Therapeutic Aproaches - Brainspotting
Finding Healing in the Places Words Can’t Reach
Some experiences don’t have words. You might know something happened, know it left a mark, but when you try to talk about it, the feeling stays stuck somewhere beneath the surface. Brainspotting works differently than traditional talk therapy. It meets you in that deeper place, using your own visual field to help your brain locate and process what’s been stored there.
What This Can Feel Like
A lot of people who end up exploring Brainspotting have already tried other approaches and felt like something was still missing. Maybe the insights came, but the body didn’t get the message. If any of these sound familiar, you’re not alone.
- You can tell the story of what happened, but telling it doesn’t seem to make it hurt any less
- A specific image, sound, or smell will suddenly pull you out of the present moment without warning
- You feel a persistent heaviness, tightness, or tension in your chest, stomach, or throat that no one has been able to explain medically
- Certain situations, people, or places trigger a reaction that feels way bigger than the moment calls for
- You find yourself going numb or dissociating when conversations get too close to something painful
- Sleep is hard because your nervous system never really powers down
- You’ve done a lot of work in therapy and made real progress cognitively, but something still feels unresolved in your body
- Anger, grief, or shame surfaces so fast and so intensely it scares you
- You want to move forward but feel like a part of you is frozen somewhere in the past
Why this happens
When something overwhelming occurs, the brain doesn’t always process it the way it does ordinary experiences. Instead of being filed away cleanly, traumatic or highly charged memories can get stored in fragmented, incomplete ways, often in the subcortical regions of the brain that sit beneath conscious thought and language [Rothbaum et al., 2021]. These stored experiences stay activated in the nervous system, which is why the body keeps reacting even when the logical mind knows the danger has passed [van der Kolk, 2014]. It’s not a character flaw or a failure to “get over it.” It’s a biological response to something that was genuinely too much to process at the time.
How Brainspotting Can Help
Brainspotting was developed by Dr. David Grand in 2003 and is built on the observation that where you look affects how you feel [Grand, 2013]. A trained Brainspotting therapist helps you locate a “brainspot,” a specific eye position that corresponds to activated, unprocessed material held in the brain and body. From there, the therapy creates a focused, supported space for the nervous system to do what it actually knows how to do: process, integrate, and release.
- Reducing the physical charge connected to a specific memory or experience, so it stops living in your body the way it has been
- Helping the brain complete processing it got stuck on, without requiring you to narrate every detail out loud
- Decreasing the intensity and frequency of intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, or sudden emotional flooding
- Loosening the grip of chronic physical symptoms tied to unresolved stress or trauma, like tension, nausea, or fatigue
- Supporting people who feel like they’ve “hit a wall” in traditional talk therapy
- Building a felt sense of safety in the body, not just an intellectual understanding of it
- Addressing the layers underneath anxiety, depression, grief, or relationship patterns that don’t shift with insight alone
How Ellie Makes Support More Accessible
Starting something new in therapy can feel like a leap, especially when you’re already tired. Ellie tries to make the practical part as low-friction as possible so that finding the right support doesn’t become another source of stress.
- Ellie’s intake team works to match you with a therapist who is specifically trained in Brainspotting, so you’re not guessing whether someone actually knows this modality
- Support staff help you understand and use your insurance benefits before your first appointment, so cost is less of an unknown
- Sessions are available in person and via telehealth, and telehealth Brainspotting can be just as effective as in-office work for most people
- Evening and weekend availability at many locations means scheduling around work or family obligations is genuinely possible, not just technically possible
- If the first therapist you meet with doesn’t feel like the right fit, Ellie can help you find someone else within the network rather than starting the search over from scratch
Frequently Asked Questions for Brainspotting
Not sure what to expect? These are the questions people ask us before they get started.
Both are body-based trauma therapies using eye positions. EMDR uses bilateral eye movement; brainspotting uses a held gaze position. Brainspotting is typically less structured and more body-led. Both are effective — some people respond better to one or the other.
Not much. The processing is largely non-verbal and internal. You may report body sensations or impressions, but you’re not required to narrate or analyze during the work.
It varies. Some people process a specific issue in a handful of sessions. Others use brainspotting as an ongoing tool within longer-term therapy. Your therapist will help you set expectations based on your situation.
Brainspotting has a growing evidence base and is widely used by trauma-trained clinicians. Research continues to develop. It draws from well-established neuroscience principles and has strong practitioner support.
Yes — it’s often most effective when integrated with other approaches. Your therapist can help you decide when and how to incorporate it.