#brainspotting

[brain---spotting]

[workinprogress14]

In 2023, I started seeing a therapist for the first time. It was all talk therapy, CBT kinda stuff. Did that for a year with relatively little improvement, but when she suggested I check into a mental hospital for evaluation, I switched to a new counselor.

So, 2024, I start seeing my new counselor. We did some EMDR work, but it did NOT go well. It brought up a level of anger in me that was scary and felt uncontrollable. Additionally I had a miscarriage, so there was that trauma to address too, and after a year going to her I just felt stuck.

So last week I tried out a new therapist, a guy this time. I just wanted a total change, really looking for the polar opposite of what I’d had before in a counselor. All of my long lasting or deep friendships tend to be with men, so a male therapist just kinda feels right for me, even though I’m working through miscarriages and sexual trauma. My new therapist’s specialty is brain-spotting. I just had my first session of it on Monday and wow. I SOBBED in this dude’s office, and I’ve never been able to cry with a therapist before. It’s really refreshing to feel optimistic about therapy. It’s good to feel like I’m finally making a little progress again

[keepingthehopealive]

Long post about therapy and brainspotting and my session today.

My therapist and I tried brainspotting today in our session for the first time.

Brainspotting is a somatic based therapy approach. It's kind of similar to EMDR, I think it was maybe even by the same person who came up with EMDR, but it's not specifically for trauma necessarily. My therapist described it as a "top down approach" where it allows your brain to heal itself. It's a little hard to describe but you look at a pointer at different spots in space while focusing on a feeling, thought, emotion, sensation, memory etc. You can do it to find a spot in space where it's more or less intense depending on what approach you're taking in the session. Then you just look at that spot and notice what's happening. You don't have to talk but can obviously process what's happening in the moment and the therapist can ask questions or guide it or just let it be. Im not sure if background sounds or quiet music is always a part of it, but I wore headphones today and listened to some calming stuff while we did it.

My therapist and I are integrating it into our therapy to see if it helps with some of my shame based blocks, barriers and struggles with verbalizing and talking about things and probably more too if it continues to evolves (like processing memories or emotions and stuff).

Today we focused on physical tension and anxiety in my body in the moment. I only did it for about 5 minutes because it was a lot. Mainly having to look in her general direction (my "spot" was to the side of her but still closer than I'm comfortable with as I usually keep my head down and color) was exhausting and very anxiety provoking. She was so compassionate about it and actually said I did it longer than she thought I would be able to. She understands me well and she knew it would be a lot so she checked in with me after a few minutes of it and I was able to communicate I wanted to stop. Plus, even though we planned to do it, we ended up talking for a bit before I finally asked if we could try it. She probably thought i didn't want to do it but I was just too anxious to start it. I'm happy I didn't chicken out when she went to hand me the headphones because I wasn't expecting that.

It led to a really interesting conversation about my anxiety, in particular my more physical based anxiety and tension in my body. She reflected that I have a strong mind-body connection and when I responded just saying "unfortunately", she said the goal can be to try to make that a positive thing instead of something that harms me so much.

Our plan going forward is to start sessions (maybe not all of them) with it and just do short sessions of it to increase my window of tolerance with the anxiety I feel. I think if I can work on tolerating the anxiety in the moment and using brainspotting for that, I can eventually use it in other ways to help in my therapy and with some of the things I want help with and have struggled with and been stuck with in therapy in specific for so long. I'm also a little afraid to have any hope or expectation for it. I appreciate the most that she isn't presenting it as a quick fix or cure all and has already said if it doesn't work for me that's OK too.

[tillingthematter]

The film Little (2019), starring Issa Rae, Regina Hall, and Marsai Martin, presents a unique opportunity to explore the therapeutic technique of Brainspotting through the lens of childhood development and unresolved emotional experiences. The film follows Jordan Sanders (played by Regina Hall), a successful but ruthless tech mogul who, after a run-in with a young girl, is magically transformed back into her 13-year-old self (played by Marsai Martin). With the help of her assistant April (Issa Rae), Jordan must navigate childhood once again, confronting the very experiences that shaped her hardened adult persona.

