Brainspotting Therapy
Brainspotting is a brain-body trauma therapy developed by David Grand in 2003. Its premise: where you look affects how you feel. By identifying specific eye positions that correlate with areas of activation in the brain, therapists can help clients access and process trauma held deep in the subcortical brain — beyond where language reaches.
How Brainspotting Differs
While most trauma therapies engage the prefrontal cortex — the thinking part of the brain — Brainspotting works directly with deeper brain structures, including the limbic system and brainstem, where trauma responses are actually stored. This makes it particularly effective for trauma that feels too overwhelming to put into words, or where other approaches have reached a plateau.
Complex and developmental traumaWorks at the level where early trauma is encoded — often before verbal memory was forming
Somatic symptomsPhysical presentations with a trauma or nervous system origin — chronic pain, tension, and bodily holding patterns
Performance anxietyAthletes, musicians, performers, and executives use Brainspotting to release blocks and access peak states
DissociationGentle enough for clients who dissociate easily with more activating approaches
Brainspotting works where words can't reach — and that's not a limitation. That's the whole point.
Our Certified Brainspotting Practitioner
Kelli Ruhl, LPC
Certified Brainspotting Practitioner (CBP)Kelli is a Certified Brainspotting Practitioner — trained through the formal certification program established by David Grand. She combines Brainspotting with somatic awareness work to create a deep yet gentle process that meets clients at the body level as well as the cognitive. She specializes in complex trauma, dissociation, and performance-related challenges.
What a Brainspotting Session Looks Like
If you've never done Brainspotting, the process might seem unusual at first — but most clients find it surprisingly natural once they're in it. You'll sit comfortably with your therapist. She'll ask you to focus on something — an issue, a feeling, a body sensation — and then slowly move a pointer across your visual field while you track it.
As she observes your involuntary responses — a blink, a pause, a shift in expression — she'll identify a "brainspot": an eye position that corresponds with where that material is held in your subcortical brain. You'll hold your gaze there while she uses bilateral sound (through headphones) to support processing.
It doesn't feel like therapy usually feels. There's less talking. Much of the processing happens internally. Clients often describe it as heavy but clarifying — and notice that something has shifted in the days after a session.
Common Questions
Both work below the cognitive level, but through different mechanisms. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (eye movements, taps, or tones); Brainspotting uses a fixed gaze point to access a specific neural cluster. Some clients respond better to one than the other.
Brainspotting has a growing research base and has been used clinically for over 20 years. While the body of research is smaller than EMDR's, clinical outcomes are strong — particularly for complex trauma and somatic presentations.
You don't need to narrate what happened in detail. You'll hold an awareness of the issue while the therapist locates a 'brainspot' — an eye position that correlates with your activation. From there, the processing happens largely internally.
Yes. Brainspotting can be effectively delivered via telehealth. Kelli has experience working with clients remotely using this approach.
Something Might Be Reachable That Talk Therapy Couldn't Touch
Brainspotting works at the level of the brain and body where many other therapies can't access. Let's find out if it's the right fit for you.
Schedule a Free Consultation