Brainspotting

What is brainspotting? At Every Body Heals, it is the most common intervention I use by far; simply because it works to create lasting and powerful emotional healing. If you’re curious, please check out this comprehensive explanation from the Baltimore Brainspotting Collective.

If you’re interested in trying brainspotting and you would like to save time in our first session, here is what I tell people to best prepare them for what to expect:

Pros:

• Lasting and powerful emotional change that can reduce unpleasant emotions and expand desired emotions.
• Insight into problems that have otherwise felt stuck.
• Rapid and often permanent reduction of the symptoms of trauma and attachment wounds.
• After several sessions, many clients come to report feeling lighter or more at ease in their bodies.
• Many clients also report that friends, family, and colleague notice a positive difference in their comportment and behavior.

Cons:

• Rarely, clients report what we in the field refer to as a “brainspotting hangover” in the days following a session. Rather than feeling lighter, “cleared out” or more at-peace, clients report feeling more down, sad, or irritable. In my experience this is because there wasn’t enough time to move all the way through the processing that the brain and body needed to complete, or the session was not adequately “resourced.” A skilled brainspotting practitioner can usually avoid this, and after thousands of hours of brainspotting, I work hard to ensure this does not happen!
• Brainspotting can be mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausting, and sometimes clients report feeling the urge to take a nap, or the feeling that they just “ran a marathon” after a session. This is easily addressed by proper aftercare of drinking lots of water and getting the rest you feel you need to allow the processing to complete.
• Brainspotting often involves very strong “negative” (unpleasant) physical and emotional sensations as the brain and body work to integrate feelings that previously caused unwanted symptoms. Some people like to face these emotions “one sip at a time” and other people jump feet first into the fire! There is no right or wrong way to experience this and a practiced clinician will follow what feels right for you.

What to Expect

There are many different “setups” or ways of starting or continuing a brainspotting session, but the basic setup remains the same:

1. The client and clinician work together to find (and possibly strengthen) a sensation in the body. Usually we work to find both a location/description and a strength of the sensation in the body on the Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS). For example, “I’m feeling sadness as a heaviness in my chest at an 8“.
2. The client and clinician work together to find a spot for the eyes to rest where either the client notices that the sensation is stronger/interesting/important, or the clinician notices a reaction in the body that indicates that it may be a spot that will lead to processing.

A lot can happen once the process begins! Here are some tips to get the most out of your session:

Getting the Most out of your Brainspotting Session

Keep in mind that brainspotting will not be like anything you’ve ever experienced before. I describe it as a lucid combination of intoxication and dreaming; it’s a mindful, altered, heightened experience of your own perception. I offer a metaphor and two tips to help you get the most out of your brainspotting sessions. Please note that all of the following is based on my own experience as both a person leading a brainspotting session and a person being led through a brainspotting session and it should not be considered official advice from the founder(s) of brainspotting.

A Metaphor: Being in the River

I invite you to think of brainspotting metaphorically as pushing a boat into a healing river that has never been explored before.

• You will know you’re in the river because you can sense “movement” that feels like you are not entirely the one driving it. In brainspotting, this can feel like a flow of emotions, body sensations, thoughts, memories and metaphors. You’ll know you’re no longer in the river because there will not be a sense of movement, or it may feel as though you’re the one doing the moving.
• Along those lines, as much as possible you want to allow the river to move you, rather than you trying to move the river. Notice the original sensation, and then just see where that goes. We don’t know what’s around the next bend in the river.
• Like any river, there can be smooth parts (a sense of calm, peace, or stillness), rough parts (difficult or somewhat painful memories, feelings, or sensations), rapids (strong fluctuations of the same), and even the occasional waterfall (a sudden powerful sensation or feeling)!
• The oars that push your boat through the river are your feelings and sensations. Strong feelings and sensations usually lead to a more vivid or intense experience of the river and vice versa. When one is in doubt about what comes next, returning to the original sensation or focusing on a new sensation that has emerged allows an opportunity for the river to flow on.
• I am your trusty river guide who travels alongside of you on the riverbank while you are in the river. I don’t share your exact experience of the river, but I can hear and respond to anything you want to share with me. You can share as much or as little of your river journey as you like. What is most helpful is anything that feels like it “keeps you in the river”, especially comments about your “process”. Examples of this are, “I’m feeling stuck”; “I don’t know if I’m in the river anymore”; “I want to stop”; or “This feels like too much”; etc. Some people find that talking about their “content” is also helpful for keeping them in the river. Examples of this would be, “I’m remembering a moment from my childhood when…” “I see an image of clear glass, and words are appearing on it,” “I hear the words “you are loved,” and they just keep repeating.” As your guide, my job is to trust you completely, and lead you when you are feeling lost, as well as to witness your process as an attuned, regulated, present other. Brainspotting on an “activated” or “unpleasant” spot should never be done alone!
• Every moment you’re in the river is a healing moment, even if the feelings and sensations are difficult. As brainspotting practitioners, we often say, “you have to feel it to heal it!”

Two Tips for Your Process

1. Tip 1: You’re the Boss. Unlike other forms of talk therapy, brainspotting assumes that the client rather than the clinician is the expert in the room on their own experience while brainspotting. The clinician’s job is to follow in the tail of the comet, with the client’s experience being the comet. With this in mind, you will get the most out of your experience if you do not hesitate to lead the clinician. Some examples would be:
   1. “Move the pointer up/to the left/right more.”
   2. “I don’t think anything is happening right now.”
   3. “I’ve lost the sensation, I need a moment to get it back.”
   4. “I think I’m done on this spot.”
   5. “I need it to be silent right now.”
   6. “You’re nodding your head, and that’s distracting me.”
   7. If I make a suggestion, remaining silent or not taking up the suggestion if it doesn’t feel right.
2. Tip 2: Be Mindful. Brainspotting can be thought of as a kind of extended meditation, and like most meditation or mindfulness practices, one can get the most out of it by noticing, noticing, noticing! If the sensation you’re focusing on shifts, notice that. If the sensation gets bigger, make space for that. If an unpleasant memory pops up, notice your response, and allow that. As much as possible, notice, trust, allow, permit, and follow your own experience.