Brainspotting Therapy for PTSD

People often use trauma and PTSD interchangeably. However, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is not the trauma itself. It is what happens when the nervous system does not reset after a traumatic event. PTSD is a mental health disorder identified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Trauma is the experience or the injury. 

• Trauma is what happens when you experience a distressing or frightening event that overwhelms your ability to cope.

• Trauma can occur from one major traumatic event or multiple incidents.

• You can have trauma and still function, sometimes very well.

PTSD is a chronic condition that sometimes develops when the traumatic event remains active in the mind and body. PTSD is most often associated with a specific event or a series of identifiable events, such as:

Not everyone who experiences trauma develops PTSD. But when PTSD does occur, the nervous system remains stuck in survival long after the threat has passed.

PTSD is not failure of logic or willpower. It is not just a memory problem. It is a regulation problem. It is a neurobiological survival response when a traumatic event overwhelmed the nervous system.

• The amygdala (threat detector) becomes overactive
• The hippocampus struggles to place the memory in time and details
• And they prefer a cortex (reasoning, language, perspective) goes off-line

This is why talking about the trauma does not always resolve PTSD. Traumatic memories from traumatic events are stored below, conscious awareness, in the body and subcortical brain. This is why traditional therapies that focus on cognitive processing such as analysis or talking therapy tend to fall short of resolving many symptoms of PTSD. Cognitive behavioural therapy and prolonged exposure therapy are two such therapies that are commonly recommended.

What is Brainspotting Trauma Therapy?

Brainspotting is a brain, body-based therapy that uses eye positions to access where trauma is stored in the nervous system. Rather than requiring detailed, storytelling or reliving the event, brainspotting works by:

• Identifying a visual brainspot connected to the stored trauma
• Allowing the brain and body to process naturally
• Supporting regulation through therapist attunement, pacing and coregulation

This makes brainspotting well-suited for PTSD and addressing a traumatic event.

We begin by understanding:

• Your current symptoms and triggers

• What helps you feel grounded?

• With too much feels like

• Your goals for therapy

A typical brainspotting session may include:

• Finding a visual brainspot connected to the activated response in your body

• Tracking body sensations, such as tightness, heat, heaviness, numbness, etc.

• Using grounding and resourcing as needed

• Going at your pace, with you leading the way

Some people feel calmer immediately. Others noticed fatigue like having a neural workout, emotional release, or gradual shifts over days. Planning a gentle space afterwards can be supportive.

Brainspotting may be a strong fit for people who:

• Want a brain-body approach
• Feel flooded or shut down when they talk about the trauma
• Need a gentler pace and titration
• Want therapy that emphasizes attunement and regulation

No single therapy is right for everyone. Brainspotting is often chosen by people who want deep healing without re-traumatization.

Brainspotting can be especially helpful for:

• First responders
• Survivors of sexual assault, abuse or accidents
• People with long-standing PTSD
• People who have experienced trauma whether they meet all the criteria for PTSD or not.
• Individuals who feel like they plateaued and are in need of talk therapy
• Military service members

If trauma symptoms are present, but do not clearly fit PTSD, you may want to explore brainspotting for trauma more broadly.

Learn more about brain body for trauma.

Phone/Fax: (619) 819-6841

Email: contact@authenticityassociates.com

Our office is located in Carlsbad, CA 92009
We also do nationwide sessions via Skype
and FaceTime.