Exploring Therapy: Brainspotting

I’m excited to talk about this type of therapy today. It’s a lesser-known type of psychotherapy, but it’s certainly starting to make headlines in the mental health field. Brainspotting, like EMDR, is considered a “bottom-up” approach to therapy, and is different from traditional talk therapy. In talk therapy, which we can think of as a “top-down” approach to treatment, therapists stimulate the ‘top’ side (cerebral cortex) of the brain through conversation. However, according to some psych theories, trauma is stored deep inside of the brain (the subcortical brain), and can’t always be “uncovered” through talk alone.

While EMDR uses eye movement or REM to stimulate the ‘under’ side of the brain in trauma treatment, Brainspotting uses eye positions, or where you gaze, to stimulate different areas of the brain. The hope is, when different areas of the brain are stimulated during therapy, new insights and perspectives can be spontaneously produced, and allow for greater progression toward healing.

I first learned of Brainspotting during my basic EMDR training, and it was loosely described as an “offshoot” to EMDR, and is sometimes likened to EMDR, but with less steps.  While there are less clinical studies on Brainspotting, its reputation is growing and it is generally accepted in the mental health treatment community as a good technique and addition to therapists’ toolkits. 

I am so proud to have a colleague who practices Brainspotting, so if this is a therapeutic approach that you’re interested in, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or would like contact information.