A qualified Brainspotting therapist does the Brainspotting treatment as part of a therapy plan. Throughout the procedure, the therapist is looking for small reflexive signals that indicate the presence of a brainspot:

The following are some of the procedures that take place during a Brainspotting treatment:

  • The Brainspotting therapist leads the individual’s focus across their range of vision with a pointer (could be a finger or the end of a pointer rod).
  • The therapist notes the position of a brainspot once the eyes reach there.
  • Using the indicated brainspots, the individual narrates the experience in greater depth and more detail than is ordinarily achievable.
  • Through the gently guided sessions, specific memories can be reprocessed in a safe atmosphere.
  • During the sessions, traumatic memories and emotions can be fully released, allowing the body to heal itself.

In most cases, after therapy sessions, the Brainspotting therapist will most likely spend some time calming things down and discussing what transpired.

What to Expect During and After Brainspotting?

During the Brainspotting session, the brain is rebooting, re-stabilizing, and resourcing itself, and after the therapy session has ended, you may feel:

  • Completely relaxed and calm
  • Tired and want to nap
  • Moody, irritable, or on edge for a few days
  • You might not feel any different, but you’ll still find yourself reflecting on events
  • The processing often continues even after a therapy session

Brainspotting at Iris Healing®

Whether you or a loved one are considering alternative methods of mental health treatment, it is important to consider your options. At Iris Healing®, we will take your specific needs and experiences into account. We believe that everyone has their own journey to recovery, and we look forward to being a part of that.

Who Should Not Participate in Brainspotting?

Anyone can participate in Brainspotting because it’s a suitable treatment for all forms of trauma, including anger issues, anxiety disorder, addiction, chronic fatigue and pain syndromes, impulse control disorders, phobias, and performance anxiety issues.

Many people think they can do this therapy on their own. This technique is known as self-brainspotting. Although it’s possible, it isn’t easy. There is also a risk to self-brainspotting, and it’s not advisable to do it on your own. It’s better to get a certified Brainspotting therapist to carry out this therapy session for you. A professional will ensure that you’re receiving proper care before, during, and after treatment and that all elements of your experience and healing are properly addressed.

If you feel that either you or a loved one could benefit from the process of brainspotting, visit us at Iris Healing®. We have qualified Brainspotting therapists who are here to help you. The sooner you face your challenges, the happier and healthier you’ll be.

We look forward to being a part of your healing journey.

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