Article: Brainspotting: A Gentle, Somatic Pathway to Healing
By Twyla Terry-McCarrell, MA, LPC, Certified Brainspotting Therapist, EMDR-tr
Date Posted: 09/27/2025
Introduction
Healing from trauma often requires more than words. Brainspotting is a body-aware, neuroscience-based, neuroexperiential method that helps access stored emotional energy and facilitate deep processing in a way that is gentle, embodied, and client-led. Below is an in-depth look at how it works, who it helps, what the evidence says, and how to verify legitimate certification.
What Is Brainspotting?
Brainspotting (BSP) was developed by Dr. David Grand in 2003 as an evolution of his work with EMDR, somatic approaches, and relational attunement. Wikipedia+2Cleveland Clinic+2
The core principle: “Where you look affects how you feel.” A specific eye position (a “brainspot”) corresponds with deeper neurophysiological activation or emotional material. By holding attention at that spot, the brain-body system can process lingering trauma or unintegrated experiences. Wikipedia+2Cleveland Clinic+2
Because it engages subcortical, sensorimotor, and autonomic processes, Brainspotting is often described as a “bottom-up” method, rather than purely top-down (cognitive) processing. Taproot Therapy Collective+2Blueprint AI+2
What Happens in a Session
Each practitioner’s style may differ, but generally the flow is:
Intake & Grounding / Orientation: We assess safety, regulation, and internal resources.
Define the Focus / Target: You choose an issue, memory, sensation, or area of activation you want to work with.
Locate the Brainspot: With gentle eye guidance (or self-guided gaze), we identify a spot in your field of vision that correlates with internal activation (emotion, body sensations).
Attending & Tracking: You rest your attention on the brainspot, tracking what your body, images, or visceral system wants to reveal. Often bilateral sound (e.g. BioLateral), music, or silence supports this process.
Processing / Release: The nervous system begins to integrate, release, or reorganize. Shifts may occur in waves; the therapist stays attuned, offers “the witness window,” and provides pacing.
Closure, Integration & Resourcing: Before closing, we re-ground, integrate any emergent material, anchor stabilizing states, and plan for integration.
Because Brainspotting works via the body and nervous system, many clients report it feels less forced or retraumatizing compared to repeatedly revisiting traumatic narratives.
Who Can Benefit?
Brainspotting has been used with individuals, adults and minors, experiencing:
PTSD / Complex trauma
Anxiety, panic, phobias, and fear-based responses
Grief, loss, depression
Somatic symptoms, chronic pain, functional issues
Performance blocks (e.g. in arts, athletics)
Dissociative parts, inner parts / IFS work
Work that feels “stuck” in talk therapy
Cleveland Clinic describes BSP as a method to unlock pent-up emotional energy and trauma stored in the brain-body system. Cleveland Clinic
A comparative study (EMDR, BSP, and a body-scan meditation condition) found that a single 40-minute BSP session significantly reduced distress tied to a traumatic memory, similar to EMDR, in healthy adults. PMC
Another more controlled trial with PTSD clients (5 weeks of BSP vs. “treatment-as-usual”) found that while both showed symptom reduction immediately post-treatment, the BSP group maintained more stable improvement at follow-up. ibpj.org
Still, the research is emerging.
Research & Further Reading
Comparative EMDR / BSP study: A Comparative Study between EMDR, Brainspotting & Body Scan Meditation PMC
Trial on PTSD: Horton et al. (2023) “Brainspotting as treatment for PTSD” ibpj.org
Review / Theory: Corrigan & Grand (“Neuroexperiential frame”) and others in the International Body Psychotherapy Journal ibpj.org+1
Blueprints + integration article for clinicians: Brainspotting Therapy: A Clinician’s Guide Blueprint AI
Cleveland Clinic overview of what BSP is and how it helps with trauma and stuck states Cleveland Clinic
Find a Brainspotting Therapist
Find a Brainspotting Therapist: https://brainspotting.com/directory/certified-brainspotting-therapists/
Link to Twyla Terry-McCarrell's proof of certification: https://brainspotting.com/directory/name/twyla-cherie-terry-mccarrell-lpc/
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