Brainspotting: A Brain Based Therapy to Speed Healing

One of the services available through Oneida Behavioral Health is brainspotting, an innovative therapeutic tool. It works by identifying, processing and releasing core sources of emotional and physical pain, trauma, dissociation and other symptoms. It’s based on the premise that, “Where you look affects how you feel.” So, what does that mean and how does it work?

Many of us have experienced either physical or emotional trauma over the course of our lives. Trauma is experienced in different ways. Sometimes we experience smaller repetitive traumatic events. Other times we may experience larger traumatic events. These experiences are stored in a specific part of the brain.

While we learn to suppress and work around these memories, an emotional reaction to the trauma may resurface unexpectedly when triggered by another experience (a smell, song or similar situation).

During brainspotting sessions, a therapist will ask you to choose a situation you’ve experienced. While thinking about the situation, they will observe the intensity of your feelings and lead you in an eye scan to find the position that is most strongly connected to the issue. Then, you’ll be guided through steps to process the memory.

Brainspotting has been proven to be effective in alleviating all forms of trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, attention issues, anger, phobias, substance use, chronic fatigue and pain, impulse control issues, sports performance issues and eating disorders.

It can be an incredibly useful tool in helping people work through their trauma. If you think you could be helped through brainspotting, give us a call at 920-490-3790 to schedule an appointment to discuss the process and see if it’s right for you. If you’d like additional information about brainspotting, visit our website: https://oneida-nsn.gov/behavioral-health-focus/#Therapy.