Sometimes we understand exactly why we feel the way we do and still can’t seem to change it.

You may know that you’re safe now but still feel your body tense in certain situations. You may understand where a relationship pattern came from and still find yourself repeating it. Or you may have talked about a painful experience many times and feel like you’ve reached the limit of what talking about it can accomplish.

Brainspotting is one approach therapists may use to work with experiences that seem to be held not only in our thoughts, but also in our emotional and physical responses.

So, What Exactly Is Brainspotting?

Brainspotting is a therapeutic approach developed by psychologist David Grand in 2003. It grew out of his work with trauma therapy and EMDR.

The approach is based around the observation that where we look can sometimes be connected to what we experience internally.

During Brainspotting, a therapist helps a client identify a particular point, or “brainspot,” within their visual field while paying attention to the emotions, memories, thoughts, or physical sensations connected to whatever they are working on.

Rather than continually moving the eyes from side to side as is commonly done in EMDR, the client generally maintains their gaze around a particular spot while noticing what happens internally.

What Does a Brainspotting Session Feel Like?

Brainspotting can look surprisingly simple from the outside.

You and your therapist begin by identifying what you would like to work with. Your therapist may ask where you notice the experience in your body or how activated or distressed you feel when thinking about it.

The therapist then helps you locate a point in your visual field that seems connected to that experience. Sometimes therapists use a pointer to slowly guide the eyes across the visual field while noticing subtle changes in emotional or physical responses.

Once a relevant spot has been identified, you may spend time looking toward that point while noticing what unfolds.

Memories may arise. Emotions may shift. Physical sensations may change. Thoughts or associations may emerge that you weren’t consciously expecting.

There isn’t necessarily a story you’re required to tell or a conclusion you’re supposed to reach. Much of the work involves noticing what your own mind and body do when given space and attention.

How Is Brainspotting Different From Talk Therapy?

Talk therapy can be incredibly helpful. Putting experiences into words, understanding patterns, developing insight, and experiencing a safe relationship with another person can all be important parts of healing.

Brainspotting is one way of working less exclusively through language and more directly with the emotional and physical experience that accompanies a memory or trigger.

That doesn’t mean talking disappears. Brainspotting can be incorporated into a broader course of therapy that also includes conversation, relationship, reflection, and other therapeutic approaches.

How Is Brainspotting Different From EMDR?

Brainspotting and EMDR have some similarities, and Brainspotting emerged from David Grand’s work with EMDR.

Both approaches pay attention to the connection between eye position, attention, emotional experience, and trauma processing. But they aren’t the same therapy.

EMDR follows a standardized eight-phase protocol and commonly uses repeated bilateral stimulation, such as moving the eyes back and forth.

Brainspotting is generally more open-ended. Instead of repeatedly moving between two sides of the visual field, the client typically focuses around a particular eye position while paying attention to their internal experience.

Some people may prefer the greater structure of EMDR. Others may appreciate the more spacious, less directive quality that Brainspotting can offer. A therapist trained in trauma treatment can help you think through which approach might fit your needs.

What Can Brainspotting Be Used For?

Brainspotting is most commonly associated with trauma and distressing experiences. Practitioners also use it with clients working through anxiety, grief, difficult relationship experiences, performance concerns, and emotional or physical responses that feel difficult to shift through insight alone.

Do I Have to Talk About My Trauma During Brainspotting?

Not necessarily in extensive detail. You and your therapist will need to communicate enough to understand what you are working on and make sure you feel supported throughout the process. But Brainspotting does not necessarily require giving a detailed verbal account of everything that happened.

For some clients, having an approach that doesn’t depend entirely on finding the right words can feel relieving.

Is Brainspotting Right for Me?

Finding the right trauma treatment isn’t about choosing the therapy with the most interesting name or deciding that one technique will finally “fix” everything.

It’s about understanding what you’re experiencing, what you’ve already tried, what feels safe and tolerable, and what kind of therapeutic relationship helps you feel supported enough to do deeper work.

Brainspotting may be one option within that process.

Brainspotting Therapy at Growing Together Counseling & Healing

Growing Together Counseling & Healing offers trauma-informed therapy for adults and teens in Hudson, Wisconsin and through telehealth.

Jonna Phillips, LMFT, incorporates Brainspotting into her work with clients navigating trauma, difficult past experiences, anxiety, relationship patterns, and other experiences that may feel difficult to shift through insight alone.

If you’re interested in Brainspotting, or simply know that something from your past still seems to be affecting your present, you don’t need to decide on a particular treatment before reaching out. We can help you explore what you’re experiencing and connect you with a therapist whose approach feels like a good fit.