What is Brainspotting?
Brainspotting (BSP) is a gentle, focused mind–body therapy that helps you process emotional pain, trauma, and stuck patterns by accessing the places in the brain where those experiences are held. It was developed by Dr. David Grand in 2003 and is grounded in the idea that where you look affects how you feel. Eye position can open a doorway into deeper parts of the brain where overwhelming experiences are stored — especially the parts responsible for emotion, memory, and survival responses.
How BSP Works
When something difficult happens and the nervous system can’t fully process it, the experience can get ‘stuck’ in the body. You might notice this as recurring anxiety, tension, intrusive thoughts, or an emotional trigger that feels bigger than the situation. Brainspotting helps you gently access those stored layers so your system can process them at a pace that feels safe and manageable.
During a session, we explore a particular issue or feeling you want support with — this can be a memory, a sensation, a belief, or even just a sense that something is ‘off’. As we talk, I help you find a brainspot: a point in your visual field that corresponds to where that experience is held in your brain and body. This often involves using a pointer to guide your gaze, and allowing you to notice where your nervous system feels most activated, tender, heavy, or connected.
Once the spot is found, we stay there — gently, without force — while you mindfully tune into your internal experience. You don’t need to talk the whole time (or at all). In fact, the healing in brainspotting happens primarily through your nervous system’s natural capacity to unwind and integrate what’s been frozen. I stay attuned to you throughout, offering grounding, containment, and support while your system does the work it already knows how to do.
What BSP Feels Like
Clients often describe brainspotting as deep, calming, surprisingly natural, or “like my body is finally doing what it couldn’t do back then.” You might notice shifts in breathing, temperature, emotion, body sensations, impulses, or memories. These changes signal that the brain is processing rather than staying stuck. We move at your pace, you’re always in control, and you don’t have to re-live the trauma for healing to happen.
What BSP Can Help With
Brainspotting is effective for trauma, anxiety, grief, chronic stress, perfectionism, relationship patterns, creative blocks, performance issues, and any experiences that feel repetitive or rooted somewhere deeper.
Interested in BSP?
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