“Where you look affects how you feel.”
Brainspotting is a psychotherapy method developed by David Grand. It uses visual attention as one part of staying with an emotionally or physically activated experience.
During a session, an eye position—sometimes called a brainspot—may be identified while you notice body sensations, emotion, memory, or internal associations. The work can be quieter and less verbally directed than traditional talk therapy. You remain in control of where you look, what you share, and whether to continue.
What a session may look like
Choose a focus
We begin with the concern, memory, body response, or performance issue you want to explore and agree on a workable level of activation.
Notice the body
You identify sensations, emotions, images, or thoughts connected with the focus. There is no correct internal response to produce.
Find a visual position
Together, we may locate an eye position associated with increased activation, steadiness, or a felt sense of relevance.
Follow what unfolds
You observe your internal process while I track pacing, offer attuned presence, and help keep the work connected to the present.
Concerns Brainspotting may be used with
Trauma-related distress
Some clinicians integrate Brainspotting with care for complex trauma, PTSD symptoms, attachment wounds, or relational trauma. Assessment and stabilization remain important.
Anxiety & chronic stress
The body-aware format may be used with panic, chronic stress, burnout, depression, or somatic distress when focused attention feels clinically useful.
Performance & creativity
People sometimes use Brainspotting to explore performance anxiety, blocks, or patterns that emerge in athletics, work, public speaking, or creative pursuits.
The Brainspotting hypothesis
This video appeared on the original KW Counseling site. It presents the modality’s proposed explanation; that explanation should be understood as a hypothesis rather than a settled account of brain function.
An emerging approach, presented transparently
Brainspotting has case reports, clinical writing, and a small body of early research. Its evidence base is much smaller than the evidence for guideline-recommended PTSD treatments such as EMDR, Cognitive Processing Therapy, and Prolonged Exposure. A small 2022 study of 40 mental-health professionals found short-term changes in distressing-memory ratings, but it was not a clinical treatment trial for PTSD and does not establish comparative effectiveness. Brainspotting is offered as an option—not a guaranteed result or a substitute for careful assessment.
Fit, preparation, and choice
Brainspotting may appeal if you prefer less continuous talking, want to include body awareness, or tend to analyze your way away from emotion. It may not fit every concern or every phase of treatment. We can slow down, pause, shift methods, or return to stabilization at any point. If an established first-line trauma treatment is more appropriate, I will explain that option.
Sources and context
Curious about a less verbally directed approach?
We can talk about what feels stuck, the available evidence, and whether Brainspotting belongs in your treatment plan.
Book a session