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Which is how I found myself sitting in front of my laptop for my first virtual brainspotting therapy session.
If that sounds oversimplified, or out there, or unconventional, its because it is.
And yet, Im pretty sure it changed my life.
What is brainspotting therapy, exactly?
Grand was quick to say this theory is incredibly hard to prove in any semblance of evidenced-based Western medicine.
grief and trauma therapist
But he also believes the proof is in the healing, so to speak.
In brainspotting, thats called a gaze spot or a brainspot.
Theoretically, the visual systems give you access to neurological systems that you cant get to any other way.
Eventually, Grand dubbed this location a brainspot.
All of my appointments were teletherapy.
In my first session, I told my therapist I was heartbroken.
Trust me when I say its unpleasant.
Then, your provider will ask you about where in your body you most feel that activation.
Next, my therapist would unfurl her pointer.
grief and trauma therapist
Sometimes it was faint.
Sometimes after the fact shed tell me she could clearly see my facial expression change.
(Bilateral sounds move back and forth between the right and left sides of your headphones.
Theyre used in other types of trauma and anxiety therapies, too.)
I found an hour-long rainstorm that felt very comforting.
And then…I sat there.
I expected to feel nothing.
Wed continue like this for about 20 minutes.
She was there to follow my lead, rather than the other way around.
The discomfort in my chest lifted as my body sank into my seat.
After a session, I almost always went to bed early.
absolutely must be taken into account when designing a treatment plan.
Trauma is a safety mechanism the brain has devised, Grand says.
For example: Imagine a 5-year-old child witnessing a fatal car accident.
If this trauma was something I was harboring, I wanted itout.
In other words, the traumatic memories and feelings in my mind werent separate from my body.
Another way to think about it is like learning to ride a bike, Robinson says.
Our reactions to trauma also become like a sort of muscle memory.
The body remembers what it needed to keep you safe.
Robinson, who trained with Grand, believes there is rewiring going on when we process traumatic experiences.
It might depend on the situation, the person, and their other coping mechanisms.
From a cultural competency perspective, marginalized people often experience traumaintherapy, she says.
Brainspotting is about making it your own.
As such, she sees it as a tool forcommunity healing.
Proprietary is antithetical to healing.
I dont want everyone to get brainspotting, I want them to get the optimal healing they need.
The path to optimal healing will look different for everyone.
We want to ensure folks are grounded and present.
So, should you try it?
As Robinson emphasizes, were still in the infancy of our scientific understanding of the brain.
2013 Jun;80(6):759-66. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2013.03.005.
Epub 2013 Apr 6.
Int J Environ Res Public Health.
2022 Jan 20;19(3):1142. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031142.
PMID: 35162166; PMCID: PMC8835026.
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