Brainspotting | Elle Michel Psychotherapy

What is Brainspotting?

Brainspotting is a form of psychotherapy that uses the position of the eyes as well as bilateral stimulation to help the client heal from painful experiences. Brainspotting focuses on the body and body sensations more than traditional talk psychotherapy. Brainspotting was developed by David Grand, Ph.D., in 2003. Dr. Grand had been trained in EMDR and Somatic Experiencing and used his background in those modalities to create Brainspotting.

From Dr. Grand:

“Brainspotting is a powerful, focused treatment method that works by identifying, processing and releasing core neurophysiological sources of emotional/body pain, trauma, dissociation and a variety of other challenging symptoms. Brainspotting is a simultaneous form of diagnosis and treatment, enhanced with bilateral sound, which is deep, direct, and powerful yet focused and containing.”

How is Brainspotting different from other therapies?

Brainspotting is different from other therapies in its use of bilateral stimulation and its emphasis on nervous system regulation. Brainspotting works with the nervous system and the limbic system (the brain’s center for emotions and memory) to help people feel better quickly.

Understanding the nervous system

The nervous system is the interconnected system of nerves that runs through our bodies, from our brains down to our toes. When our body senses threat, it activates our nervous system to get us to try to escape the threat. However, when we perceive many threats over a long period of time, our nervous system can stay in high alert.

How effective is Brainspotting?

I love using Brainspotting to help my clients heal and have had wonderful results using it.
It’s amazing that the simple physical tool of bilateral stimulation combined with the position of the eyes can produce such tremendous healing. I’ve had clients have breakthroughs with brainspotting that were unlike any other experiences they’ve had in therapy. This completely different and simple therapy unlocked and healed traumas for them in mere hours that they thought would take years to heal.

What does the research say?