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Brainspotting

 

Brainspotting Therapy in Los Angeles
and online in California + Texas

WHAT IS A BRAINSPOT?

A Brainspot is found through the eyes, and corresponds with the activation (a feeling of stress or unplesantness) in the brain and body.

Because our eyes connect directly to the subcortical, mid-brain, Brainspotting helps release unpleasant, stored experiences by processing through the visual field. This supports the resolution of painful or traumatic experiences allowing optimal functioning to resume.

WHAT IS BRAINSPOTTING?

Brainspotting is a brain-body based therapy. Talk therapy engages the neocortex – our thinking, conscious brain – while somatic therapies (such as Brainspotting) access the subcortical system where trauma and distress are often stored.

Current research in neuroscience reveals that painful memories can get stuck in the non-verbal, non-cognitive subcortical brain which diminishes our ability to live fully in the here and now. Some people experience anxiety, depression or just the sense of not feeling like themselves.  

Brain-body based therapy is the fastest-growing field of trauma treatment because of its proven ability to rapidly address issues that traditional talk therapy takes longer to resolve. 

Click on this link to watch a video Dr. Mark Grixti of the UK uses animation to explain how Brainspotting works. In this second, longer Brainspotting video, Dr. David Grand provides a more detailed explanation of the way unprocessed traumatic experience impacts the brain.

Brainspotting has been shown to be effective in treating performance anxiety in athletes and performers.  Click on this link to watch footage from a Brainspotting session that Dr. Grand did with Mackey Stasser, a former catcher for the New York Mets.  This was previously a free link and now it’s available for $1.99 on Amazon Prime, ESPN 30 for 30 Shorts, episode 9.

HOW CAN IT HELP ME?

Brainspotting can be helpful in reducing symptoms of :

  • trauma

  • anxiety, depression & panic

  • creativity and performance blocks

  • addiction, cravings & compulsive behaviors

  • unprocessed grief

  • medical trauma

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BRAINSPOTTING AND talk therapy?

This video is an excerpt from a presentation I gave at the 2023 CAMFT. It briefly explains some of the difference between Brainspotting and traditional Talk therapy.

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I'm certified in Brainspotting, and as an Approved Brainspotting Consultant, I have the privilege of preparing Brainspotting students for certification. I’m a Brainspotting trainer and I love assisting other trainers which helps me remain current on the latest Brainspotting techniques. I'm also one of the founding members of Brainspotting Los Angeles, a professional association of psychotherapists who utilize Brainspotting in our Los Angeles therapy practices.  Can you tell I like Brainspotting?

Brainspotting is a flexible modality. I offer Brainspotting both in person in Los Angeles and virtually, I’m also licensed in Texas.