Brainspotting therapy is a type of alternative therapy that uses spots in a person’s visual field to help them process trauma. It accesses trauma trapped in the subcortical brain, the area of the brain responsible for motion, consciousness, emotions, and learning.
Brainspotting therapy accesses your limbic system (the "survival" part of your brain). A trained therapist will help you find a brainspot eye position by scanning your visual field to find areas that bring up a physical activation in your body when thinking about a particular memory or event. This eye position is directly related to activating the issue/event deep within the brain. Another way to think of a brainspot is the area in your brain that is holding onto the emotional memory.
The brainspot is accessed by holding the eye position (the therapist may hold a pointer so you won't lose your spot (see the video below) while you continue to focus on the specific memory and body/sensory experiences will typically come up during the process. Holding this position stimulates a deep healing process in the brain and central nervous system by activating the body’s natural ability to heal itself from the traumatic event.
Bilateral music may also be used softly in the background in order to integrate the right and left hemispheres of the brain and may help to neutralize strong emotions. Sitting through and feeling the discomfort allows the brain and body to access healing often lowering perceived levels of activation significantly by the end of a session.
Thanks to the following sources and for further reading:
Modern Change NC
Very Well Mind
Cynthia Schwartzberg-Cynthasis