Brainspotting
A brainspotting therapy program is a powerful, focused treatment method that works by identifying, processing, and releasing core neurophysiological sources of emotional/body pain, trauma, dissociation, and a variety of other challenging symptoms. It is a unique and challenging therapy. Often, a brainspotting therapy program is used to address trauma like PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and other similar issues.
How Does It Work?
A trained brainspotting practitioner guides the participant’s eye movements, monitoring which reflective signals may be revealing a brainspot. This can include facial expressions, eye twitch, brow furrow, facial tic, pupil dilation, yawn, cough, and movement. When therapists discover brainspots, they will help the individual focus on that spot and work through negative memory. A brainspotting therapy program examines the body’s natural self-scanning ability focusing on how the brain reflexively signals emotions.
Brainspotting intends to identify trauma by examining how it manifests in your body. For example, this may be pinpointed in your chest, head, or stomach. It is where you experience discomfort or pain when faced with your trauma. Using a pointer to hold eye contact, your therapist will find a spot in your field of vision that awakens the trauma or emotion. Then they’ll locate where on your body this pain manifests. Focusing on that spot, your mind is forced to deal with the issues and begin healing. The ‘brainspot’ refers to the position of your eyes when the emotional responses awaken. Brainspotting is a therapy that can be both done on its own and in conjunction with other talk therapies like cognitive behavior therapy
The Effect Of Brainspotting
Because trauma is stored in the body, psychologists and mental health practitioners view brainspotting as a neurobiological tool. It is a newer technique. But it shows promise in accessing, diagnosing, and treating emotional and somatic (bodily) conditions. Also, it seems to promote the body’s natural healing processes. Thus, for some therapists and clients, brainspotting is a kind of holistic therapy that works to use the body to heal itself. Overall, Integrative Life Center’s brainspotting therapy program aids clients in the following ways:
- Identify troubling situations or problems in your life.
- Become aware of your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs concerning these problems.
- Identify negative or inaccurate thinking.
Reshape negative or inaccurate thinking.
By doing so, clients struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, or any other severe trauma get one more method through which to heal. Brainspotting has grown out of EMDR (eye movement desensitization reprocessing) therapy but has come to develop into its own method. However, for patients who have seen success with EMDR, it would makes sense to also try brainspotting. While no single therapy works for all clients, having options increases the likelihood of healing and recovery.
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