What Is Brainspotting Therapy?

Brainspotting therapy is a powerful, body-focused approach that helps you access, process, and release trauma, negative emotions, and pain stored deep in the brain and nervous system. It works on the principle that “where you look affects how you feel,” using specific eye positions to help your brain release stored emotional and physical distress that talk therapy alone may not reach.

At Denver Psychology Associates, Brainspotting is offered as part of our online therapy for people working through trauma and other emotional challenges.

How Brainspotting Therapy Works

The core idea behind Brainspotting is simple yet profound: your field of vision can be used to locate “brainspots” – eye positions that activate traumatic or emotionally charged memories stored deep within the brain. By holding your gaze on these spots, your brain stops scanning the environment and turns its focus inward, resuming and completing the processing of unresolved issues.

Unlike approaches that rely on explaining every detail of a painful event, Brainspotting lets your brain do much of the processing on its own – a relief for people who find talking about trauma overwhelming or exhausting.

The Science Behind Brainspotting

When an event is too overwhelming for the brain to process, the memory isn’t properly filed away. Instead, it gets frozen in the non-verbal, subcortical regions – specifically the amygdala, hippocampus, and brainstem – which govern survival instincts, emotion, and long-term memory.

Because trauma is stored here, you can’t simply “talk it out” or “think your way through it.” The experience lives in your body and nervous system, often outside conscious awareness. The optic nerve connects directly to these deep brain regions, so by guiding your gaze, a trained therapist can help you find the precise eye position that connects to the neurobiological source of your distress.

Once a brainspot is located, a focused gaze helps the brain access the frozen trauma capsule, allowing it to be mindfully observed and processed to completion. This mirrors the body-and-nervous-system focus we describe in our approach to trauma.

How Eye Positions Are Used in Brainspotting

The therapist’s role is not to direct your thoughts but to help you find the relevant eye position and hold a safe space for your brain to do its work. Our therapist uses a pointer to slowly guide your gaze across your field of vision, watching for signals that a particular spot is linked to stronger emotions or bodily reactions.

You are asked to notice any changes in your body as your eyes move – a subtle shift, activation, a physical sensation, or an increase in emotion. These reflexes can be small: a blink, a swallow, a facial twitch, a change in breathing, or a deep breath. They signal that a brainspot has been found. From there, you keep your eyes fixed on that spot, and your brain’s natural, self-healing mechanisms take over. Because sessions are conducted virtually, your therapist adapts these techniques for a comfortable, secure video setting.

What Happens in a Brainspotting Session

At Denver Psychology Associates, all Brainspotting therapy sessions are conducted virtually, providing a private, comfortable space to engage in this deep work from anywhere in Colorado.

A typical session follows a gentle, client-led flow:

1. Grounding and Resourcing: The session begins with grounding exercises to help you feel present and safe. The therapist may help you identify a “resource spot” – an eye position connected to calm, strength, or safety.

2. Identifying the Issue: You’ll talk about what you want to work on: a traumatic memory, persistent anxiety, a creative block, or a negative belief about yourself.

3. Finding the Activation: Your therapist will ask where you feel the issue and how you’d rate its intensity on a scale of 0 to 10.

4. Locating the Brainspot: Using a pointer on the screen, the therapist guides your eyes to the spot in your visual field that most strongly connects to the activation.

5. Focused Mindfulness: Holding your gaze there, you become a curious observer of your internal experience. Thoughts, images, emotions, and bodily sensations may come and go as your brain processes them.

6. Processing and Release: Activation typically decreases. You might experience waves of emotion, physical release, such as yawning or tingling, or new insights, with your therapist supporting you throughout.

7. Closing the Session: The session ends with a debrief and grounding exercises so you feel settled and integrated before you go about your day.

Brainspotting vs. EMDR

Many people exploring trauma therapy wonder about the difference between Brainspotting and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). Both are powerful, brain-based therapies that share roots and use the eyes to process trauma, but they work differently.

• EMDR is a highly structured, eight-phase protocol that uses bilateral stimulation – typically rapid, therapist-guided eye movements from side to side. The therapist directs the process through specific steps.

• Brainspotting emerged from EMDR but finds and holds a single, fixed eye position rather than moving the eyes back and forth. It’s more open and flexible, following your inner experience rather than a set sequence.

Think of it this way: EMDR is like the therapist driving the car on a specific route, while Brainspotting is like the therapist in the passenger seat, providing a map and support while the client drives. Neither is “better” – the right choice depends on your needs, history, and how you respond. Our collaborative approach aligns well with the client-led nature of Brainspotting.

