Brainspotting (Subcortical Trauma Processing)
A somatic, brain-based approach to accessing what lies beneath the surface, helping the brain and nervous system process what words alone may not reach.
Healing that is beyond words.
You might get exactly why you feel the way you do. You might have spent lots of time in therapy talking through your experiences, making connections, and gaining insight…. but still feel like something hasn’t quite shifted.
This is because not everything we carry is held in our thinking minds.
Trauma, attachment wounds, and overwhelming experiences can leave an imprint on the nervous system that isn’t always accessible through reasoning and understanding.
This is where Brainspotting comes in. Rather than thinking through an experience, Brainspotting slows things way down and follows what the brain and body are already expressing, creating space for deeper processing to unfold.
What is Brainspotting?
Brainspotting is a bottom up, somatic therapy which means that the body and the body’s processes are intentionally included in the therapy. In traditional talk therapy we often process through thoughts, logic, and analyzing— functions that rely greatly on the frontal areas of the brain. Trauma and survival responses, however, also involve deeper, subcortical areas of the brain and nervous system. So in talk therapy alone, we may not always be connecting with everything that is held beneath conscious thought and language.
Brainspotting provides a framework for how to pay attention to what is happening beneath the words and the story…. So maybe that is the tightness in your chest, the heaviness in your stomach, the urge to pull away, the emotion you can feel but can’t quite explain.
In our sessions, we’ll begin by connecting to these somatic experiences. From there, we locate an eye position that seems to deepen or strengthen that connection. This is called the brainspot. You may simply gaze toward that spot, or we might use a pointer to help your eyes stay comfortably oriented there.
From there, you’re invited to simply notice what unfolds. We use focused mindfulness to become aware of thoughts, emotions, images, memories, impulses, and sensations as they emerge. Through dual attunement, I stay connected with you while also supporting you in staying connected to your own internal experience.
Rather than needing to analyze, explain, or figure out everything that arises, Brainspotting creates space for your brain and body’s natural processing capacities to do some of the work.
What can Brainspotting help with?
Brainspotting can be used with a range of experiences, particularly when you understand something intellectually but still feel as though your body or nervous system hasn’t quite caught up.
Trauma and complex trauma
Attachment wounds & relational wounds
Anxiety and chronic stress
Dissociation and feeling disconnected from yourself
Difficult or overwhelming memories
Emotional triggers that feel bigger than present moment
Shame, self doubt, and deeply held beliefs about yourself
Feeling overly activated by previous trauma processing therapies, such as EMDR
Feeling “stuck” despite insight or previous therapy
A note about how I use Brainspotting…..
I often integrate Brainspotting with IFS and other trauma-informed approaches rather than using it as a one-size-fits all technique. We’ll move at a pace that feels manageable, with plenty of room to slow down, pause, or shift course as needed. You are always in control of what we explore and how deeply we go.