A Resource on Using Brainspotting Therapy for Trauma
If you have heard about brainspotting as a potential way to deal with psychological trauma, you might be excited by the potential that it holds – but also confused about what it is exactly and how it can help you build a brighter future.
On this page, we’d like to take some time to explain the basics of brainspotting therapy to help you better understand if it may be a relevant treatment in your situation.
No matter how you choose to proceed in dealing with things like painful memories and the problems they are causing in your life, you’ll want to get professional help on this journey.
That’s why Ingrained Recovery is here to serve you. We offer a range of treatments and each one is customized to serve the needs of the individual. Whether for yourself or a loved one, call our representatives today to talk about the options available and get started as soon as possible.
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What is Brainspotting Therapy?
The idea behind brainspotting therapy is the concept that an unprocessed traumatic memory can have a powerfully-negative impact on your mental health – and can potentially lead to problems like substance abuse and more.
So, the goal of this treatment is to resolve unprocessed traumatic experiences and process the difficult emotions that come along with those events. When it was developed, brainspotting was seen as a revolutionary new therapy, and it continues to play an important role today.
It is possible to use brainspotting on its own as a form of trauma therapy, but it is commonly used along with other options, such as EMDR therapy. When included as part of a greater treatment plan, brainspotting has the potential to help individuals experience breakthrough moments that can free them from both emotional and physical symptoms that may have been in place for years.
If you have been trying to unlock the underlying issues that are leading you to substance abuse for years, consider this alternative therapy as a way to perhaps finally get on the right track.
The Brainspotting Process
As you get into brainspotting sessions, you will learn that the initial goal is to identify brainspots that serve as storage for traumatic memories. Basically, these brainspots are fixed eye positions that connect or coorelate with a traumatic memory.
During a brainspotting session, you will be guided to find these spots, with your therapist using a pointer to help you find the brainspots that need to be uncovered.
There shouldn’t be any physical pain associated with brainspotting, as you’ll simply be moving your eyes around to find the right spots. However, the experience can cause you to dive deeply into emotional stress that has been contained within you for years. For this reason, brainspotting is a particularly engaging trauma treatment and you may feel tired by the end of a session.
What Techniques Are Used in Brainspotting?
We’ve already discussed the primary technique used in brainspotting, which is moving the eyes around the room in a contolled manner to find specific brainspots that are associated with traumas. When guided by a therapist using a pointer to direct your attention to certain places, access to those memories can be achieved.
That’s not the only way brainspotting works, however. Body shifting is also used in this treatment. The therapist may use this approach to help you become familiar with your bodily sensations and how they are connected to emotions. Getting at complex trauma might be more successful when various forms of brainspotting are used, such as body shifting and bilateral stimulation with sound.
It should also be said that blending other traditional therapy options with brainspotting is a technique that might be able to dig into stored trauma.
For example, cognitive-behavioral therapy is a proven treatment option that has served millions of people well and can be used in combination with brainspotting therapy by a qualified professional. With brainspotting work performed, and standard talk therapy employed, the potential results are exciting to consider.
What to Expect in Brainspotting Sessions
As a starting point, you can expect to spend somewhere between 60 – 90 minutes in a brainspotting session. That time period will vary a bit depending on how the session progresses and the kinds of difficult emotions that are being surfaced in the process. Just like any other kind of therapy, you’ll find that brainspotting sessions are designed to be safe, and will be held in a comfortable room where you can relax and explore the emotions that may be holding you back in life.
As the patient, you will need to follow the directions of your therapist throughout this session. You may simply be advised to sit down while going through the exercises, or you may be asked to lie down instead. Once the session is underway, your therapist will use a pointer to guide your gaze to specific brainspots.
As you do, you will likely be asked to discuss any emotions or memories that you feel coming to the surface. It’s important for you as the patient to allow yourself to go beyond your conscious mind to let the emotions that are coming up present themselves to the therapist in an open and honest manner.
An Engaging Experience
When brainspotting is successful, there is often a tremendous emotional release that comes along with the experience. This will mean good and bad things in terms of the experience you have during your sessions.
Dealing with distressing memories, while beneficial in the long run, can mean that you will be emotionally exhausted by the time the session is over. The kind of mindful awareness that you enter into during brainspotting can be intense, and how you feel after it is all over will largely depend on your personality and what types of traumas you are working through.
Some individuals feel relaxed and calm after it is finished, while others may take longer to “come down” from all of the emotions that have been expressed.
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3 Benefits of Brainspotting
Throughout this page, we have been touching on some of the potential benefits of brainspotting, but we wanted to bring them all together here in this section so you can quickly review exactly what you have to gain by going through the process with a qualified therapist.
- Dealing with traumatic memories. This is the heart of brainspotting and you might end up dealing with memories that you didn’t even realize were festering deep within. Brainspotting will help you confront the memories that you have put away somewhere in your mind so they can finally be processed and you can fully move on. The long term memory that humans possess is an incredible tool, but it can sometimes hold us back in life. With the help of brainspotting, or an EMDR session, the long term memory hurdles that are in the way of your recovery can come down.
- Reducing symptoms. Of course, dealing with the traumatic memories you are holding onto is a good starting point, but the real benefit comes when it reduces the emotional distress or physical symptoms that you are experiencing. When successful, brainspotting can reduce symptoms significantly and leave you in a better place for sustained healing.
- Promoting relaxation. While this point is hard to quantify, you may simply feel better after going through a brainspotting session, or a series of sessions. The power of eye movements, when guided by a professional, can put you in a better head space and improve your quality of life almost immediately.
Effectiveness and Research
As it is a relatively new treatment in the context of therapy and some of the other options out there to help you process a traumatic event, the research on brainspotting is still emerging.
With that said, there are encouraging results that point to its ability to help create rapid and effective change in those with PTSD, depression, anxiety, and more.
Who Can Benefit from Brainspotting?
Many different individuals can benefit from using brainspotting therapy. A brainspotting session is a worthwhile option for those with PTSD, for example, or those who are showing depression symptoms.
It can also be a good choice if you have anxiety or chronic pain. It’s possible to achieve rapid and effective change, although the results are certainly going to vary from one individual to the next.
One thing that’s important to understand about brainspotting, or traditional therapy, for that matter, is that the underlying issues need to be resolved before present problems in your life can be corrected.
Specifically, if you are dealing with a substance addiction, that addiction likely stems from some trauma or triggers that brainspotting therapists or talk therapy may be able to bring to the surface.
Getting through those roadblocks with the help of brainspotting techniques could be the big moment that allows you to build some positive momentum toward lasting recovery in your life.
Getting Started with Brainspotting
The key to getting started with brainspotting therapy is finding the right professionals to put on your side. Take a moment now to reach out to Ingrained Recovery to understand more about what we offer and how we may be able to serve your journey.
There is tremendous potential in brainspotting for trauma therapy, and by extension, for dealing with overall mental health issues, addiction, and more. We would be proud to take the time to discuss this possibility with you and what it could mean for your future. Thank you for visiting and we look forward to getting started!
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FAQs on Brainspotting Therapy
How does brainspotting therapy work?
By having individuals focus on specific eye positions that are connected to emotional trauma, healing and emotional release can be achieved through this treatment.
How many sessions of brainspotting therapy are needed for most people?
The number of sessions required to achieve positive results will vary from person to person. It’s often the case that individuals start to experience progress after just a few sessions of treatment.
Is it possible to use other treatments with brainspotting?
Yes, commonly other forms of treatment will be used alongside brainspotting therapy to achieve optimal results. These other treatments could include EMDR, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or other techniques.