Brainspotting
Your body knows the story sometimes before words do.
Brainspotting helps you access and release what’s held deep in the nervous system.
It’s a focused, body-based therapy that uses eye positions to locate “brainspots” neural points connected to unprocessed emotion or trauma allowing the brain and body to process what talking alone can’t reach.
What Is Brainspotting?
Brainspotting was developed by Dr. David Grand as an evolution of EMDR and somatic therapy. It’s based on the understanding that where you look affects how you feel—and that the eyes can serve as a powerful access point into the brain’s deeper emotional and sensory networks. By holding visual focus on a specific point while tracking sensations, memories, or emotions, your brain begins to reprocess and release stored material naturally. This allows for healing that feels organic and body-led, without needing to overanalyze or retell the full story.
How Does it work?
Brainspotting works by using the connection between the eyes, brain, and body to locate and process stored emotional and physiological stress. When a distressing event or emotion isn’t fully processed, the body often holds the memory in the deeper, nonverbal parts of the brain—specifically the midbrain and limbic system.
During a Brainspotting session, we use a visual point—your brainspot—to access that neural pathway. The eye position helps the brain “find” the exact area where the unprocessed material is stored. As you focus gently on that spot, the nervous system begins to process what was frozen or incomplete at the time of the experience.
This happens without needing to rehash or analyze the story. The brain’s innate healing intelligence takes over, allowing integration to unfold naturally. You may notice sensations shifting, emotions releasing, or a quieting inside your body as your system moves toward resolution.
In essence, Brainspotting works because it taps directly into the body’s built-in capacity to heal, bridging what’s stored beneath awareness with conscious presence. By releasing the body’s stored activation, you gain access to a deeper sense of calm, clarity, and balance.
who is it for?
Brainspotting is for anyone who feels stuck—mentally, emotionally, or physically—even after doing years of inner work or talk therapy. It’s especially effective for people who can describe what happened but still feel the effects in their body.
You may notice that you:
React strongly in situations that don’t quite match the present moment
Feel tense, anxious, or on edge without knowing why
Understand your patterns intellectually but can’t shift them
Have done therapy before and want to go deeper without overexplaining
Experience physical symptoms that seem linked to stress or trauma
Because Brainspotting works with the brain-body connection, it can address a wide range of experiences, including:
Trauma and post-traumatic stress (PTSD, complex trauma, developmental trauma)
Anxiety, panic, and chronic stress
Relationship or attachment wounds
Grief, loss, and life transitions
Performance blocks or creative flow issues
Chronic pain, tension, or emotional exhaustion
Brainspotting helps when your nervous system has learned to stay in survival mode. By locating and releasing the stored charge beneath the surface, it allows your body and mind to integrate past experiences so you can move forward with greater ease, presence, and self-trust.
If you’ve done the insight work but still feel your body holding on, Brainspotting offers a deeper way through. Sessions are available in-person in Bozeman, Montana, and online throughout Montana and Colorado. Schedule a consultation to learn how Brainspotting can help you release what’s stuck and return to a grounded, balanced state.
