Brainspotting

Short answer: Whatever comes to mind!

Long answer: We do want to start with an issue or situation that’s bothering you, so you typically begin with thinking about that. Once the brainspot is located and you begin the Brainspotting session, you might find yourself moving on to other thoughts, feelings, images, memories, or bodily sensations.

This is completely normal! What comes up may even feel random or unexplainable, and that’s also very typical.

So, we start off thinking about the issue and at the end, we’ll circle back to reflect on how you view the issue post-processing. In the middle, you’re simply allowing the subcortical brain (the part that handles our emotions, survival instincts like fight or flight, and holds memories) to “take over.” You’ll hear me say, “Notice what happens next,” or “See where that takes you.” You can choose to share out loud what arises, or you can choose to remain quiet. Either way, I’ll encourage you to trust that your brain is processing in a way we may not even have the words for.

For those of us who’re high performers or achievers, it might be a little unnerving to not know what’s going to happen next. There might be several sessions that take place where you feel hesitation, suspicion, or skepticism about “letting go.” I’ll encourage you to notice that resistance, and see what happens next. See the pattern?

This is a two part answer.

First, what if you don’t feel anything while you’re setting up your brainspot? This is totally normal. You might be a little disconnected from your body. You can let me know you don’t feel anything. I’ll incorporate short, simple practices to help you begin to notice bodily sensations in a way that feels manageable, safe, and progressive over time. Sometimes, I’ll set up the Brainspotting so you don’t have to start with something that feels activating or distressing. We’ll simply roll along and see what happens. Typically, you’ll quickly begin to notice sensations in your body.

Second, what if you’re a person that typically does notice sensations in your body, but this time, you feel nothing? You’re likely experiencing dissociation, which is a clinical term for being momentarily “checked out.” This isn’t a problem for Brainspotting. There’s something about this moment that your limbic system (that controls our emotions) decides, “Nope, I’m not ok with this and I’m outta here.” To support you through this, I may share some practices to help you rejoin your body, or try a few different setups, or we may simply notice this is happening and accept this as part of your Brainspotting process.

Either way, I’ll be right there alongside you as you move through this.

Nope.

Once you find your brainspot, you might notice that your eyes naturally move away from the spot, or you have a desire to look elsewhere, even to close your eyes. You’re welcome to do any of those and you can return to the original spot anytime you want to.

The initial brainspot is like a doorway into the area of your brain that yearns for healing and processing. So it’s important that we find this first. Beyond that, see what urges arise - to lay down, to get up, to move your arms around, to look away, or close your eyes. I trust that your brain and body will speak to you in the ways in which it would like for you to shift, or not shift.

In addition, working with many BIPOC and people diagnosed with or suspect that they have ADHD, I’ve found that creativity, flexibility, and adaptability are key when it comes to Brainspotting, and therapy in general!

You might have one. You might not.

When you have a big aha moment, it means your thinking brain (prefrontal cortex) has come online and is making sense of what’s being processed deep in your midbrain. Much more often, emotions, images, memories, sensations, or feelings will come and go during the session that you can’t always make sense of. This might lead you to wonder if Brainspotting is working for you. It definitely is, even if there’s not an epiphany moment every session.

Begin paying attention to your day to day moments and interactions. What are you doing now that you couldn’t or didn’t do before? What have you stopped that seemed really hard to stop doing before? How are you thinking about things differently? These are your aha moments.

At the end of the session, ask yourself how much time has passed. It likely felt like five minutes, but in reality, at least 40 minutes had passed. That’s an indication that you dropped down into your midbrain, the area we target for Brainspotting and that doesn’t tell time.

You have a big AHA! moment. Your thinking brain (prefrontal cortex) is able to make sense of the changes happening in your midbrain (where Brainspotting targets) and that understanding feels so damn good!

Observe the changes in your behavior and how you think in between sessions and over time. These can often be small and overlooked. Journaling these moments can be helpful to reflect on.

Use the Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS). Typically, I’ll ask you how activated you feel at the beginning of the session on a scale of 0-10, 0 being nothing at all (nothing is different than numb, though) and 10 being you’re so activated it’s completely unbearable. At the end of the session, if your SUDS is lower than where you started, you might feel calm, relaxed, tired, motivated, clear-headed, or empowered. If your SUDS is higher than where you started, it’s an indication that something has shifted.

It may take several sessions or more to begin to notice sustained and consistent changes in your behaviors and how you feel. That being said, Brainspotting tends to decrease the amount of time in therapy overall than when using talk therapy alone because we’re accessing the area of your brain that stores the trauma or stress.

Brainspotting is very effective online over the telephone or video session. There are many benefits to doing online Brainspotting such as:

The convenience and comfort of being in your own space.

The flexibility to work with a Brainspotting provider that may not be in your area.

The ability to work with a Brainspotting practitioner of your choice that someone recommended.

Saving time and energy traveling to and from appointments.