What Is Brainspotting Therapy and How Does It Work?

Sometimes you know exactly what happened to you.

You may have talked about it, understood it, made connections between your past and your present, and developed insight into why certain situations affect you the way they do.

And yet, your body may still react as though something hasn't quite been resolved.

A particular situation creates a surge of anxiety. Your chest tightens. You freeze. You feel suddenly overwhelmed, ashamed, angry, or afraid. You may not even have words for what is happening.

This is part of what makes trauma complicated. Our experiences don't always exist only as stories we can think about and explain.

Brainspotting therapy offers a different way of approaching experiences that may be difficult to access through words alone.

What Is Brainspotting?

Brainspotting is a therapeutic approach developed by psychologist David Grand in 2003. It grew out of his work with trauma treatment and EMDR and uses a person's visual field, focused attention, body awareness, and the attuned presence of the therapist as part of the therapeutic process.

The approach is based on a deceptively simple observation:

Where you look can affect how you feel.

You may have experienced something like this without ever thinking about it.

When trying to remember something, perhaps your eyes naturally drift toward a particular place. When talking about something emotionally charged, you might look away or stare at one spot. Your body may respond differently depending on where your attention—and your gaze—is focused.

In Brainspotting, we intentionally pay attention to that connection.

What Is a “Brainspot”?

During a Brainspotting session, I may ask you to bring your attention to an issue, memory, emotion, or body sensation you'd like to work with.

Rather than asking you to explain everything about it, we become curious about what happens inside you as you focus on it.

You might notice tightness in your chest.

A sensation in your stomach.

Pressure in your throat.

An emotion that doesn't seem to have words attached to it.

Or simply a sense that something is happening.

Using a pointer or another visual reference, we slowly explore different positions in your visual field while you notice your internal response.

Sometimes there is a particular eye position where the feeling becomes stronger, clearer, different, or simply more present.

That position is referred to as a brainspot.

From there, you are invited to maintain your visual attention around that spot while also noticing what unfolds internally.

You Don't Have to Explain Everything

One aspect of Brainspotting that some clients find particularly appealing is that you don't necessarily have to narrate every detail of an experience.

This can be especially meaningful when you have already talked about something extensively—or when what you're experiencing doesn't translate easily into language.

Sometimes there isn't a coherent story.

There may instead be a sensation.

An image.

A fragment of memory.

An emotion.

A feeling that something is wrong even though you can't explain why.

Brainspotting gives us a way to stay with the experience without requiring you to immediately understand, organize, or explain it.

For people who are very thoughtful, analytical, or accustomed to understanding themselves intellectually, this can feel quite different from traditional talk therapy.

Instead of asking:

“What does this mean?”

we may begin with:

“What do you notice?”

And then we allow the process to unfold from there.

What Happens During Brainspotting?

Brainspotting is not something I “do to” you.

You remain aware and in control throughout the session.

We begin by identifying what you would like to focus on and noticing how strongly you feel it in the moment. We may also identify where you experience the activation in your body.

From there, we locate an eye position connected with the experience.

Once we've found a spot, much of the work involves simply noticing.

Thoughts may arise.

Memories may surface.

Emotions may shift.

Body sensations may intensify and then settle.

You may make connections you hadn't made before—or you may experience something changing without being able to explain exactly why.

And sometimes very little seems to happen at first.

There isn't a correct way to experience Brainspotting.

My role is not to decide where your process should go. It's to remain attuned to you and help create enough safety and space for you to follow what emerges.

How Is Brainspotting Different From Talk Therapy?

Talking can be extraordinarily valuable.

Being able to tell your story, understand patterns, put language to experiences, and feel genuinely understood by another person can be deeply healing.

But sometimes understanding something doesn't completely change our response to it.

You can know that the danger is over and still feel your body react.

You can understand why you developed a particular pattern and still find yourself repeating it.

You can know that you're safe with someone and still become intensely activated during conflict.

Brainspotting allows us to work with what is happening internally without depending entirely on analysis or language.

That doesn't mean we stop talking or abandon insight. Brainspotting can be integrated into a larger therapeutic process that includes conversation, reflection, and other trauma-informed approaches.

It simply gives us another doorway into the work.

Is Brainspotting the Same as EMDR?

Brainspotting and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) are different therapeutic approaches, although Brainspotting emerged from David Grand's work with EMDR.

Both may involve the visual field and both are used by therapists working with trauma.

However, the experience of the two therapies can feel quite different.

EMDR generally follows a more structured protocol and commonly incorporates bilateral stimulation while processing a specific target.

Brainspotting tends to be more open-ended. Rather than repeatedly moving the eyes from side to side, you generally maintain your gaze around a particular visual position while attending to what is happening internally.

Neither approach requires you to decide intellectually what you're “supposed” to discover.

The work unfolds through the process itself.

What Can Brainspotting Be Used For?

Brainspotting is often used by therapists as part of trauma treatment, including work with emotionally distressing experiences, anxiety, difficult memories, and patterns of activation that may feel hard to reach through conversation alone.

It has also been used in areas such as performance, creativity, and emotional regulation.

The research base for Brainspotting is still developing, and it is important not to present any therapy as the right approach for every person.

For me, the question isn't simply, “Does Brainspotting work?”

A more useful question is:

“Would this way of working fit you, your nervous system, and what you're trying to address?”

That is something we can explore together.

When You Understand the Story but Still Feel the Reaction

Many of the people I work with are highly insightful.

They've thought deeply about themselves. They understand their history. They can often identify exactly where their patterns originated.

What frustrates them is that understanding hasn't necessarily made the reaction disappear.

This doesn't mean they haven't worked hard enough or haven't understood themselves deeply enough.

Sometimes another kind of experience is needed.

Brainspotting offers one way of becoming curious about what your mind and body may still be holding—without demanding that you find the perfect explanation for it.

Sometimes the next step isn't figuring out more.

It's creating enough space to notice what is already there.

Interested in exploring Brainspotting therapy?

I offer individual Brainspotting therapy for adults in Florida who want to understand and work with patterns that insight alone hasn't been able to change.

 Learn more about Brainspotting Therapy →

Ways to Work With Me

Healing doesn't look the same for everyone. Depending on what you're looking for, I offer several ways to work together:

Individual Therapy — IFS, EMDR, and Brainspotting for deeper work with trauma, emotional patterns, and experiences that continue to affect you.

Therapy Intensives — Extended individual or couples sessions that provide more uninterrupted time for focused therapeutic work.

IFIO Couples Therapy — IFS-informed couples therapy for understanding recurring relationship patterns and creating greater connection.

Groups & The Inner Home Journey — Opportunities to explore healing, connection, and your relationship with yourself in a supportive group setting or through a course.

Services are available virtually to clients in Florida.

Explore Ways to Work With Me →