“Where you look affects how you feel”.
Brainspotting is a brain-based therapy that was discovered by Dr. David Grand (Ph.D) in 2013. It works by utilizing spots in a client’s visual field to access unprocessed trauma in the subcortical brain. The subcortical brain is the area of the brain responsible for motion, consciousness, emotions, and learning.
The brain and trauma
Trauma overwhelms the brain’s processing leaving pieces of the unprocessed experiences frozen in time and space. During a traumatic event, the subcortical brain will try to conserve resources for the body to be in defence mode. It does so by going into a freeze mode. The client is then stuck in the trauma and will experience symptoms indicating that the brain has not yet fully processed what happened e.g., flashbacks or panic attacks whilst driving after an attempted hijacking.
Brainspotting and the brain
Brainspotting is particularly effective with trauma-based situations, helping to identify and heal underlying trauma that contributes to anxiety, depression and other behavioral conditions. It works by identifying, processing and releasing core neurophysiological sources of emotional/body pain, trauma, dissociation and a variety of other challenging symptoms. Brainspotting is a simultaneous form of diagnosis and treatment, enhanced with Biolateral sound, which is deep, direct, and powerful yet focused and containing.
Other conditions that can be addressed with Brainspotting:
- Anxiety and anxiety related disorders (OCD / Trichotillomania etc.)
- Attachment issues
- Substance use
- Posttraumatic stress disorder
- Chronic pain and chronic fatigue
- Major depressive disorder
- Enhancing creativity and performance (work / sport etc.).