Brainspotting Therapy in Marietta and Roswell

What is Brainspotting Therapy?

Brainspotting treatment refers to using Brainspotting along with talk therapy. Brainspotting is a therapeutic approach that emerged from the field of psychotherapy. Developed by Dr. David Grand, it involves the use of the therapist's guidance to help individuals locate and process sources of emotional and psychological pain or trauma that may be stored in specific areas of the brain. The technique is based on the idea that eye positions can correlate with the activation of different neural networks, and by focusing on specific "brainspots" while engaging in therapeutic conversation, individuals may be able to access and process deep-seated emotions and memories.

Brainspotting is often used by a Brainspotting counselors in the treatment of trauma, anxiety, and other mental health issues to facilitate healing and emotional regulation.

How Does Brainspotting Treatment Work?

Brainspotting treatment is known as a neurobiological tool and is a body-based modality.  It is important to point out that Brainspotting therapy is paired with the clinical healing relationship that occurs in talk therapy. Brainspotting is not a replacement, but a supplement to the safe and trusting therapeutic relationship that occurs when clients feel heard and understood.

Brainspotting helps clients focus on and deal with experiences and symptoms in their brains that regular thinking and talking might not catch. It's a way to process and let go of things that are hard to grasp with the conscious mind.

This approach engages the deep brain and body by directly accessing the autonomic and limbic systems within the central nervous system.

Brainspotting works by using the body's natural ability to scan itself and target areas where things might be out of balance, potentially helping with physical pain and tension from different issues. A "Brainspot" is just where your eyes naturally go when you think about a tough or emotional experience, and finding these spots helps identify and work through stored emotional memories in the brain.

What Happens During Brainspotting Therapy?

When a Brainspot is stimulated, reflexive responses indicate to the brainspotting counselors that a significant area has been identified. Often, this area is outside of the client’s conscious awareness. Reflexes like eye twitches, freezes, blinks, and various facial expressions can indicate the presence of a Brainspot.

By keeping their eyes on a specific spot and paying attention to how their body feels, the client will initiate an integrating and healing process in the brain. This helps reset the client’s emotional and physical reactions to things, letting their body's natural healing ability come forward.

Enhanced by Biolateral Sound CDs, Brainspotting achieves heightened effectiveness by alternately stimulating each cerebral hemisphere. It can be initiated without bilateral intensification for clients who are more sensitive to sound.

Acknowledging that trauma can be stored in the body, Brainspotting serves as a tool that can be used with talk therapy to help with a wide range of mental health issues.