What is Brainspotting?
Brainspotting: A Powerful Approach to Healing Trauma
Brainspotting is an innovative therapy that helps people identify, process, and release emotional pain, trauma, and other psychological distress that may be buried deep in the brain—beyond conscious awareness. By using eye positions to access these hidden experiences, Brainspotting allows the brain to process unresolved emotions in a way that traditional talk therapy often cannot.
The Essence of Brainspotting
Developed by Dr. David Grand in 2003, Brainspotting is based on the idea that “where you look affects how you feel.” Certain eye positions—called Brainspots—are directly connected to deeply stored emotional trauma, body sensations, and unresolved feelings. By identifying and focusing on these spots, clients can bypass the overthinking “thinking brain” (the cerebral cortex) and tap into the deeper, emotional parts of the brain where trauma is stored. This process helps people process, release, and heal from distressing experiences without needing to analyze or retell the story.
How Brainspotting Works
In a Brainspotting session, the therapist guides the client’s eye movements to locate a Brainspot—a point in their visual field that connects to an unresolved emotional issue. Clients typically notice a shift in their body or emotions when they find a Brainspot, signaling a connection to the underlying trauma.
Once the Brainspot is identified, the client holds their gaze on it while allowing emotions, memories, and sensations to surface. The therapist provides support and guidance, but the process is largely led by the client’s own brain and body. Over time, the brain naturally processes and reorganizes the stored distress, leading to healing and relief.
Unlike traditional talk therapy, Brainspotting does not rely on analyzing or discussing past events. Instead, it allows the brain’s natural healing processes to unfold, supported by the therapist’s presence and attunement.
Benefits of Brainspotting
Brainspotting can reach emotional and neurological experiences that are often inaccessible through talk therapy. Some key benefits include:
• Processing trauma without needing to relive or retell the full story
• Accessing and releasing deep-seated emotional pain that may have remained stuck for years
• Improving emotional regulation and reducing anxiety, depression, and stress
• Accelerating healing by working directly with the brain’s natural ability to process experiences
Brainspotting is also highly adaptable and can be used to address a wide range of concerns, including trauma, anxiety, depression, performance blocks, and more.
The Therapist’s Role in Brainspotting
In Brainspotting, the therapist is a facilitator rather than a director. Instead of leading the session with structured questions or analysis, they create a safe, attuned environment where the client can explore their experiences at their own pace.
The therapist helps:
• Ask curious, open-ended questions to help the client identify an area of distress to focus on
• Guide the client to find a Brainspot connected to that distress
• Provide emotional support and presence, helping the client feel safe and understood as they process their emotions
The therapeutic relationship is just as important as the Brainspotting technique itself. The therapist’s calm, accepting, and empathetic presence fosters a sense of safety, allowing the client to fully engage in the healing process
A Path Toward Healing
Brainspotting offers a unique way to access and heal emotional wounds that may have felt unreachable before. It combines the best of neuroscience and deep human connection, allowing your brain and body to do what they’re designed to do: heal.
If you’ve been carrying pain that feels stuck, or if talk therapy hasn’t taken you as far as you’d hoped, Brainspotting may offer a new way forward—one that’s gentle, focused, and deeply transformative.