Brainspotting Therapy
in Tampa and throughout FL
Find relief and deeper healing from trauma and anxiety
Have you tried traditional talk therapies and not felt the relief you were hoping for?
Enjoyed other types of therapy but didn’t feel the change you wanted to
Avoided therapy altogether because you don’t feel comfortable talking about your past
Had difficulty really connecting with your body and emotions in session
Felt overwhelmed around the idea of needing to find things to say in therapy spaces
Thought that there must be another way of addressing your trauma and anxiety
Perhaps you have:
What exactly is Brainspotting?
Brainspotting is a gentle intervention that can help you process your thoughts/feelings/emotions/trauma on a deeper level. The idea behind Brainspotting is that where you look (ie where your eyes gaze) has a deep impact on how you feel. It can help you gain insight and process things that you might not even realize were there.
Brainspotting helps to target traumas or other experiences and emotions at the root. Instead of utilizing our “thinking brain” (the part of the brain that uses language - like we do in traditional talk therapy), we instead tap right into parts of our brain that hold onto memories, feelings, and emotional regulation. You may notice in your everyday life that you find yourself “zoned out” and staring at a specific spot on the wall or the floor. Sometimes when we do this we can give ourselves the space to really process something - and in doing so we may also be inadvertently finding what we call a “Brainspot,” or spot in our visual field that is directly tied to an experience or emotion. We can harness this to help you process a specific memory, trauma, or feeling to facilitate deep healing and relief.
During a Brainspotting session, we can gain direct access to the deeper brain and parts of the body where emotions and body experiences are stored.
Brainspotting can help you process:
Trauma
Anxieties
Emotional experiences
Negative Thoughts
Grief and loss
Feelings that you don’t quite understand (or have the words for)
Body image and food concerns
Relationship difficulties
Feelings of “stuckness”
What does a Brainspotting session look like?
All you need to bring to the therapy space for a Brainspotting session is a thought, feeling, emotion, or experience. You can expand upon it as much or as little as you would like. We can even have a session around a specific feeling in your body without further information about “what it means.”
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Before any first Brainspotting session, we will get to know each other and talk about the “why” behind the method. I will take the time to answer any questions you have and ensure that you feel comfortable and know what to expect. Brainspotting is very specifically a “client-led” therapy, meaning we take things at your own pace and tweak as needed.
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Once we establish what it is you would like to work on for that session, I will help guide you through a gentle process to find the right place for your eyes to gaze. We can either use a pointer to help you do this or we can find a spot that feels more natural to you. As a Brainspotting therapist, I have been trained in multiple ways to help you find a Brainspot - there is no one “right” way to do it and we will collaborate on what feels the most comfortable and natural for you.
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Next, you will participate in some mindful processing, with instructions from me on what to expect and how to do this. We will help you to be able to sit with whatever is coming up for you internally while also checking in on how you are feeling. For some, it can be hard to find the words to describe how you are feeling - Brainspotting gives you the space to talk as much or as little about your inner experience as you feel comfortable with.
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At the end of processing we will have time to discuss what you experienced. This could be talking through any insights gained, asking any questions, or making space for further exploration of themes that came up. We will make sure that you feel grounded and ready to move on from our session.
Brainspotting therapy can also work wonderfully as an addition to talk therapy sessions or with other modalities. For example, I often integrate Brainspotting as an additional resource with Internal Family Systems (IFS). This method can be extremely helpful for clients who might have a hard time connecting with parts and their internal world, or to facilitate a deepening of relationships with parts that show up. The important part is that we can work in whatever way feels best for you - you might love Brainspotting so much that you want sessions to be all about finding that Brainspot and processing. Or, you might want to do a mixture of talk therapy and Brainspotting - it is 100% up to you.
Brainspotting can help you…
Regulate your nervous system and feel more grounded
Process traumas and experiences more deeply to gain greater understanding
Connect your body and mind when it comes to emotions and what you feel
Understand more deeply the parts of you that become activated
Feel more comfortable in your body
Gain deeper understanding of your internal experiences
Find more compassion for yourself
You are worthy of feeling deep relief and healing. Brainspotting can help get you there.
Brainspotting FAQ
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Yes - I wouldn’t be utilizing it if I didn’t think that it was an extremely helpful modality for folks with many different concerns. Not only have I had Clients experience a really benefit from adding this in (usually to our typical talk therapy sessions), but during my own training (and beyond) I experienced deep healing from utilizing Brainspotting and believe that it can be very beneficial. All therapy modalities are unique and each Client will have a different experience.
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This will vary from person to person! I have had clients feel deep benefits from Brainspotting after one session, and others who needed to practice a little more consistently to get the results that they were after. The good news is that we can do Brainspotting as much or as little as you would like, and there are multiple ways to utilize the treatment so that you can decide what feels best to you.
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Absolutely. Brainspotting can be done successfully both in-person or in a virtual setting. I have been trained on how to adapt this for the virtual environment and feel very comfortable implementing the treatment via telehealth.
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Yes! I can either see you as your primary therapist or am happy to work alongside your current treatment team if you would like to add Brainspotting in as an additional treatment. I am always happy to coordinate with other providers and ensure that we understand our individual roles. This could mean coming to see me for a few Brainspotting sessions, or working together for as long as you need.