Brainspotting Therapy for Trauma and Anxiety in Boulder, CO

Brainspotting uses specific eye positions to help access and process experiences that may be difficult to reach through talk therapy alone, without requiring you to verbally recount what happened in detail. You're still welcome to share your story as much as feels right—this isn't about staying quiet, it's just that talking through every detail isn't required for the work to be effective.

If you've found that more structured approaches like EMDR or talk therapy don't fully address what you're experiencing, Brainspotting offers a more flexible and intuitive approach. It can follow what's most present in your nervous system in the moment, sometimes allowing you to explore material that has been difficult to access through other approaches.

About Brainspotting®

Brainspotting (BSP) is a therapeutic approach, developed by Dr. David Grand, for processing trauma and overwhelming emotional and physical responses. It complements other approaches, including Somatic Experiencing and IFS-informed work. Possible benefits include:

  • Processing traumatic memories and difficult experiences without needing to fully verbalize them

  • Reducing the intensity of overwhelming emotions and physical activation

  • Supporting focus, performance, and creative blocks, in addition to trauma processing

  • Working through anxiety, panic, grief, and chronic stress

  • Building capacity to stay present with difficult material in a gradual, manageable way

  • Complementing other therapeutic approaches, including Somatic Experiencing and IFS-informed work

Below is the link to the Brainspotting website, along with a few videos that provide brief introductions to key aspects of this modality.

Official Website of Brainspotting

Watch Who does Brainspotting work with?
Watch What is a Brainspot?
Watch As a client, why choose Brainspotting?

Common Questions About Brainspotting

What is Brainspotting? Brainspotting (BSP) is a therapy approach that uses specific eye positions to help access and process experiences that may be difficult to reach through talk therapy alone.

How is Brainspotting different from talk therapy? Unlike traditional talk therapy, Brainspotting doesn't require you to verbally recount what happened in detail. Much of the processing happens through focused attention on what you're experiencing in the present, often without needing to "tell the story" out loud.

What does a Brainspotting session actually look like? You'll be guided to find a specific eye position connected to whatever you're working through, then simply notice what comes up—physically, emotionally, or otherwise—while I support you in staying present with it.

How is Brainspotting different from EMDR? Both use eye positioning, but the process works differently. EMDR follows a structured set of bilateral eye movements, while Brainspotting uses an eye position connected to what's relevant for you in the moment, whether that's activating material or a resourcing, grounding spot, rather than a set protocol.

Can Brainspotting be combined with Somatic Experiencing? Yes, most definitely. Brainspotting can access material through eye position, and Somatic Experiencing helps track how that material shows up across thoughts, images, emotions, behavior, and sensation, they complement each other well and I often draw on both in a session.

If you're new to Brainspotting and want to learn more about what it is and how a session works, you can read What Is Brainspotting and How Does It Work?

I'm Alicia Ankenman, MA, LPC, SEP, BSP, a therapist based in Boulder, Colorado. I work with clients in Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette, Longmont, and surrounding communities. If you're curious whether Brainspotting might be a good fit for you, I offer a free 15-minute consultation to talk about what you're experiencing and answer your questions.