Brainspotting

Brainspotting is a powerful, somatic psychology treatment method that works by identifying, processing and releasing core neurophysiological sources of emotional and body pain, anxiety, and a variety of other challenging symptoms.
Brainspotting is a psychological method developed by Dr. David Grand in 2003, initially rooted in his work with trauma patients using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Grand discovered that when clients focused on a specific point in their visual field while discussing traumatic events, they experienced a deep processing of the trauma, leading to the development of Brainspotting as a distinct therapeutic approach. This method involves identifying "brainspots"—specific points in a client's visual field that correlate with inner emotional and somatic experiences, particularly those linked to trauma. Brainspotting is believed to access and release traumatic memories stored in the subcortical brain, particularly in the areas responsible for emotions and bodily sensations, such as the amygdala and hippocampus (Lesœurs, 2023).

The method has been applied to various psychological conditions, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where it has been shown to help clients process and integrate traumatic memories that are otherwise resistant to traditional talk therapies. Brainspotting is also noted for its ability to address somatic symptoms of trauma by engaging the mind-body connection through the visual field. The therapy's effectiveness has been documented in cases of sexual trauma, harassment, and recurrent nightmares, where clients reported significant emotional relief and resolution of symptoms after Brainspotting sessions (Lesœurs, 2023; Pushpam & Frank, 2023).
Brainspotting is enhanced with Biolateral sound, which helps further access and influence change in neuralpathways as we work with memory in the body.

Brainspotting is a neurobiological tool to support psychological healing. Many clinicians belive Brainspotting offers a different approach to working with trauma that is less triggering than EMDR is reported to be. Brainspotting has been reported to be a gentle method helping with trust in the clinical relationship, to neurobiologically locate, focus, process, and release experiences and symptoms that are typically held in the subconscious mind and its cognitive and language capacity. In this method we work with using awareness and compassion to make the unconscious become conscious in order to allow emotions to move freely through us.