Brainspotting & Revisiting Childhood Emotional Wounds

Brainspotting is a powerful therapeutic technique that allows individuals to access and process unresolved trauma by focusing on specific eye positions that correlate with stored emotional and somatic experiences. In the context of *Little*, Jordan's sudden transformation back into her childhood self can be seen as a metaphor for how Brainspotting enables clients to "relive" or re-experience emotionally charged moments from their past. Just as Jordan is forced to revisit the fears, insecurities, and social struggles she faced in middle school, clients in Brainspotting therapy may access implicit memories tied to moments of emotional distress or wounding.

Big Feelings from Childhood Showing Up in Adulthood

Jordan’s character embodies how unprocessed childhood emotions—such as feelings of rejection, fear of vulnerability, and the need to overcompensate with power and control—continue to manifest in adulthood. In Brainspotting, clients often uncover similar patterns: the fears and defenses they developed as children to protect themselves can still dictate their relationships, decision-making, and emotional regulation as adults. By identifying and processing these stuck emotional experiences, clients can break free from maladaptive patterns and cultivate a more integrated sense of self.

The Therapeutic Power of Reliving and Integrating

As Jordan relives her adolescence, she is given an opportunity to process her experiences differently. She is no longer just the scared, bullied child; instead, she has the wisdom of her adult self to guide her through healing. Similarly, Brainspotting allows clients to process past emotional wounds from a place of safety, offering them the chance to reframe and integrate these experiences rather than remain trapped in old survival responses.

Ultimately, Little serves as a playful yet profound representation of how revisiting formative emotional experiences can lead to healing and transformation. Through a Brainspotting lens, Jordan’s journey illustrates how accessing and processing unresolved emotional wounds can allow clients to move beyond their defenses, soften their rigid patterns, and embrace more authentic and connected ways of being.

Author: Dawn-Marie

[tomyfriend]

Brainspotting = staring off into space as a form of coping

[faerasphere]

Brainspotting works for me!

So after a few years of talk therapy, I was referred to a brainspotting counselor. Now I'm about to enter the 7th month of online brainspotting therapy (1-2 times per month). I know, that sounds long, also, online? But trust me, that works really well. I feel significant improvement about my CPTSD. Each of the session feels cathartic... Cried so much, offloading my repressed emption, and doing part works. Phew. Indeed, sometimes my trauma flashbacks exploded. But I survived nevertheless.

The significant improvent that I feel currently is my fear and shame kinda melt away... Since back then I was really reluctant to open up about myself. But after several session, I become interested to join a support group (that I was loathed so much). Then I tried to reconnect with highschool friend (that was really triggering just because they remind me of my bad childhood), then joining several office after work activities (that I was adamantly avoid because I resented their "better" life). Yeah, I was pretty immature back then. But turns out, connecting with (the right) people in the support group and some mature friends and colleauges helps me to believe in myself. Because I get the attunement that I need, to feel understood, and validated. This helps me to express myself better without much fear of judgement. Recreating tumblr is also one of the result 🤪 haha. Telling my story feels relieving, you know?

But back then, the idea of telling my story really frightens me. I was very afraid that people will be turned off with my stories of difficult childhood and abusive parents. Because that's quite a sensitive topic... But then when some people, in the support group and people around me, said that they are understand, I feel so relieved. Whoa. Validated. I am glad to be able to tell my stories! I realized that turns out being authentic is not only about showing our skills and ability, but also include telling our story.

