The emotions from trauma can be difficult to process and resolve. However, brainspotting is a technique that has helped people with profound personal transformations and it can sometimes make the healing take place rapidly.
The majority of people who tried brainspotting from different locations have also shared really beneficial accounts of their experiences. Not only clients, but therapists are also appraising this approach for its effectiveness.
So, what is brainspotting, how does it work and why is it so effective?
Brainspotting Therapy
Brainspotting being an advanced brain-body technique is a form of psychotherapy that was discovered in 2003 by David Grand, PhD. It is used for treating a wide variety of emotional issues such as unprocessed trauma, anxiety, depression, PTSD and other forms of complex psychological distress.
Brainspotting has its roots in Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) and works in a similar way in which it helps with reprocessing negative experiences stored in the memory. Because of its effectiveness, it is an ideal approach for obtaining relief from extreme forms of psychological distress such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and developmental trauma and all in a short period.
How does Brainspotting work?
Brainspotting works on the premise that “Where you look affects how you feel.” It locates points in the client’s visual field that helps them process trauma in the subcortical brain.
The BSP therapist locates, focuses and processes a wide range of unprocessed emotions based on relevant eye positions. It works with the deep brain and the body by directly accessing the autonomic and limbic systems within the body’s central nervous system.
The steps involved in brainspotting usually are:
- The client brings up some troubling issue such as a past trauma that they would like to explore.
- The therapist then helps the client pinpoint the physical and emotional feeling attached to the issue.
- The client then locates these negative emotions in their body.
- With the use of a pointing rod, the therapist points the client’s vision to different locations.
- As the client moves their eyes, they notice an increase or decrease in their negative emotions depending on their eye positions.
- The therapist also examines unsteady eye movements in different positions.
- The client is then instructed to fixate their vision in the most troubling spots.
- The client then shares their thoughts, feelings, and memories that they can remember and associate with that memory.
- The therapist continually makes the client expose themselves to these emotions and then helps the client to process these memories and information in a constructive manner.
Performing this repeatedly with the help of your therapist, you will find it easier to think and process your psychological distress and those painful memories will start to lose their potency with time.
How does Brainspotting feel?
Following the brainspotting session, you will most probably feel a mildly tiring sensation in your body. You may feel lightheaded and mild to extremely emotional depending on the intensity of your trauma. The brain-body will be first stressed because of all the negative experiences you are bringing up and then as your mind begins to realize with the release of trauma that these negative thoughts are not accurate, so with repetition of this process your thoughts will no longer harm you like they once did.
Undesirable feelings will come as this is the main objective of the brainspotting therapy to bring up all the major stressing unprocessed trauma so it is finally processed. When you surrender and allow yourself to feel this way over and over again, they will lose their irrational intensity and the thoughts will be gone forever. With the continuation of sessions, you will experience a sense of calming and permanent release from the trauma that has been bothering you.
Why does Brainspotting work so well?
The direction of your eyes affect the way you feel, during brainspotting the therapist helps people position their eyes in a way to target the source of their negative feelings. There is increasing evidence that the trauma is “stored” in the body. Brainspotting helps activate this stored trauma. It works primarily on the limbic system which is a collection of brain structures that play a role in emotions, motivation, long-term memory, impulse control and several other important psychological factors.
As you release and process, you will feel various shifts in your emotions and thoughts as well as body sensations. The post-session processing continues well long after the emotional discoveries are made.
Should you get Brainspotting therapy?
Brainspotting is a mind-body therapy used to process deep mental challenges. In comparison to other therapies of the same sort such as it is more fluid and client-driven. It can help you release unprocessed trauma that is stored in your body. If you have experienced any intense form of physical or emotional trauma, you can benefit from brainspotting and get relatively quick and lasting results.