What is Brainspotting Therapy?
Are you tired of endless talk therapy sessions that leave you feeling stuck and frustrated? Frustrated with circular discussions that get you nowhere? What if I told you there’s a groundbreaking technique that can offer a rapid and effective solution for your mental health concerns? A method that can be done in-person or virtually online?
Brainspotting is a cutting-edge, evidence-based therapy that processes and releases deep-seated issues and emotional blocks by using fixed eye positions to target and dissolve encapsulated memories deep in the midbrain, limbic system, and brainstem. Experience a taste of two different Brainspotting sessions here:
Brainspotting Demo-A two minute taste
Brainspotting was recognized as the most effective therapy, out of 75 different modalities, post-Sandy Hook Shootings in 2012. Brainspotting stands out among Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Outshining EMDR and CBT in effectiveness and enduring results for depression and anxiety. Brainspotting is a game-changer. Astonishingly, a mere three Brainspotting sessions—whether conducted virtually or in-person—can bring about the healing equivalent to 35 traditional talk therapy sessions. The magnitude of improvement depends on the severity of the issue and the state of the client’s nervous system.
Brainspotting Helps With Regulating the Nervous System and Reducing these Symptoms:
- PTSD
- Developmental trauma
- Rumination
- Athletic and professional performance
- Limiting self-beliefs
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Fears & phobias
- Grief and loss
- Depression
- Habit change
- ADHD/ADD
- Assertive Communication
- OCD
- Substance abuse and addictions
- Emotional regulation
The Science of Brainspotting
Your brainstem and limbic system are super fast and effective. Their job is to perceive and predict threats to keep you safe. The problem is that if they scan people, places and things based on your past experience, then the midbrain and limbic system overreact when they think you are being threatened. Additionally, they also shut down the logical part of your brain, making you react without thinking which creates problems in your relationships with others and/or yourself, which creates more stress.
The eye position, the Brainspot, helps your brain stop scanning your environment for threats. As a result, your midbrain (specifically, your superior colliculus) and limbic system can focus on reorganizing and updating your thoughts, beliefs, and memories. ¹ Brainspotting bypasses the limitations of mere conversation and dives straight into the depths of your subconscious mind, regulating your nervous system and harnessing your body’s innate self-healing process.
As a certified Brainspotter, I am trained to follow your lead as you experience and release the emotional “charge” around past experiences, clearing your triggers and building new neuropathways while updating your limiting beliefs. You will gain deep insight and healing that creates a greater sense of calm and knowing.
10 minute Brainspotting Education
What to Expect While Brainspotting
- At the beginning of the session, you will be offered the option of listening to bilateral music which can help calm your subcortical brain.
- Together we will identify an issue that you want to transform and heal.
- As you focus on this issue, I will invite you to notice what emotions or physical sensations show up. It could be a headache, pressure in your chest, energy in your solar plexus, stomach issues, and many other body sensations including smells and temperature changes.
- Using a pointer, I will help you locate your Brainspot for the topic you chose. The Brainspot is found along your field of vision and correlates with the intensity of the body sensations. Finding the exact brainspot acts like a doorway into all the stored baggage from the past causing a deep release of the issue.
- Your job is to pay attention to what is happening inside your body, mind and notice what comes up around the topic you chose. The focused eye position allows your brain to internally self-scan to identify your deeper unresolved issue. Each person processes differently. For example, some people will process using images while others experience body sensations. However, you process, expect it to shift and change throughout the session. Some people talk about their insights while being attuned with their inner world while others are non-verbal. Whatever processing style you have will help your brain to rewire and heal.
- Once your subconscious “capsule” is tapped into, your mind will continue to process for the next few days. I invite you to journal your insights, walk in nature, and get a good night’s sleep while you repair and update your brain.
- For more information, please visit the FAQ page
What clients are saying
“Virtual Brainspotting with psychotherapist Sherian Lee has tremendously improved my mental health, alongside medication. I was dealing with severe depression and anxiety, and Sherian has been my biggest supporter through it all! Brainspotting has helped me to work through my trauma by helping me to recognize and let go of the charge around specific events that triggered me everyday. It also taught me new coping mechanisms. Sherian tracks my progress so that I can see my growth over time and it is extremely rewarding. I feel better than ever and I always look forward to our sessions. I highly recommend working with Sherian!”
- Current Client