Where you look affects how you feel…
“It allows us to harness the brain's natural ability for self-scanning, so we can activate, locate, and process the sources of trauma and distress in the body.”- David Grand, PhD, creator of Brainspotting
Brainspotting
What Is Brainspotting?
Brainspotting is a powerful, focused treatment method that works by identifying, processing and releasing core neurophysiological sources of emotional/body pain, trauma, dissociation and a variety of other challenging symptoms. Brainspotting is a simultaneous form of diagnosis and treatment, enhanced with Biolateral sound, which is deep, direct, and powerful yet focused and containing. Brainspotting is effective for a wide variety of emotional and somatic conditions. Brainspotting is particularly effective with trauma-based situations, helping to identify and heal underlying trauma that contributes to anxiety, depression and other behavioral conditions. It can also be used with performance and creativity enhancement. Brainspotting gives the therapist access to both brain and body processes. Its goal is to bypass the conscious, neocortical thinking to access the deeper, subcortical emotional and body-based parts of the brain. The theory and practice of brainspotting was developed by David Grand, PhD, while providing trauma treatment to hundreds of 9/11 survivors when he observed that a fixed eye position is often associated with recounting a traumatic experience.
Brainspotting functions as a neurobiological tool to support the clinical healing relationship. There is no replacement for a mature, nurturing therapeutic presence and the ability to engage another suffering human in a safe and trusting relationship where they feel heard, accepted, and understood. Brainspotting gives us a tool, within this clinical relationship, to neurobiologically locate, focus, process, and release experiences and symptoms that are typically out of reach of the conscious mind and its cognitive and language capacity. (Source: Brainspotting.com)
Brainspotting is based on the profound attunement of the therapist with the patient, finding a somatic cue and extinguishing it by down-regulating the amygdala. It isn’t just PNS (Parasympathetic Nervous System) activation that is facilitated, it is homeostasis.
-- Robert Scaer, MD, “The Trauma Spectrum"
Is Brainspotting Effective & Evidence Based?
Brainspotting has been shown to be a powerful and effective therapy. There are several studies that demonstrate the efficacy of Brainspotting therapy for treating stress, anxiety, trauma and other issues. It was identified by victims and their families as the most helpful and effective therapy for relieving anxiety, stress and trauma following the Sandy Hook School shooting. More emphasis has been focused on using Brainspotting as a powerful healing therapy than on research. Thus, further studies are needed to have it listed on the national registry for evidence based practices.
How does Brainspotting Work?
Using a pointer, the therapist guides the patient’s gaze across his or her field of vision. When the eyes reach a brainspot, the therapist takes note of its location. Using the brainspots identified, the patient recounts the event in a deeper and more detailed manner than normally possible. Through gentle guided sessions, specific memories can be reprocessed in a safe environment. Traumatic emotions and memories can be fully released, supporting the self-healing process. (Source: https://serenitytraumacenter.com/therapies/what-is-brainspotting/)
When it comes to healing from trauma and the residual symptoms it leaves, researchers and medical professionals have found that traditional talk therapy may not be enough. If you're struggling to heal from a traumatic experience, and nothing else has worked, then Brainspotting could be the answer you've been looking for.
If you are currently in therapy with another provider in our practice or have another provider in the community that doesn’t offer Brainspotting, we can set you up with one of our providers after a brief consult to ensure it’s a good fit.