Brainspotting: A Different Way to Heal
Accessing the deeper parts of your brain and body for emotional processing and trauma healing
If talk therapy has ever felt too surface-level, or if you struggle to put your feelings into words, Brainspotting might offer something different. This approach gently supports you to access the deeper parts of your brain and body—where unprocessed emotion, trauma, and stress can be stored. Many of the clients I work with describe Brainspotting as a quiet but powerful experience of healing that goes far beyond talking.
What is Brainspotting?
Brainspotting is a neuro-experiential therapy developed by Dr David Grand. It works with the deep brain and body to help people process unresolved trauma, anxiety, or emotional overwhelm. The core idea is simple but profound: where you look affects how you feel. When your eyes settle on a certain point in space, something deeper in the brain can be accessed and worked with—without needing to ‘figure it out.’
The process helps your brain tap into its own natural ability to heal. It’s not about talking or analysing; it’s about staying with what you feel in the moment and letting your system move through it. You do not need to explain what’s happening or why—it’s enough to gently observe and allow.
How Brainspotting Works
Our brains are vast and intricate, holding onto past experiences in ways we may not fully understand. Some parts of the brain use language, logic, and problem-solving. Others govern emotion, survival responses, and body regulation. Talk therapy reaches the parts of the brain that speak. Brainspotting helps you access the parts that feel.
In a Brainspotting session, we begin by exploring what you’d like to work on. This could be a specific memory, a difficult emotion, or something you cannot quite name but know is impacting you. I will then help you locate a “brainspot”—an eye position that connects to the inner experience of the issue.
We do this slowly and gently, either by using a pointer to track your gaze or by noticing where your eyes naturally settle as you speak. Subtle cues like blinking, a shift in breath, or a facial reflex can tell us when something important is happening. It’s not about forcing anything—it’s about noticing and following.
What Happens During a Session?
Once a brainspot is found, you are invited to simply stay with your internal experience. You might feel sensations in your body, notice emotions, or observe images or thoughts passing through. It might feel quiet and spacious, or active and emotional. You are never expected to control it or make anything happen. My role is to support you to stay present and grounded, and to trust what arises.
This way of paying attention is called focused mindfulness. You are not directing the process—you are observing it. And your deeper brain, the part that governs healing and integration, knows exactly what to do when given space and safety.
Clients often notice that body sensations shift and move during a session, or that one emotional state gently gives way to another. Sometimes there is a drop in intensity, sometimes an increase. Both are meaningful. Change doesn’t always feel dramatic—but even subtle shifts are important. Over time, these moments of presence and attunement create lasting transformation.
Why It’s Different From Talk Therapy
Brainspotting doesn’t rely on having to explain or understand what you feel. This is especially important if you have experienced trauma, medical trauma, chronic pain, or dissociation. In these states, the thinking brain often goes offline, while the emotional and survival parts of the brain stay active. Talking can’t always reach these deeper systems—but Brainspotting can.
Many clients feel a sense of relief when they realise they don’t have to find the right words. The therapy meets you where you are and works with your body’s natural language—sensations, instincts, images, and reflexes. This can be especially helpful when emotions feel confusing or overwhelming, or when you have learned to suppress your internal responses in order to survive.
The Role of the Body and the Nervous System
The body plays a central role in Brainspotting. What you feel in your chest, gut, throat, or head is not imagined—it’s your nervous system communicating. These areas are rich in neural pathways and hold memory and emotion just as much as your mind does.
Your eyes are also key. They are an extension of the brain itself, and where you look can trigger responses from deep within. This is connected to our natural orienting system—the same instinct animals use to locate danger or safety. Brainspotting uses that system to help you find the internal ‘spot’ where healing can begin.
What You Might Experience
Clients I work with describe Brainspotting in many different ways. For some, it feels like dropping into a meditative state. For others, it’s more active, emotional, or physical. You might feel warmth in your chest, tingling in your hands, or a wave of sadness rise and pass. Sometimes images, memories, or sensations emerge without any clear narrative.
There’s no right or wrong way to experience it. Your brain is following its own pathway toward resolution. The key is to remain curious, grounded, and open to whatever unfolds.
How Healing Happens
Healing in Brainspotting doesn’t come from thinking—it comes from allowing. When we stop trying to control or analyse our inner experience, we give the brain permission to reorganise itself. This is neuroplasticity in action: the brain rewiring itself to release what no longer serves and integrate new patterns of safety and understanding.
You may leave a session feeling lighter, more settled, or simply different. Sometimes the changes are subtle, other times more noticeable. Over time, people often report feeling less reactive, more embodied, and more in touch with their own intuition and truth.
Ready to Explore Brainspotting?
If you are curious about whether Brainspotting might be a good fit for you, I offer extended face-to-face sessions in Moana, as well as telehealth appointments Australia-wide. You are welcome to reach out or book a free 15-minute phone consultation to see if this approach feels right for you.