You've already spent the time talking.
Talking can be really helpful. But for some things, talking just isn't enough.
Brainspotting works differently. Instead of processing through words and conscious thought, it works at the level of the brain and body where trauma, anxiety, and stuck patterns actually live, beneath language, beneath insight, beneath what you can think your way through.
That's not a limitation. That's actually where the most profound healing happens.
“Where you look affects how you feel”
— Dr. David Grand, Ph.D., Founder of Brainspotting
This simple phrase contains something remarkable. The position of your eyes isn't just about what you're looking at in the outside world. It can also be a doorway into your internal world.
Brainspotting is a brain-body, mindfulness-based approach that uses specific eye positions to access the subcortical brain, which is the deeper structures beneath conscious thought that store trauma, regulate emotion, and hold the experiences your nervous system hasn't fully processed yet, experiences your brain may not even have words for.
When we find a relevant eye position, something shifts. The brain and body begin to access and process what's been stored there. Not by analyzing it or talking it through, but by allowing your system's own innate capacity to do what it was always designed to do: move, update, reorient, heal.
For clinicians: Brainspotting works primarily through gaining access to the subcortical regions of the brain, bypassing the prefrontal cortex to access stored trauma and somatic experience directly. It integrates principles from neuroscience, attachment theory, interpersonal neurobiology, focusing, and body-based trauma treatment. It also integrates and honors principles of eastern, western, and indigenous healing wisdom and traditions.
How Brainspotting was Discovered
Brainspotting was discovered in 2003 by Dr. David Grand, Ph.D., almost by accident. And like many meaningful discoveries, it happened in the middle of someone else's struggle.
Dr. Grand was already a seasoned EMDR practitioner and trainer when he noticed something important: many of his clients seemed to tolerate slower hand movements better than the standard protocol. This led him to pioneer what became known as Slow Flow EMDR, an early expression of his attunement to what individual, traumatized, nervous systems actually needed, rather than what the protocol prescribed.
That attunement would prove to be everything.
He was working with a competitive figure skater who was trying to land her triple loop, but simply couldn’t. She had the technical skill and she had the training. Yet, something kept stopping her: a performance block rooted in unresolved childhood trauma that was showing up in her body every time she approached the jump.
While working with her using Slow Flow EMDR, Dr. Grand moved his fingers across her visual field. Her eyes wobbled. He noticed. He intuitively paused, stopping his hand mid-movement, feeling almost as if his arm locked in place on its own. He stayed deeply attuned to what her system was showing him and to what happened next.
In that moment of attunement, held at that singular eye position, something began to shift. Her processing deepened in a way it hadn't in their previous year of work with EMDR. Things began to move that had been stuck, new material from a childhood of trauma emerged and was reprocessed to completion. He followed her system, holding space, paying close attention, and trusting that she knew how to heal. Brainspotting was born.
She landed her triple loop the very next day.
He knew he had stumbled onto something profound. Something that would change everything. Not just a technique, but a doorway into the subcortical brain, into stored experience, into the body's own capacity to heal when given the right conditions and someone willing to follow rather than lead. Something moved that had been frozen for years. Not because he pushed it, but because he paused. He followed. He trusted. He waited. That single moment of attunement, and the curiosity it ignited, opened a door that is still being walked through today.
In the words of Dr. Grand introducing new clients to Brainspotting:
"As you look at this spot, I'll invite you to observe wherever your mind goes. This observation is a form of mindfulness. You don't direct where your mind goes - it just happens. Where it goes may make sense to you or not, but it doesn't matter. Your deeper brain knows what to do. It's like breathing. Thoughts, memories, feelings, or body sensations may come and go. Don't judge, follow along, and trust your instincts.”
-Dr. David Grand, from Brainspotting: The Revolutionary New Therapy for Rapid and Effective Change
What Happens in a Brainspotting Session?
If you've never experienced Brainspotting before, you might be wondering what it actually looks like. It's quieter and simpler than you might expect.
We'll begin by identifying what you want to work on and noticing where you feel it in your body. That body sensation, or felt sense, becomes our guide when it's accessible. And if connecting with your body feels difficult or out of reach right now, that's okay too. We will meet you exactly where you are. From there, we find a brainspot, a specific eye position that activates a stronger felt sense of whatever we're working with. Once we find it, you hold your gaze there while I hold space alongside you.
