Have you ever felt stuck in a cycle of anxiety or depression, yearning for a deeper understanding of the root cause? Perhaps traditional therapy hasn’t offered the transformative shift you seek.
This blog post introduces Brainspotting, a powerful brain-based therapy gaining momentum. Our guest, a Brainspotting Coach Jessica Baer with a compelling personal story, sheds light on this innovative approach.
When did you first know that being a Brainspotting Coach was your calling and how did it come about?
I had been working with my therapist for about six months when she introduced Brainspotting to me in our sessions. The first time we brainspotted I was supremely uncomfortable and began laughing uncontrollably halfway through. I didn’t believe I could do it right or that it would work for me.
I remember telling my therapist that my emotions were running away from me the second I looked at the pointer. But over time I was able to be more present with the emotional activations coming up and began to connect more consciously to the physical sensations of those activations. Then a very intense rupture in a close friendship happened. I scheduled an emergency session and we jumped right into brainspotting.
It was incredibly helpful, beyond anything I could have anticipated. Normally I would have been obsessing and having circular thoughts but after the session I was able to be regulated about the event and able to hold the sadness, grief, and fear much more effectively than I would have without brainspotting.
Shortly after this my therapist shared that I didn’t have to be a licensed therapist to facilitate brainspotting and encouraged me to do a training. I remember being on the fence about this for a while but suddenly I was sitting at a dog park watching my puppy romp around with all the other dogs and I just signed up right then and there without thinking.
I’m so glad I did because the training was not only deeply informative and moving, but I came out of it certain that this was something I wanted to do. Attunement to the client is an essential element of Brainspotting and I found myself being able to attune and hold space for others in a way that felt natural and like it was exactly where I needed to be.
What services do you offer?
I offer private 50 to 75 minute sessions online or in-person with a sliding scale of $100-$150 for youth and adults.
What exactly is Brainspotting?
I answer this question a lot and I’m always grappling with the question of how to respond. Do I talk about what it looks like in action or the brain science?
Today I’ll provide both!
In Practice:
You think about something activating/troubling
You feel where that activation lives in your body
You locate a point in the visual field with the use of a pointer or the natural gaze and look at that spot.
You can talk or not talk
You can close your eyes or keep them open
You can move your gaze to another place.
You are encouraged to notice sensations in the body
Your brainspotting facilitator is attuned to you as you attune to yourself
You are in charge and whatever comes up for you is important and honored
Brain Science: Where You Look Affects How You Feel
Brainspotting is a brain-based therapy modality where the client gains access to the subcortex of the brain where trauma is stored and flight, fight, freeze, and fawn responses are automated. Through focused mindfulness and the complex neurological networks connected to eyesight (more than 50% of the brain is involved in visual processing) clients subcortically process trauma and bring the brain into regulation.
Things that were once bothersome no longer propel the brain into survival mode (fight-flight) and begin to lose their power over our thoughts and behavior. For example, making mistakes used to be extremely activating for me, especially when the mistake caused a rift in a relationship. Through brainspotting I have been able to process past childhood trauma that contributed to this activation and now can make mistakes without spiraling into escalated defensiveness (fight mode). I can make mistakes and let them go.
Can Brainspotting help with disorders such as Anxiety and Depression?
Yes! Brainspotting can 100% help with anxiety and depression. We all experience trauma and when that trauma goes unprocessed it can surface in our lives as anxiety and depression. Brainspotting supports the processing of recent, ongoing, or developmental trauma in the subcortex to bring the brain into regulation.
For example- Let’s say a client experienced depression early on in life when they were being emotionally abused by a trusted caregiver and they continue to struggle with depression as an adult. The depression was serving a purpose for the client at a young age. Perhaps it was protecting the client from the abuse by allowing them to check out/numb out/self blame as a way of coping.
Brainspotting does the work of attending to that early trauma, connecting the client to their past experience subcortically, to process what happened and work with that protective part compassionately, letting them know they are no longer under threat- that, in this case, it’s ok to be present, to feel, and to be in relationship with difficult emotions.
What can a person expect from your sessions?
Every session is unique. Sometimes folx comes in highly activated and they are ready to jump right into brainspotting without a need for discussion. We find a point or a series of points to look at and they are in process. Other times the client and I will discuss what they want to attend to. Through that discussion we will come to some level of emotional activation and process from there. Clients may or may not talk throughout the session.
They may become more or less activated throughout the session. I will often invite the client to notice where the activation is living in their body and to give those sensations some focused mindfulness. Sometimes there’s laughter, sometimes there’s crying. Each session clients walk away with an insight, image, or reflective question for themselves.
What do you love most about your profession?
Coming from a long career in urban public education, one of the most frustrating parts of the job was frequently wondering- Is what we are doing here actually working? Data would continually show: No,it’s not. And it was heartbreaking. So when I found Brainspotting it was a big ‘ol exhale and a Yes! Here is something that finally, tangibly works!
Seeing my clients grow and deepen their self compassion, take relational risks, go from not being able to swim to jumping in the ocean, holding boundaries where it previously felt impossible, coming to the realization, “My partner is not a threat,” forgiving others and most importantly themselves; it’s an honor. I’ve learned so much from my clients and have experienced deep personal healing alongside them.
