What Is Brainspotting and How Does It Work?

Brainspotting is a therapeutic approach that uses eye positions to help process stress, trauma, and difficult emotional experiences.

Like other forms of therapy, you will have space to tell your story and talk about what is happening in your life. With Brainspotting, we may also pay attention to where your eyes naturally go as you talk about something that feels difficult or emotionally charged.

The basic idea behind Brainspotting is often described as “where you look affects how you feel.” As you talk about a stressful experience, you may find that your eyes naturally rest in a particular place in your visual field. You may not even be consciously aware that you're doing it.

I may help you notice where your eyes are naturally resting and invite you to slow down and stay with that spot. We call this a gazespot. Sometimes we find a spot organically as you're talking, while other times I may use a pointer to help explore different positions in your visual field.

Once a gazespot is identified, you rest your attention on that external point while also noticing what is happening internally. This is referred to as dual attention—being aware of the external spot while simultaneously tracking your internal experience.

From there, we allow the process to unfold rather than trying to direct it toward a particular outcome. You might notice changes in physical sensations, emotions, images, thoughts, beliefs, memories, or other internal experiences. We follow what emerges and give your system space to process what is arising.

In this way, Brainspotting can feel somewhat like a focused mindfulness practice, but with the addition of a specific eye position that helps focus your attention.

The process isn't necessarily about talking through every detail of an experience. Instead, the eye position can provide another way of accessing and working with experiences that may be difficult to reach through conscious thought and conversation alone.

What Does a Brainspotting Session Look Like?

A Brainspotting session can be as simple as identifying something you want to work on—an experience, emotion, memory, or current situation that feels activating or difficult.

After you share some of the story verbally, I may help you notice where you are experiencing the activation or stress in your body. Once we've identified that felt experience, we can explore the visual field to find an eye position that seems connected to what you're experiencing.

Once we find a spot, I invite you to rest your attention there and notice what happens.

This is often where the process becomes interesting. The eye position can provide a focused point of attention that may allow you to access experiences in a different way than you might through talking or thinking about them alone. Insights may arise. Memories may emerge. You may notice emotions, physical sensations, images, thoughts, or shifts in your internal experience.

Processing can happen in waves. You might notice the initial activation settle, followed by another wave of thoughts, emotions, sensations, or memories. Rather than trying to make something specific happen, we follow where your brain and body naturally go.

You can also pause at any point. If the experience becomes too intense, we may shift to a resource spot—a place in your visual field that feels more settled, steady, neutral, or comfortable. We can then move back and forth between the activating spot and the resource spot to support pacing and help you stay connected to a sense of safety while working with difficult material.

This allows Brainspotting to be a flexible process. We don't have to push through an experience or stay with something simply because we've started. We can slow down, pause, resource, or return to the experience when you're ready.

Trusting Your Own Process

One of the important parts of Brainspotting is learning to trust your own experience. Sometimes it takes time to become familiar with what dual attention feels like or to trust the information you're receiving from your body and mind.

There is no right way to experience Brainspotting. Everyone's brain and body are different, and your experience may look very different from someone else's. My role is to follow your experience rather than tell you what you should be noticing or feeling. I encourage you to simply notice what arises and share whatever you become aware of.

Brainspotting can be particularly helpful when working with trauma and chronic stress, where experiences may feel stuck or difficult to fully process through talking alone. The combination of focused attention and present-moment awareness can provide a supportive framework for approaching difficult material while staying connected to what is happening here and now.

Depending on what feels appropriate, bilateral music may also be incorporated into a session.

What If I'm Nervous About Trying Brainspotting?

If you're nervous about trying Brainspotting, we can start slowly. We might simply explore what it feels like to rest your attention on a visual spot for a few moments, without working with anything particularly difficult.

You can return to simply talking with me at any point. And if fear arises, memories resurface, or something begins to feel like too much, we can come back to the present and focus on regulation and resourcing skills.

Sometimes difficult emotions or memories arise naturally during the process and may be ready to be explored. You don't have to navigate those experiences alone. My presence, attention, and support provide an additional resource as we work with whatever emerges.

The goal isn't to force anything to happen. We follow your experience, respect your pace, and make room for both the difficult material and your capacity to feel grounded and supported in the present.

Is Brainspotting Right for You?

Brainspotting may be a good fit if you are interested in exploring experiences that feel difficult to shift through talking alone, or if you find that you understand something intellectually but continue to experience emotional or physical responses that feel outside of your control.

You don't need to know exactly what you want to work on before beginning. We can start with what's happening for you now and explore what emerges from there.

Brainspotting is one of the approaches I integrate into my work with clients, alongside Somatic Experiencing and IFS-informed therapy. 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.

I'm Alicia Ankenman, MA, LPC, SEP, BSP, based in Boulder, Colorado, working with clients from Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette, Longmont, and surrounding communities.