We offer therapy support through both in-person and secure virtual therapy sessions.
What Is Brainspotting
Brainspotting is based on the idea that where we look can influence how we access and process experiences held in the brain and body.
During a Brainspotting session, your therapist helps you identify a specific point in your visual field that may be connected to a particular emotion, sensation, memory, or experience.
From there, you are supported in staying with your internal experience in a way that is gentle, focused, and led by you.
The goal isn't to force something to happen.
It's to create the space for your brain and body to process what may still be unresolved.
THE FIELD OF VISION AND HOLDING YOUR GAZE
One of the unique aspects of Brainspotting is the use of your field of vision.
During a session, your therapist may guide you to notice where you naturally look when you connect with a particular memory, emotion, or body sensation. You may then be invited to gently hold your gaze in that area while remaining aware of what you are experiencing internally.
Why does this matter?
Sometimes, when something is difficult or overwhelming, our brain quickly moves away from it.
We distract ourselves, intellectualize, shut down, or simply move on to the next thought. The experience can remain unresolved because we never stay with it long enough for our system to fully process it.
Holding your gaze can help create a steady point of attention, allowing the memory or emotional experience to remain accessible without immediately moving away from it.
Rather than forcing yourself to relive what happened, you are gently holding the experience open long enough to notice what your brain and body are doing with it.
When You Know Something Is There But Can't Explain It
Sometimes you don't have a clear story.
You simply know: Something doesn't feel right.
You may feel a reaction in your body.
You may become overwhelmed by certain situations.
You may know that something triggers you without understanding why.
You may have tried talking about it but still feel stuck.
Brainspotting can offer another way to explore these experiences without requiring you to have the perfect words.
You don't have to understand everything before you begin.
Brainspotting And Trauma
Brainspotting can be incorporated into trauma-informed therapy for people who have experienced overwhelming or traumatic experiences, including:
- Childhood trauma
- Intimate partner violence
- Family violence
- Sexual violence
- Sexual exploitation
- Human trafficking
- First responder experiences
- Accidents
- Medical trauma
- Sudden or traumatic loss
- Other overwhelming life experiences
Trauma doesn't always respond to being told to "move on."
Sometimes the nervous system continues responding long after the event is over.
Brainspotting may provide another pathway for processing these experiences.
WHO MAY BENEFIT FROM BRAINSPOTTING
Brainspotting may be considered for people experiencing:
- Trauma
- Post-traumatic stress
- Anxiety
- Panic
- Emotional overwhelm
- Persistent body-based reactions
- Difficult memories
- Relationship trauma
- Intimate partner violence
- Sexual violence
- Exploitation
- Grief and loss
- Performance anxiety
- Emotional blocks
- Feeling stuck despite understanding the problem intellectually
It may also be useful for people who simply feel that something remains unresolved but they aren't sure how to access it.