What is Brainspotting therapy?

The core idea: where you look affects how you feel

Brainspotting works from a simple premise with a lot of research behind it: our visual field and our nervous system are more tightly linked than most therapy models assume. A specific gaze position (a "brainspot") can activate - and then help discharge - material the thinking brain has been circling around for years.

Who Brainspotting is for

• Trauma and PTSD, including complex and developmental trauma
• Chronic anxiety that talk therapy has helped intellectually but hasn't shifted in the body
• Grief, including complicated and disenfranchised grief
• Performance blocks - athletes, artists, executives, surgeons
• Burnout and chronic nervous system dysregulation
• Attachment wounds and preverbal material

How a Brainspotting session actually works

A session starts with talking, like any other therapy. Then, together, we identify a felt sense - an emotion, a body sensation, a memory, a stuck spot. Using a pointer (or, in telehealth, an on-screen cue), we find the specific gaze position where the activation is strongest. You hold that gaze while your nervous system processes. I stay attuned, quiet, and available. The work happens between you and your own system, not because I'm doing something to you.

Brainspotting vs. EMDR - what's the difference?

They're cousins. Both use eye position and both work below the level of story to resolve stuck material. EMDR uses bilateral movement (eyes moving side to side, tapping, or tones) in a highly structured protocol. Brainspotting uses a fixed gaze and follows the client's system rather than a set script. Many clients who found EMDR overwhelming or overly structured find Brainspotting slower, gentler, and more integrative. Neither is objectively better - it's a fit question.

What a brainspot actually feels like

People expect something dramatic. Usually it's subtle: a tightening in the chest that eases, a wave of tiredness, an unexpected memory, tears that arrive without a story attached, or a long exhale you didn't plan. Some sessions feel like almost nothing while you're in them, and then you notice on Thursday that the thing you always brace for didn't grab you the same way. That delayed shift is normal, and it's part of why we track it together over time.

Brainspotting and ADHD

A lot of my ADHD clients find Brainspotting easier than talk-heavy therapy, because it doesn't require you to organize your thoughts into a tidy narrative before anything useful can happen. It also reaches the layer underneath the symptoms: years of missed deadlines, correction, rejection sensitivity, and the belief that you're the problem. If that's familiar, my post on rejection sensitive dysphoria covers where that ache comes from.

What it costs and whether insurance covers it

Brainspotting isn't billed as a separate service - it happens inside a regular 55-minute therapy session, so it's covered the same way your sessions are. I'm in-network with Cigna, Premera, Lifewise, and First Choice Health (Kaiser PPO), and I provide superbills for out-of-network reimbursement. Current rates and the out-of-network details are on my insurance and cost page.

What the research says

Brainspotting is a newer modality than EMDR, and the research base is smaller but growing. Published studies and case series have found strong reductions in PTSD symptoms, anxiety, and grief, with results comparable to established trauma modalities. The largest-scale application to date was the mass trauma response after Sandy Hook, where Brainspotting was used with hundreds of survivors and first responders.

Does Brainspotting work over telehealth?

Yes, and this is where a lot of clients are surprised. Brainspotting adapts to video more cleanly than most somatic modalities - the therapist uses an on-screen cue you can hold your gaze on, and the rest of the process is identical. If you're in Washington, Wisconsin, or Florida and want to try it, that's what I offer through my online Brainspotting practice.

Brainspotting in Washington and Wisconsin

Trained Brainspotting therapists are still thin on the ground, and in-person options usually mean a drive. Because everything I do is online, location stops being the deciding factor: clients join from Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma, Olympia, and Spokane on the Washington side, and from Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, and Waukesha in Wisconsin - plus Miami, Tampa, Orlando, and Naples in Florida.

If you want the state-specific details on fees, insurance, and availability, start with therapy in Washington, therapy in Wisconsin, or Brainspotting in Florida.

What Brainspotting isn't

• It isn't hypnosis. You stay fully aware and in control.
• It isn't one-and-done. It works best inside an ongoing therapy relationship.
• It isn't a replacement for medical or psychiatric care.
• It isn't magic - it's careful nervous system work.

How to find a Brainspotting therapist

Look for a therapist who has completed Phase 1 and Phase 2 Brainspotting training at minimum, and ideally has experience integrating it with your specific concerns - trauma, ADHD, grief, or performance. The official directory at brainspotting.com is a good starting point, along with Psychology Today.

Brainspotting reaches the stuff talk therapy keeps circling around - quietly, safely, and on your nervous system's timeline.