Brainspotting Therapy: a psychological treatment to release traumas

The different therapies in psychology serve to better treat each problem and in a more personalized way. Depending on the disorder but also on the patient, one technique will be more useful than another. Despite the fact that the most widely used therapy is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, there is a whole range of techniques and therapies that can be used in combination or as a single treatment. And, on this occasion, in this article we stop at Brain Spotting Therapy, an innovative technique that works the disorder from eye movements.

What is Brainspotting Therapy?

• We say that Brainspotting Therapy is an innovative technique because its proposal is recent. It was in 2003 when David Grand discovered the relationship between eye movements and the suffering triggered by traumatic experiences. The psychotherapist observed that when the eyes were in certain positions different reflex responses were produced.
• To understand this technique a little better, we can literally translate its name, which is none other than “brain points”. And it refers to those brain points that connect physical and emotional responses and through which the origin of the disorder to be treated can be identified. It is precisely the eye movements that mark the direction of those points and from there the suffering that has been blocked can be released.
• In Brainspotting Therapy, the brain points and also the eye points are relevant, those movements to which we have already referred. In fact, the eye positions are related to the different brain points that are activated in an emotional disorder. When something causes us emotional discomfort, certain areas in the brain are activated, such as the amygdala, but also the visual cortex.
• This Brainspotting technique is based on the idea that the different eye movements and where the gaze stops are related to both internal experience and certain neural activity. Let’s say that the position of the eye indicates the brain point where the traumatic experience that has not been overcome or the origin of the emotional disorder is located.

In which cases is it used and what is Brainspotting Therapy used for?

1. You may have noticed that Brainspotting Therapy often refers to trauma or traumatic experiences. But it is not its only utility. In fact, a trauma does not originate solely through a single painful experience such as an accident or the death of a loved one. At the origin of disorders such as anxiety or depression, we also find events or attitudes that work in the same way as a traumatic experience.
2. For this reason, Brainspotting Therapy has been found to be effective in treating this type of ailments, anxiety and depression, but also for other types of disorders such as chronic fatigue, some addictions, phobias, speech disorders or fibromyalgia. In addition, it is an extra help of great value for those serious or chronic illnesses that cause great stress and emotional suffering.
3. Other benefits of this therapy can be considered in a preventative way, such as psychologically preparing a patient before major medical treatment. And due to the activation of brain points that it causes, it is also very useful to stimulate creativity and to improve concentration, regardless of whether there is an emotional disorder to heal or not.

How Brainspotting Therapy works

• Brainspotting is a joint effort between the therapist and the patient, which is why it is considered a self-healing method. Indeed, it is the therapist who has to discover through the patient’s eye movements the origin or the point in the brain where the trauma or emotional pain has settled. From there, it is the brain itself that works to free itself from that emotional charge.
• Surely you are wondering how this therapy works, how it is practiced. Well then, the therapist follows the movement of the patient’s eyes and when he detects that more anguish or anxiety is experienced in a certain position, he stops to establish the relationship between that eye position and the brain point with which it is connected.
• It also takes into account the reflex movements, body language, blinking or physical reactions that the patient experiences in different eye positions. When the brain point where the trauma, pain or emotional disorder is located has been detected, Mindfulness or Full Attention is used to access a more internal level of those emotions and reach those experiences that produced the suffering.
• It is about transforming the story or the way in which the patient interprets those painful experiences to reduce their emotional load or tension. And that is something that takes time, of course, but that happens in any case through the practice of acceptance. Once the patient accepts that traumatic or painful experience, he can begin to interpret it from a different perspective and can begin to free himself from the suffering it causes.
• We cannot talk about the estimated duration of treatment with Brainspotting Therapy because it depends on the disorder and also on the patient. Sometimes a clear improvement is observed after a few sessions and other times much more time is needed. Nor is it convenient to rush because we are talking about a psychological process that will be very useful in the long term.

The importance of Mindfulness in Brainspotting Therapy and in psychology

• Although the term Mindfulness sounds like mainstream quackery to you, don’t be fooled by appearances. Its importance is crucial both in this Brainspotting Therapy and in other psychological therapies as well as in medicine. The goal is to pay attention to what causes us suffering and accept it without judging or censoring it, without prejudice. Difficult? A lot. Impossible? Absolutely.
• The benefits of Mindfulness or full attention are observed after a while of practice, it is not an immediate trick, although it is almost miraculous. If we have talked before about the role that the amygdala plays in emotional suffering, Mindfulness makes that inflamed tonsil recover its normal size while allowing certain brain areas to be unaffected by the activity of the amygdala.
• In this way, in addition to this inner journey that allows us to reduce emotional pain, we can find benefits in all areas of life such as greater mental clarity that is essential when solving problems, greater security or self-confidence. It will help us when making decisions and a better ability to concentrate.
• The famous resilience or the ability to overcome the complicated circumstances that we encounter in life is also developed based on the practice of Mindfulness. And all this translates into a considerable improvement in mental health and an approach to that much-sought-after emotional balance.
• Do not think that it is a complicated practice and perhaps it is time that we eliminate the prejudices around the term “meditation”. You don’t need a spiritual guru to do it or become a hermit, it’s about paying all your attention to, for example, breathing for a few minutes. Can you take 10 minutes a day to dedicate to your health care? For sure yes. And you don’t need anyone to guide you in doing so unless you’re trying to get over an emotional upheaval. In this case, the psychologist will indicate the steps to follow and you will be able to continue yourself even when the therapy ends.