I also become less perfectionistic and start to embrace myself more, including accepting my chronic illness, narcolepsy. Also most importantly, I start to disattach myself from the shame-based productivity. I start to release the guilt of being "not good enough". Now, I feel more at ease... Even though if there is a work deadline. Haha. Sometimes I wonder... Is this feeling of ease is what people feel when they have a good enough childhood? This is so... Nice. (still, a bit sad that I just feel it now, but also grateful that I have the chance to experience ease 😇)

So, my mental health improves. But that either resulted from brainspotting or because I also take my narcolepsy medication. Because having a good night sleep really helps to improve our mental health! But wait, I indeed had taken medication before taking brainspotting therapy. That time, I'm still very closed off. So, I guess my improvement comes from both. Well, what matter is it works. Hopefully this condition can sustain in a long term 🍃

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[brain---spotting]

nsfw gif version here

[rheumtogrowtx]

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[zeroar]

So brainspotting is pretty flipping rough – Session 01

First session today. Afterwards, I felt like how they describe the marathon that is a karuta tournament in Chihayafuru. Need to plan to bring sugar or chocolate from now on for aftercare recovery. It was very similar to how the aftermath of a meltdown feels sometimes for me (I'm also autistic).

If you don't know what it is, brainspotting is a PTSD treatment that apparently developed from EMDR—Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing—that was described to me as a less-intense process than that. The tentative plan is to start with this and eventually move to full EMDR if needed.

It doesn't have the literature behind it yet that EMDR has, but I can verify that, anecdotally, it definitely does something. Can't say what that something is just yet and the overanalyzing, hypervigilant, raised on "mind over matter"–Me feels somewhat miffed that it is addressing the physiology of my trauma instead of just "figuring out the answer" ... though I suppose if an answer could have been figured out by now...

It was also slow and had a painful (for me) lack of stimulation ... presumably by design.

Anyway, I don't want to get hopeful, and I'm also scared that addressing my trauma this way (if it works) will set me up for more trauma ... though it's not like my current state of constant danger / runaway autonomic response is doing me much good, if any.

Oh, since this is my first post on the topic, I'll describe what my treatment was like from my POV and understanding. The basic idea seems to be that when recalling memories there is a connection between specific "spots" our eyes move to and spots in our brain. So the process starts with recalling trauma/uncomfortable memories, focus in on the tension and feeling in the body as a gauge, and then follow a pointer with my eyes, using the feeling in the body to find a location where the tension is strongest. Some purportedly calming meditative music track starts playing while staring at the spot/point where the tension is.

I was advised to let my mind wander while staring, but I don't know if the idea is to disassociate that "brain spot" from the trauma by having wandering thoughts or if it was some allistic (non-autistic) idea of "wandering" and it didn't matter what I thought of while staring or what. I had a very difficult time maintaining my sight on the spot, partially due to having a lazy eye and also because my thoughts were "wandering" to the memory of trauma. I kept having to close my eyes and refocus on the point and every time was like pushing into the tension. I stared at the spot for ten minutes in silence (well, music was playing), then my therapist moved the pointer to a different spot and I stared there for some additional amount of time.

The amount of relief I felt, both mentally and physically, from staring at a different spot was unexpected. It was so distinct from being in the tension spot. That was when I was like, oh, this is definitely something.

Then I went back to staring at the tension spot. I think for another ten minutes. Then coming out of that spot, finally, following the pointer down and closing my eyes and having my eyes closed while focusing on breathing for a few minutes. I thought I was going to fall straight asleep at that point and I honestly might have dozed off briefly.

Afterwards, I was unsteady, mentally exhausted, and physically drained. I probably shouldn't have driven as quickly as I did and in hindsight I feel like I should have done some sort of physical activity to reconnect my brain with my body (such as a walk around the block or something).

It seems like the idea is the brain silos those memories with those spots, but again, I dont know if the idea is to reinforce the silo or to break down the wall of it. I anticipate the ideal solution is probably different for different people and maybe even for different memories of trauma for the same person. There's so much people just don't know about the brain.

My layperson intuition is it seems like the idea is to trigger the trauma physiologically, then mentally go elsewhere while maintaining the physical connection to the trauma. From this, it seems like EMDR would be the reverse? I.e., mentally trigger the trauma while physically going elsewhere (at least via vision).

I need to clarify what having my thoughts wander means next time. Although, it's possible that the right answer isn't known because it's too nebulous/vague at this point in the research.

I know everytime I closed my eyes to refocus on that spot it brought me back though. If you want my mind to wander I need to look around. We weren't even doing any of what I consider my more major traumatic events, today.

