What is Brainspotting?
Brainspotting is a therapeutic tool that uses a person’s vision field to help them reprocess trauma. It uses points that a client’s eyes naturally gravitate towards, often in combination with prompts, questions, Brainspotting music, and a pointer or other objects that stimulate relaxed inner attention. As a therapeutic tool, Brainspotting helps clients unlock and access trauma that’s trapped in the subcortical brain, the area of the brain responsible for motion, consciousness, emotions, memory and learning.
Brainspotting therapy was developed by Dr David Grand as an advancement of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and is a physiological therapy with psychological results. While “talk therapy” tries to solve problems with the conscious mind, Brainspotting focuses on the brain-body connection and is used the brain’s instinctive and natural healing abilities to unlock subconscious and unconscious “stuckness,” which can be an important complement for processing trauma that doesn’t always live in the conscious brain.
Brainspotting is not a bandaid for managing unpleasant symptoms. It actually heals and resolves the original wound. It can be used for specific memories, general periods of life, themes, emotions, physical pain, ancestral wounds, inherited trauma, past lives, systemic and cultural trauma, and more. There is no “diagnosis” for which Brainspotting is not appropriate.
What to Expect During a Session
At the beginning of a Brainspotting session, which can be incorporated into any sessions with Maria, you will tune into your body, turn on your Brainspotting playlist, and find a focal point in your field of view with your eyes. You will go into this with a resonant, fairly specific question or feeling in mind. Rather than reliving a traumatic situation, verbally explaining everything, or forcing your conscious mind to come up with solutions, you can sit back and notice what comes up with your passive attention on your inner focal point and your eyes fixed in one place. During the Brainspotting process, clients experience a range of emotions, images, memories and thoughts. Maria holds quiet and attentive space while clients are in Brainspotting processing. There’s no expectation to verbally share what’s coming up in a Brainspotting session, but clients are invited to share verbally at any time if they’d like to and that helps their process. Brainspotting sessions can be any length of time, and if processing afterward is helpful, that can be built into session timing.
Additional resources:
Short Video: Who Does Brainspotting Work With?
Brainspotting website: https://brainspotting.com/
Treatment Cost and Protocol
Brainpotting in an integral part of the trauma intensives that Maria offers. It can also be done on its own in 2.5-3 hour sessions. Everyone begins with a strong recommendation to commit to two sessions at a minimum. Beginning with two sessions is important because Brainspotting is unlike any other type of therapy and it can take the first session for the brain to acclimate to what is being asked of it. There is often a lot of performance anxiety or questioning if you’re “doing it right.” There is no wrong way to do Brainspotting, and it never doesn’t work. However, it can take some time to find the flow, which is why two sessions to being are highly recommended. Depending on the issue, two sessions can be enough to create substantial change. A single event, such as a car accident, can be cleared in 1-2 sessions. Whereas more complex trauma can take more sessions for there to be a significant shift in symptoms. During an initial consultation you can discuss with Maria what it is you are wanting to work on and she will be able to give you a rough idea of how many sessions she thinks will be needed. These sessions can be held over Zoom, although in-person is preferable.
Sessions cost $150/hour during the work week and $200/hour on weekends. Some Saturday and Sunday spots are available for those who need weekend availability. Unfortunately insurance does not cover extended sessions. Maria is happy to supply a superbill if you want to try to get reimbursed by your insurance company.