There's no script. No rigid protocol. No wrong way to do it.
Your system leads, and I follow. What we work on, how we work on it, and where the session goes is guided by what your system shows us, moment to moment. Your brain and body know exactly what to do, even if you don't yet. Images, memories, sensations, emotions, or insights may arise. Sometimes things feel intense for a moment before they soften. Sometimes it's quieter and more subtle. Either way, your system is doing exactly what it needs to do.
Sessions typically last 45 to 60 minutes, and longer intensives are available for existing clients. Some people notice shifts within a single session. For deeper or more complex material, the work unfolds over time. There's no rushing it, and you don't have to do anything except show up and let your system lead.
For clinicians: Brainspotting can be used with or without a pointer, with eyes open or closed, online and in-person, and can be adapted for dissociative and somatic symptoms, complex trauma, and for performance and expansion work as well. The model is highly flexible and relational, grounded in the dual attunement frame: neurobiological attunement to the client's system and attunement to the therapeutic relationship and relational field. It integrates naturally alongside other modalities including parts work, somatic approaches, EMDR, and others.
Who is Brainspotting for?
Brainspotting was originally developed for trauma and performance work, and has since expanded into one of the most versatile and effective approaches available for a wide range of human experiences.
People seek Brainspotting for many reasons. Some are carrying trauma they've never been able to fully process, even after years of other therapy. Some are stuck in patterns they understand intellectually but can't seem to shift. Some are carrying the weight of systemic and intergenerational trauma; pain that was passed down, absorbed, or accumulated through living in systems and structures that were never designed to support them. Some are highly sensitive and neurodivergent people who've spent a lifetime adapting to environments that weren't designed for them. Some are performers, athletes, or creatives who want to access more of their capacity and get out of their own way.
People who found EMDR too activating, overwhelming, or ineffective often find that Brainspotting is better tolerated, as the model's inherent flexibility and the therapist's attunement allow the work to move at the pace each system actually needs. As Dr. Grand says, "there's no turf when it comes to healing." Different approaches work for different people, and finding the right fit matters.
What people tend to have in common when they seek out Brainspotting is this: they've tried other things. They're not new to the work. And something still hasn't moved the way they hoped it would.
Wondering how Brainspotting differs from EMDR?
Brainspotting can help with:
Trauma and PTSD, including complex and developmental trauma
Anxiety, chronic stress, and overwhelm
People-pleasing, over-functioning, and chronic exhaustion
Childhood emotional neglect and attachment wounds
Depression and mood dysregulation
Grief and loss
Physical symptoms with emotional roots
Performance blocks, spiritual connection, and expansion work, including accessing intuition, creativity, and a deeper relationship with self and spirit
Neurodivergent and highly sensitive nervous systems -- Brainspotting's flexibility and attunement make it a natural fit
If you've been wondering whether Brainspotting might be right for you, that curiosity is worth following.
Ready to Experience Brainspotting?
Reading about Brainspotting can only take you so far. The real understanding comes from experiencing it.
If you're curious about whether Brainspotting might be right for you, the best next step is a conversation. We can talk about what you're carrying, what you've already tried, and whether this feels like the right fit.
A free 20-minute consultation is your invitation to find out. No agenda, no pressure, just an honest conversation.
Already a therapist interested in Brainspotting consultation? You can learn more about working with me as a consultant.
Want to go deeper? Learn more about Brainspotting below.
The Brainspotting community has built a rich body of research, writing, and resources. Here are a few places to explore:
Rocky Mountain Brainspotting Institute: a comprehensive library of videos, podcasts, research, articles, and books
David Grand's website: the founder of Brainspotting, including information on brainspotting, trainings, and certification:
Brainspotting: The Revolutionary New Therapy for Rapid and Effective Change: Dr. Grand's foundational book, available on Amazon or other independent retailers.
Where you look affects how you feel
Sample from Dr. David Grand's biolateral music playlist, often used during Brainspotting sessions to support deeper processing. Can also be used to enhance regulation and focus. Find the full playlist on YouTube.
