EMDR and Brain Spotting
EMDR is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress caused by painful life experiences.
EMDR: (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
EMDR therapy can help people experience relief from severe emotional pain that may have required a long time to heal.
EMDR therapy demonstrates that the mind can heal from psychological trauma just as the body recovers from physical trauma. The brain’s information processing system naturally moves toward mental health. However, if this system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound festers and can cause intense suffering. Once the block is removed, healing resumes.
EMDR uses detailed protocols and procedures learned by an EMDR-trained clinician. The clinician helps clients activate their natural healing processes, allowing them to process past trauma and find relief.
Brainspotting: Where You Look Affects How You Feel
Brainspotting therapy is an alternative therapy that uses visual spots in a person’s visual field to help them process trauma. It accesses trauma trapped in the subcortical brain, the area responsible for motion, consciousness, emotions, and learning.
Origins of Brainspotting
Brainspotting was discovered in 2003 by David Grand, PhD, as an advancement of his work in EMDR. Grand observed a client getting “stuck” in one spot during therapy. By staying in this spot, the client accessed deeper levels of processing, leading to the development of Brainspotting.
How Brainspotting Works
Brainspotting operates on the theory that trauma can become trapped in the body, leading to both physical and mental ailments. The therapy aims to “reset” the brain’s memory of a traumatic event, allowing for integration and healing.
Grand described this “stuckness” as “frozen maladaptive homeostasis,” meaning the body remains in an unhealthy pattern. While homeostasis typically helps maintain stability, this form is detrimental. Brainspotting helps access and integrate interrupted trauma processing, emphasizing the brain-body connection beyond traditional talk therapy.
Both EMDR and Brainspotting offer powerful techniques to help individuals heal from past trauma, providing alternative paths to emotional and psychological well-being.