3 Question to Determine if a Brainspotting Intensive is Right for You
Are you curious about a Brainspotting Intensive, but not sure if it would be helpful for you? Here are three questions to consider when you are thinking about a Brainspotting intensive.
1. What are your goals for the intensive?
Brainspotting can help address
Fears
Anxieties
Depression
Insecurities
Difficult relationships
Difficulty with setting boundaries
Breakups/divorces
Abuse (psychological/emotional, physical, sexual) or assault
Attachment issues
Self-doubt
Negative self-talk
Grief/loss
OCD
Medical trauma
Persistent negative thoughts
Restricting beliefs about ourselves and others
Recurring nightmares
Difficult past experiences and memories/trauma
Physical pains and sensations
Disconnect with yourself/your body
General feeling of being “stuck”
General self-exploration
Over many years I have seen the impact Brainspotting has had on my clients who struggled with a wide range of concerns. Many times the benefits are seen even after just one session! This is not an exhaustive list of concerns that Brainspotting can help with. Brainspotting is meant to complement other forms of therapy as well, so it can be done in combination or as an adjunct service.
2. Are you actively in crisis or in survival mode?
In my experience, Brainspotting works best for those who are not actively experiencing trauma or are in survival mode.
You have to be able to be in a safe place to process trauma. For example, for those who are trying to process an emotionally abusive relationship, they cannot be in the relationship while trying to engage in Brainspotting to address their concerns and process the relationship. I always say, you cannot heal in an environment that is causing direct harm. Therapy can of course still be helpful, but coping and trying to survive are very different from healing.
Coping is trying to make it through an experience that you may not be able to remove yourself from at the moment. Healing can consist of understanding what happened, making meaning of it, being able to process the experience, and move forward without it holding you back or being triggered by the experience. Coping can be similar to harm reduction while healing is like recovery.
Brainspotting seeks to help people heal very deeply so that the things that once bothered them are no longer holding them back. For example, I have done Brainspotting to work through some difficult experiences. Now, when I am reminded of the situation, I acknowledge that it happened and can recognize how it hurt me in the past, but it no longer hurts me in the same way in the present and I am still able to hold onto the lessons I have learned from it.
3. Are you ready to be open to the process?
I have noticed that those who are able to be open throughout the process of Brainspotting have seen the most benefit from it.
Talk therapy can sometimes consist of understanding why something happened and making sense of it or trying to seek answers. While in the process of Brainspotting, clients may feel the need to do the same. However, with Brainspotting, you don’t always have to understand the why to be able to see changes. I tell clients to try to be like a leaf going down a river while they are Brainspotting. You don’t want to stop and try to examine everything that comes up under a microscope. Instead, you want to go with the flow and allow things to come up and notice where it goes.
This process leads clients to insights and they are often able to make sense of things at the end rather than in the middle of processing. We want to stay away from judgements of what comes up as well as self-judgement. I often refer to Brainspotting as a form of focused mindfulness. We want to take a more observant role and trust our brains and bodies to know what they need to do. Brainspotting taps into our intuition and our natural abilities to heal ourselves. Through the process of Brainspotting, we allow our brains and bodies to help guide us to take care of ourselves.
Consultations are a great way to see if an intensive is right for you.
As always, I recommend that you reach out for a consultation call if you’re considering a Brainspotting Intensive. This way, your therapist can get an idea of your concerns, how they impact you, your goals, and how they can best help. If you’d like to work with me, please reach out to schedule a free consultation call to see if a Brainspotting Intensive would work for you!
Wishing you ease in your healing journey
