Online Therapy for North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia and Florida
In person at 1039 Golf Course Road, Old Fort, NC 28762 | 704.312.2347
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What is Brainspotting?
Brainspotting is considered a form of focused mindfulness that targets deeply rooted issues in the brain and body that you might not otherwise get to - or may at least take a very long time - in traditional talk therapy. By focusing on certain activating eye positions in the presence of an attuned person - your therapist - the space for deeper healing emerges. You can move through what keeps you stuck without even recounting the details of all of your pain. When you don't have the words to describe your experience, Brainspotting still heals.
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Who is Brainspotting for?
The short answer? Everyone.
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Emily specializes in Brainspotting for developmental trauma (childhood trauma) but this isn't all that Brainspotting is effective for by a long shot.
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Brainspotting can be effective for singular incident trauma as well, such as a medical event or a car accident. ​People often turn to Brainspotting when they've tried many other forms of therapy or healing but are still feeling like there's some splinter in there that they can't get removed. They still feel stuck.
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No matter what you're facing - trauma, chronic pain, anxiety, depression, etc. - Brainspotting might be your missing link.
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Some of what can be treated with Brainspotting:
Trauma
Brainspotting works for all forms of trauma - the ongoing events and the one time ones.
Anger
Anger is activation externalized. Brainspotting can help get to the root and resolve what lurks underneath.
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Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is often the body's way of communicating something that there are little words for.
People-pleasing
Typically born out of a deeply rooted survival skills, Brainspotting can help resolve what led to people-pleasing in the first place
Anxiety
Brainspotting helps to uncover the root of anxious symptoms, which are typically a response to past experiences.
Grief
Grief is a form of ongoing trauma, which takes a toll on the body in many ways. Brainspotting can releive the worst of it.
Negative Self Image
Brainspotting can help to resolve the entrenched beliefs about yourself, even when you aren't sure where they're from.
Mood Swings
Emotional rollercoasters leave us feeling out of control. Brainspotting can help bring on emotional regulation.​
Imposter Syndrome
Brainspotting can help you to feel good enough, when all you ever feel like is a failure and a phony.
Perfectionism
Perfectionism is a way to keep ourselves safe. Brainspotting can help bring resolution and peace.
Intergenerational Hurt
History is passed down through generations, even in our bodies. Brainspotting heals what our ancestors couldn't.
...And so much more
Brainspotting is effective for nearly every internal splinter, because it trusts in the body's innate ability to heal...
What is a Brainspotting Session Like?
Typically, you'll start out by targeting something that stirs up some emotion/sensation/feeling within you. It doesn't have to be pre-determined, if frequently comes up organically through conversation. That is part of the beauty of Brainspotting, there is no specific protocol - it's all client led. You're always in control.
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Biolateral music might be incorporated in the session. Brainspotting can be done with or without a pointer, and you'll be guided to find a specific place to look at during the session while you focus in on the emotion or physical sensation.
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Clients often wonder if Brainspotting is similar to hypnosis and while impacts may be similar, it is not the same modality. Clients are not unconscious during a Brainspotting session and they are in control of their bodies throughout. It's also common for clients to wonder or even ask out loud, "am I doing this right?" The answer is that there is no right or wrong way for a client to do Brainspotting. We often tell our clients to "let their bodies do whatever they need to do" as the goal of the Brainspotting therapist is to create an environment where intensive healing can unfold without a list of checkboxes and to-do's, where the client can be free of judgement and the feeling of needing to have all the answers. This space is about giving the brain and the body a chance to "trust the process" and go exactly where they need to go.
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Some clients who might be more verbal processors do lots of talking during the session, sometimes they don't do any. Everyone's body will respond differently and you'll often hear Emily say, "anything is welcome here."
What are the Benefits of Brainspotting?
Brainspotting will be just as effective even if you never want to talk about whatever "it" is.
You will start experiencing immediate resolution in your body and your mind
You don't have to worry about filling a new therapist in on your whole life story.
More processing happens in one BSP session than in an entire 6 months of talk therapy.
Brainspotting vs Other Therapies
Brainspotting is different than traditional talk therapy. It is a “bottom-up” approach. It bypasses the cognitive part of your brain - responsible for rationalizing, justifying, and explaining - and directly targets the midbrain where deep memory, emotions, and traumatic events are stored in order to deliver healing to all parts of the brain and nervous system.
How is Brainspotting Different from EMDR?
While it's true that founder, David Grand, was performing an adaptation of EMDR when he discovered Brainspotting, the modalities are very different from one another.
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EMDR stands for "Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing." It is a brain-based therapy, like Brainspotting, that utilizes rapid eye movement (whereas Brainspotting uses a fixed gaze) through a protocolized process. EMDR therapists move their clients through a phase-like system in order to help facilitate a client's brain to process traumatic memory in a safe space.
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Perhaps the biggest difference between Brainspotting and EMDR is the protocol, or lack thereof. While Brainspotting therapists engage clients in a "set-up," it need not happen in any specific order, and any or all aspects can be removed to suit the client's needs. It is all client centered, every step of the way. It is the organic nature of Brainspotting that also sets it apart from EMDR. Brainspotting can occur in the very first session, at any point in time during a session based on what the client is needing or experiencing.
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At Woven Wholeness Services, Emily has heard time and time again, "I can still think my way out of EMDR actually working for me. There is no thinking your way out of Brainspotting. It's impossible for it not to do something."
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Healing is not one-size-fits all, especially trauma healing. Finding the right fit for you is essential to getting where you're looking to be.
Check out our blog posts on Brainspotting Therapy to learn more
Often times, clients seek Brainspotting Intensives as a shorter-term experience intended to bring rapid relief. Brainspotting is folded into the therapeutic work naturally with most clients at Woven Wholeness, however intensives are an option for current clients, new clients, or individuals who are working with their own outside therapist already and simply looking for a radical healing experience.
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Fees: Session (50 minutes) $250 | Initial Intake (55-60 minutes) $285
Insurances Accepted: I’m not in-network with insurance companies, but can provide an invoice for possible out-of-network provider reimbursement through your insurance company.
Common Methods Used: Brainspotting (Phase 1 & 2), Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF - CBT), Expressive Arts Therapy, Experiential Therapy, Inner-wisdom tools, HeartMath, Internal Family Systems and, my personality