Brainspotting: Where Healing Happens Faster

Brainspotting is a powerful healing tool that goes beyond traditional talk approaches to create lasting change. If you’re wondering what exactly Brainspotting is and how it works, you’re in the right place.

What is Brainspotting?

Brainspotting is an innovative approach that uses eye positions to access, process, and release core sources of emotional pain, trauma, and limiting patterns held in the body and brain.

When something distressing happens—whether a major trauma or subtle repeated stressors—the emotional charge from that event becomes stored in your body and nervous system. The issues are literally in your tissues. Even when you’re not consciously aware of it, these stored experiences can affect your thoughts, emotions, relationships, creativity, and physical wellbeing.

Brainspotting works with your brain’s natural ability to heal by:

Using specific eye positions that correspond with areas in the brain storing trauma or emotional charge
Creating a deeply attuned space where your natural healing capacity can activate
Allowing processing to happen at the subcortical level—beyond just talking about the issue
Supporting your nervous system to release what it’s been holding, often for years

As your Brainspotting practitioner, I don’t “fix” you—I believe your brain and body already know how to heal. My role is to create and hold a safe, attuned space where your natural healing processes can unfold.

The Brain’s Storage System: The Attic Metaphor

I like to think of the brain as an attic or packed basement where our experiences are stored. Recent difficult experiences are like boxes placed near the entrance—relatively easy to find and unpack. These might be resolved in just a few Brainspotting sessions.

However, childhood experiences, pre-verbal trauma, or long-standing patterns are like boxes that have been pushed to the back corners over decades, with countless other boxes stacked in front of them. These require more time and careful navigation to access. The older or deeper the material, the more sessions it might take to gently work our way through the layers of “storage” to reach and process these foundational experiences.

Brainspotting gives us a unique “map” to locate these stored experiences in your brain’s “attic,” allowing us to access and unpack them—sometimes for the first time since they were stored away.

What to Expect in a Session

Unlike traditional coaching or therapy where talking is the primary mode, Brainspotting sessions follow a different rhythm:

Check-in: We begin with a brief check-in about what you’d like to address. This could be emotional blocks, creative challenges, specific triggers, or general patterns you’ve noticed.
Finding Your Brainspot: Using visual cues and your body’s responses, we’ll identify specific eye positions (brainspots) that connect to the issue you’re processing.
Processing Time: Once we find a brainspot, you’ll hold your gaze there while your brain and body process naturally. During this time, you might notice physical sensations, emotions, memories, or insights arising—or simply a sense of release.
Minimal Talking: During processing, there’s minimal talking. This allows your subcortical brain (where trauma is stored) to do its work without the analytical mind interfering.
Integration: We’ll close with time to integrate what emerged and discuss any insights or shifts you experienced.

Many clients report feeling results immediately, with continued processing and integration in the days following a session.

Brainspotting Services I Offer

Individual Brainspotting Sessions

60-minute sessions: $77-$155 sliding scale (you choose)
Available virtually via Zoom for clients nationwide
In-person sessions available in Mechanicsville, VA

Brainspotting for Writers & Creatives

A specialized approach for those experiencing:

Creative blocks or resistance
Performance anxiety
Perfectionism and inner criticism
Imposter syndrome
Story trauma (difficulty writing certain scenes or characters)

Free 20-Minute Consultation

Not sure if Brainspotting is right for you? Let’s talk! This complimentary call allows us to:

Discuss your specific challenges
Answer your questions about Brainspotting
Determine if we’re a good fit for working together

Who Benefits from Brainspotting?

Brainspotting can be particularly effective for:

Those who feel “stuck” despite trying other approaches
When talk therapy hasn’t gotten to the root, Brainspotting often can.
People processing trauma, grief, or significant life changes
Brainspotting provides a gentle way to process difficult experiences.
Anyone experiencing anxiety, depression, or emotional overwhelm
By addressing the neurophysiological roots of these conditions.
Creative professionals facing blocks or performance issues
Releasing the underlying emotional charges that inhibit creative flow.
Those seeking personal growth and self-understanding
Even without specific trauma, Brainspotting can enhance self-awareness and growth.

What Clients Can Expect

My approach combines “nonjudgmental mom energy” with intuitive attunement to what you uniquely need. Clients typically work with me for 3-6 months with sessions every 2-3 weeks, though this varies based on individual needs.

For recent challenges (those “boxes near the front of the attic”), you might experience significant relief in just a few sessions. For deeper, longer-standing patterns or childhood experiences (those “boxes buried in the back”), we may need more time to gently work through the layers.

Between sessions, I’m available via email for support, as I believe much of the processing and integration happens outside our formal time together.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Brainspotting the same as EMDR?
While both approaches use eye positions and process trauma, Brainspotting was developed by David Grand, Ph.D. (who was originally an EMDR trainer). Brainspotting tends to be more flexible, client-led, and focused on the body’s wisdom rather than following a strict protocol.

How many sessions will I need?
Everyone’s healing journey is unique. Using our “brain attic” metaphor: Recent issues (boxes near the front) might need just 1-3 sessions, while childhood trauma or deeply ingrained patterns (boxes buried in the back) may benefit from more sustained work. We’ll regularly assess your progress together.

Is this therapy or coaching?
As a Brainspotting coach, I offer a powerful healing tool within a coaching framework. While the Brainspotting technique itself was developed within therapeutic contexts, my approach focuses on supporting your natural healing capacity rather than diagnosing or treating mental health conditions.

Can we do Brainspotting virtually?
Absolutely! Brainspotting works remarkably well via video sessions. All you need is a private, comfortable space, a stable internet connection, headphones, and the ability to focus your eyes on specific points on your screen.

Will I have to talk about my trauma in detail?
No. One of the benefits of Brainspotting is that it doesn’t require you to tell your whole story or relive traumatic experiences. You only need to share what feels comfortable, as the processing happens at a neurophysiological level.

Is Brainspotting safe?
Yes. Brainspotting works with your body’s natural healing capacity and is generally gentle and well-tolerated. As your coach, I’m trained to ensure you stay within your window of tolerance throughout the process.

How will I know if it’s working?
Many clients notice shifts during or immediately after sessions—perhaps feeling lighter, calmer, or having new insights. Others may notice gradual changes in their reactions, sleep patterns, or how they relate to the original issue. Sometimes, the most profound changes are ones others notice first: “You seem different lately.”

Work With Me