What to Know About Brainspotting Therapy

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow Brainspotting Therapy WorksTechniquesWhat Brainspotting Therapy Can Help WithBenefitsEffectivenessThings to ConsiderHow to Get Started

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

How Brainspotting Therapy Works

Techniques

What Brainspotting Therapy Can Help With

Benefits

Effectiveness

Things to Consider

How to Get Started

Close

Brainspotting therapy is a type of alternative therapy that uses spots in a person’s visual field to help them process trauma. It accesses trauma trapped in the subcortical brain, the area of the brain responsible for motion, consciousness, emotions, and learning.

One of the purported benefits of Brainspotting therapy over EMDR is that one does not need to “relive” the trauma in order to facilitate its release from the body.

The Best Online Trauma Therapy, Tried and Tested

Brainspotting works on the theory that feelings from trauma can become stuck in the body, leading to both physical and mental ailments. It is believed that the brain’s memory of a particular trauma or incident is “reset” in the body and brain through Brainspotting.

Grand described this “stuckness” as “frozen maladaptive homeostasis.”Our bodies are generally meant to be in a state of homeostasis, attempting to maintain a stable environment, but this particular kind of homeostasis is not helpful. Brainspotting accesses this and attempts to integrate this interrupted processing of the trauma.

It is one of a few types of emerging therapies focusing on the brain-body connection, including Somatic Experiencing and EMDR. Traditional talk therapy is known as a “top-down” therapy. That is, traditional therapy tries to solve problems with the conscious mind.

How Does Somatic Experiencing Therapy Work?

Brainspotting therapy works on the midbrain, which controls parts of the central nervous system that are responsible for processes such as vision, hearing, sleep, and motor control. When trauma occurs, this part of the brain typically goes into freeze modeto conserve resources for the body to be in defense mode.

This is necessary if you’re, say, fighting a tiger, but is less helpful for psychological trauma—but our bodies can’t distinguish between the two.

Although Brainspotting therapy is a bit more fluid and doesn’t have a set standard protocol, most sessions follow at least a general blueprint. Here’s how you might expect a session to go.

What a Brainspotting Therapy Session May Look Like

At the end of the session, you will again rate your level of distress—typically it will be lower than it was when you started. Some people report feeling a sense of release either mentally or even physically, through a mild tingling sensation or mild shaking as though you have the chills.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.

For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

Though Brainspotting therapy is primarily focused on discovering and alleviating trauma, it can help many different types of issues, especially since trauma’s effects are so far-reaching.

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Benefits of Brainspotting Therapy

In one small study,participants experienced a reduction in PTSD, anxiety, and depression symptoms within a few sessions. Other benefits:

Although research remains scant on this modality, one studyfound Brainspotting to be more effective than either EMDR or CBT—and patients even continued to get better following their treatment being over. All other modalities showed patients’ symptoms returning at the 6-month follow-up.

As Brainspotting is still somewhat new and considered somewhat of an alternative treatment, there is still little research on it and any possible long-term effects.

Also, although it does not require as much reliving the trauma as something like EMDR does, inevitably, you will be discussing painful memories and feelings, so it is best to be prepared for that and be sure you have adequate support and self care practices for afterwards.

Because Brainspotting is a type of therapy requiring specialized training, it is best to find a therapist who is certified in Brainspotting therapy. Brainspotting has adirectory of therapistswho are certified (which includes completing two courses and at least 50 hours of practicing Brainspotting on clients). Alternatively, you can search online directories of therapists to find ones who specialize in Brainspotting.

Typically, Brainspotting treatment lasts for about six sessions, as opposed to EMDR, which may take up to eight or 10 sessions.

How to Choose the Best Type of Therapy For You

3 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Grand D. Brainspotting: The Revolutionary New Therapy for Rapid and Effective Change. Sounds True; 2013.Terpou BA, Harricharan S, McKinnon MC, Frewen P, Jetly R, Lanius RA.The effects of trauma on brain and body: A unifying role for the midbrain periaqueductal gray.J Neurosci Res. 2019;97(9):1110-1140.https://doi.org/10.1002/jnr.24447Hildebrand A, Grand D, Stemmler M.Brainspotting – the efficacy of a new therapy approach for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in comparison to eye movement desensitization and reprocessing.Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2017;Vol 5:No 1 (2017). https://doi.org/10.6092/2282-1619/2017.5.1376

3 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Grand D. Brainspotting: The Revolutionary New Therapy for Rapid and Effective Change. Sounds True; 2013.Terpou BA, Harricharan S, McKinnon MC, Frewen P, Jetly R, Lanius RA.The effects of trauma on brain and body: A unifying role for the midbrain periaqueductal gray.J Neurosci Res. 2019;97(9):1110-1140.https://doi.org/10.1002/jnr.24447Hildebrand A, Grand D, Stemmler M.Brainspotting – the efficacy of a new therapy approach for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in comparison to eye movement desensitization and reprocessing.Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2017;Vol 5:No 1 (2017). https://doi.org/10.6092/2282-1619/2017.5.1376

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Grand D. Brainspotting: The Revolutionary New Therapy for Rapid and Effective Change. Sounds True; 2013.Terpou BA, Harricharan S, McKinnon MC, Frewen P, Jetly R, Lanius RA.The effects of trauma on brain and body: A unifying role for the midbrain periaqueductal gray.J Neurosci Res. 2019;97(9):1110-1140.https://doi.org/10.1002/jnr.24447Hildebrand A, Grand D, Stemmler M.Brainspotting – the efficacy of a new therapy approach for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in comparison to eye movement desensitization and reprocessing.Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2017;Vol 5:No 1 (2017). https://doi.org/10.6092/2282-1619/2017.5.1376

Grand D. Brainspotting: The Revolutionary New Therapy for Rapid and Effective Change. Sounds True; 2013.

Terpou BA, Harricharan S, McKinnon MC, Frewen P, Jetly R, Lanius RA.The effects of trauma on brain and body: A unifying role for the midbrain periaqueductal gray.J Neurosci Res. 2019;97(9):1110-1140.https://doi.org/10.1002/jnr.24447

Hildebrand A, Grand D, Stemmler M.Brainspotting – the efficacy of a new therapy approach for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in comparison to eye movement desensitization and reprocessing.Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2017;Vol 5:No 1 (2017). https://doi.org/10.6092/2282-1619/2017.5.1376

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