Brainspotting is a valuable tool used to clear unprocessed trauma, coping mechanisms that are no longer serving us, automatic thoughts and behaviours, anxiety, blocks in performance and creativity (professional, artistic, athletic and in daily life), and create new habits and get back to lost parts of ourselves. The following paragraphs will give you an idea of what happens in a Brainspotting session.
A Brainspotting session doesn’t look like a typical therapy or coaching session in which you would be talking about and analyzing a situation to develop a strategy to get from point A to point B. Brainspotting can actually be done in total silence as the goal is to get out of the logical and thinking prefrontal cortex and into the midbrain, which does the work on its own.
A Brainspotting session generally lasts 45 to 75 minutes, but there are some practitioners who offer intensive sessions lasting several hours. The first part of the session is the set up where we identify the issue to work on. You start by bringing it up in your minds eye and identifying emotions that are associated with the situation. Then, as in a body scan meditation, you will find the place in your body where you feel that emotion - generally it is going to be where you feel the discomfort associated with that situation. There is usually no need to discuss the details of a situation, as doing this can even be re-traumatizing in some cases.
While doing this, you will listen to biolateral music through headphones which will help stimulate both sides of your brain and can be helpful for relaxation and for deeper processing.
Next, you are going to be guided into finding a brainspot associated with that situation and body sensation, which can be found either by finding where that physical sensation is felt the most intensly in your body or where your practitioner identifies a brainspot for you.
To do this, your practitioner will use a pointer to help anchor your gaze and you will change your eye position following the pointer to find your brainspot. Your practitioner will hold the pointer at the brainspot, but you may find that you are pulled to another spot after a while, in which case you can shift your gaze. The practitioner is there to support and guide your process. Their presence and attunement to you will help allow you to process on a deeper level.
Once the brainspot is found, the processing will begin. This means that you let you midbrain process on its own, letting it flow to where it needs to go, not needing to control, think, analyse or even remember what comes up during the process. It is a process similar to a mindfulness meditation, where you are simply remaining curious and observing whatever comes up, not judging or analyzing anything that comes up. The midbrain will process what it needs to process. There is no need for us to guide it or intervene to insure that is it going in the right direction.
What comes up may be a physical sensation or movement, an emotion, or a mental image. Every person processes differently and every session is different for every person. Some people like to talk through their session as it helps them process, while others process in total silence. Some choose to close their eyes as this allows them to process deeper, while others prefer to leave their eyes open.
The first time I tried brainspotting, I was worried that I was doing it wrong and that if I blinked I would interrupt the process. This is not the case. Blinking does not impact the process and if you let your mind flow, you will not do it wrong. It is normal for thoughts to come up and to have some chatter in your mind, this will not stop the process either. You practitioner may say a few words if it seems like you are appear to have dissociated or stoped your processing.
Processing can take a few minutes to get into and it can come in waves. The sensations may increase in intensity before they decrease. Generally, by the end of the session, the sensation and situation will have decreased in intensity or feel like they are completely gone.
After a brainspotting session, the midbrain will continue to process for a few hours and even a few days. It is normal to feel tired or even feel a bit of a headache after. Although we are not consciously processing, it is a lot of work for the brain and it is important to allow it to rest and to stay will hydrated after a session.
One session may not lead to a complete resolution of an issue, but it will bring a shift that you will notice immediately or in the days and weeks to come. The process may help you understand the core of an issue and present a deeper level that also needs to be processed to heal on a deeper level.
It is always amazing to notice how quickly and beautifully our thoughts and behaviours shift after doing brainspotting, and see how we are truly able to heal ourselves.