Benefits of Brainspotting Therapy

Because Brainspotting works at a deep, subcortical level, it can produce profound and lasting changes that talk therapy alone may not achieve. Clients often report:

• Relief from trauma symptoms: Fully processing traumatic memories can resolve the root cause of PTSD and other conditions.

• Reduced emotional reactivity: Calming the nervous system makes you less likely to be triggered by reminders of past events.

• Decreased anxiety and depression: Processing underlying trauma can significantly reduce mood symptoms.

• Relief from physical pain: Chronic pain, migraines, and other somatic conditions often connect to stored trauma; releasing the emotional charge can ease physical symptoms.

• Overcoming creative and performance blocks: Helps artists, athletes, and professionals release the subconscious fears holding them back.

• Strengthened sense of self: Healing old wounds leaves clients feeling more present, grounded, and connected.

• Requires less verbal detail: You don’t have to describe every painful moment out loud, making the process feel safer.

• Can complement other therapies: Brainspotting can be woven into a broader plan alongside individual counseling.

Who Can Benefit from Brainspotting?

Brainspotting was originally developed for trauma, but its applications are broad – particularly for concerns tied to how the body holds stress.

Brainspotting for Trauma and PTSD

This is the primary and most well-researched application. It’s effective for both “big T” trauma (single, overwhelming events like accidents, assaults, or combat) and “little t” trauma (ongoing or developmental stressors like childhood emotional neglect, bullying, or a difficult family environment).

Other Conditions and Concerns

Beyond trauma, Brainspotting may be incorporated into individual counseling for:

• Anxiety Disorders: Generalized anxiety, social anxiety, phobias, and chronic worry that lives in the body

• Depression: Especially when linked to past negative experiences, unresolved grief, or feeling weighed down

• ADHD: Addressing emotional dysregulation and negative self-beliefs

• Grief and Loss: Processing the complex emotions of losing a loved one

• Attachment Wounds: Healing the impact of early childhood relationship difficulties

• Performance Anxiety and Blocks: Public speaking, sports, exams, work, or creativity

• Creative Blocks: Helping artists, writers, and musicians reconnect with their flow state

• Stress: Connected to major life transitions

If you’re managing several concerns at once, your therapist can adapt the process to support your full experience.

Is Brainspotting Therapy Effective?

Brainspotting is considered highly effective, especially for clients who have felt “stuck” or haven’t found complete relief with other therapies. Its power lies in bypassing the conscious, thinking mind to access the deeper parts of the brain where distress is held.

While it’s a newer modality compared to methods like CBT, a growing body of early studies, clinical reports, and patient testimonials is encouraging. Patients often describe processing issues in a few sessions that they’d worked on for years in talk therapy.

That said, no single therapy works the same for everyone – effectiveness depends on your situation, your relationship with your therapist, and how your brain and body respond. Our collaborative, personalized approach means we adjust our methods to fit your unique needs.

Is Brainspotting Right for You?

Brainspotting may be a particularly good fit if you:

• Feel stuck in traditional talk therapy – understanding your issues intellectually but still feeling emotionally or physically burdened

• Experience strong physical symptoms alongside emotional distress (tension, stomach issues, headaches)

• Want to process past trauma but find retelling the story overwhelming or re-traumatizing

• Are drawn to a gentle, flexible therapy that honors your brain’s and body’s own wisdom

• Are curious how a brain-body approach can offer a different path to relief

The clearest way to know is to talk with a trained therapist. Learn more about our team on the About Us page.

Can You Try Brainspotting on Your Own?

It’s strongly advised not to attempt Brainspotting on your own. While the concept sounds simple, it’s a clinical tool that should only be used by a trained, certified therapist, because the process can bring up intense emotions, memories, and physical sensations.

A therapist’s role is crucial for:

• Safety: They help you navigate deep internal territory without becoming overwhelmed.

• Attunement: Their attuned presence anchors your nervous system – “co-regulation” – so your brain feels secure enough to process difficult material.

• Guidance: They know how to identify brainspots and keep the process effective and contained.

Attempting to process trauma without guidance can leave you feeling overwhelmed rather than relieved. Brainspotting is a powerful therapeutic intervention that relies on the relationship between patient and skilled therapist to facilitate healing.

Conclusion

Brainspotting therapy offers a direct, powerful path to healing by working with your brain and body’s natural ability to process and release stored trauma. By using your visual field to access the subcortical source of emotional and physical pain, it resolves issues that talk therapy may not reach – often with less need to relive every painful detail. It can help with trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, and more, and works well as part of a personalized plan.

If you feel stuck in old patterns or burdened by past experiences, a conversation with a trained therapist at Denver Psychology Associates can help you take the next step.