Learn how to transform unwanted habits and patterns of self-sabotage
Rewire patterns of stress, anxiety and depression with Brainspotting
Brainspotting (BSP) is a type of therapy designed to help people access, process, and overcome trauma, negative emotions such as anxiety, and pain, including psychologically induced physical pain. It reaches parts of the brain that are not generally accessed through traditional talk therapy approaches. Brainspotting aides the brain in reprocessing old negative experiences and retrains the brain’s emotional reactions to them.
Brainspotting is one of the few techniques that effectively addresses the root cause of psychological stress and emotional trauma. The goal of brainspotting is to bypass conscious thinking to access where trauma is stored in the deeper, subconscious emotional and body-based parts of the brain to facilitate healing. Traumatic energy can be released from the nervous system during a Brainspotting session and seems to activate the body’s natural ability to heal itself from trauma and calm anxiety. Clients report having deeper and more profound releases with Brainspotting as compared to traditional therapies.
Trauma as well as negative emotions including forms of anxiety are stored in parts of the brain that are below the logic and language centers. Therefore, talking about your anxiety or past traumatic events often is not enough to create healing and change. That is why you can explore and make sense of your anxiety and still get triggered at the next social gathering the same way you always do.
Trauma memories stored in the brain are also connected to where the trauma energy is stored in your body. And, where you look with your eyes as you are talking about a trauma or a worry activates the ‘spot in the brain’ (hence the term Brainspotting) where the memory resides as well as the felt sense in the body allowing the trauma or strong emotion to finish processing through.
Brainspotting stops the cycle of negative feelings and actions on the mind and the body. What this means is you will remember a past traumatic event but will not have any emotional activation when you think about that memory. If you wrote your story down and then engaged in Brainspotting, the story doesn’t change but how you feel about it will change in a positive way. Often new insights emerge and positive internal shifts happen as well.
Those who have experienced either physical or emotional trauma may benefit from Brainspotting. This form of therapy has been shown to be an effective treatment option for those experiencing:
A primary goal of counseling is to support clients to move from dysregulation to regulation, from imbalance to homeostasis, from emotional stress to emotional healing. Cognitive based talk therapy approaches activate the part of the brain associated with higher order thinking, logic and reason. Asking questions, processing, and analyzing what happened are part of the cognitive function. Although these functions have a place in therapy, their purpose is not to create regulation. This is one reason cognitive approaches are limiting.
Brainspotting tends to access the midbrain and the nervous system. This is where trauma, emotional stress, habits, repetitive patterns, and sensory experiences are stored. Therefore, this is where changing negative habits and patterns must happen. And this is also where regulation happens. the parts of the brain and the body associated with regulation.
Another way Brainspotting helps move a client from dysregulation to regulation is through the mindful presence of the therapist. By creating a sense of safety and compassion, your Brainspotting therapist acts as a grounding force to help you process feelings and memories down to where you feel calm and at ease.
The number of Brainspotting sessions can vary from person to person. Some people notice changes after one session. Most often changes and improvements can be experienced within four to six sessions.
If you are ready to end the internal suffering created by trauma or anxiety, feel free to contact me for a free 20-minute phone consultation to learn more about how Brainspotting can possibly help you.
To find out more about Brainspotting: www.brainspotting.com