My thoughts just kept going back to things like my childhood pair(?) of footie pajamas that child-Me could wear to be covered from neck to toe. I wondered why child-Me kept so still and quiet, being afraid to breathe while lying there. Remembered being scolded for having my eyes open and not going to sleep.

... it was a lot.

I've mostly been in bed since getting home. I'm still pretty drained. If it was colder I'd be under my weighted blanket. My therapist advised that I'd be drained and said to not feel like I have to push through it. But it was just staring and thinking.

I will add that it didn't feel like ruminating because I couldn't escape inside my head. It had a bit of that circularity or being penned in like ruminating sometimes feels like, but having to stare at the same point was like poking at a wound more than racing in a panic or working myself up.

So yeah, thanks for reading. I'll keep writing as I go but I think that's good for today. It's just the first week for me here.

[naturalhealtheducation]

EMDR and Brainspotting are innovative methods used in mental health therapy. #EMDR was originally developed for use with #PTSD but has since been expanded for use with a wider range of traumatic issues. #Brainspotting is a more recent extension of EMDR techniques. In this article, we'll explore what these two approaches are, how they work, and their possible benefits.

[emergentcounseling]

Brainspotting Therapy Oakland Park, FL

Traumatic experiences lead to dysregulated nervous systems and brain dysfunction; any attempt to restore balance will be ineffective if the treatment does not address the issues that are stored within the nervous system and the mid-brain. Traditional talk therapies activate the part of the brain associated with higher order thinking. During cognitive-based approaches, information is processed in the session and is typically focused on questioning, processing, and analyzing; however this these types of therapies are limited to the executive processing systems of the neo-cortex. Brainspotting targets information in the mid-brain and nervous system, which is where trauma, emotional stress, and sensory experiences are stored.

What is Brainspotting?

Brainspotting is a liberating, non-invasive, holistic mind-body therapy that was developed by David Grand, Ph.D. The technique originated from EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) which is also a therapeutic treatment used to alleviate distressing memories associated with trauma. Brainspotting is based on the premise that where you look, or gaze affects how you feel. The therapist may use a pen-shaped pointer to guide your eyes along your vision field to locate brainspots. Negative emotions are targeted as the individual focuses on the brainspots which allows the body to access and process unresolved accumulated toxic stress

What is a Brainspot?

“A Brainspot holds emotional experiences in memory form. It is the eye position which is related to the emotional activation of a traumatic or emotionally charged issue within the brain. This is most likely in the amygdala, the hippocampus, or the orbitofrontal cortex of the limbic system. A Brainspot is a located eye position, paired with externally observed and internally experienced reflexive responses.” – David Grand, Ph.D.

How will Brainspotting Help me heal from Trauma?

Accumulated toxic stress is typically stored in the nervous system when the traumatized person is not able to properly deal with the trauma that he or she has experienced due to lack of appropriate coping skills. Brainspotting stimulates the body’s natural ability to heal itself from trauma and restore dysregulated nervous system. Brainspotting also helps the body to release accumulated toxic stress and restore balance to within the system.

Your therapist will simultaneously facilitate the healing process by creating a safe, non-judgmental compassionate, space for you to develop a dual attuned therapeutic relationship. Brainspotting is used to target traumatic memories and physiological issues that is stored in the body and help the client to gain relief from the emotional distress. Bio-Lateral sounds are also used during Brainspotting sessions. Sound waves alternate back and forth across the audio field at a steady state negative experiences are triggered.

What is Brainspotting used to treat?

Brainspotting is effective for treating the following conditions:

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Anxiety

ADHD

Anger

Substance Abuse Issues

Poor Impulse Control

Sport Performance Issues

Chronic Fatigue

Book Your Appointment and let us help you get back on track!

[blatantlyhidden]

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[rethinktherapy123]

The Benefits of Working with a Certified Brainspotting Therapist in Dallas, USA One innovative approach gaining recognition is Brainspotting Therapy—a powerful treatment designed to help individuals process trauma, anxiety, and other emotional blockages. To ensure the most effective care, it’s essential to seek a Certified Brainspotting Therapist in usa.