What Happens in a Brainspotting Session? Part 2 of the Brainspotting Series

We start with a chat, to identify an issue you’d like to address. There's no need to go into the ‘story’ too much, share more than you want, or even to know what is going on with you. We just want to find out what's present for you, what you're experiencing, what could feel better.

Perhaps the most freeing thing about Brainspotting is that you don't need to explain what you’re feeling, or go into a long history or narrative.

Finding the Brainspot

We usually set up bilateral music at the start of the session - sound that moves from ear to ear supporting the brain's natural processing. Then we explore related sensations in your body. These can be subtle, and don’t necessarily make sense, but it is just to bring your attention to what you notice. A tightness in the chest, perhaps. A heaviness in the stomach. A sensation somewhere you might not have expected. We are helping to provide a map, or a guide, for the brain to know where to ‘look’. Then, together, we find the corresponding Brainspot(s) in your visual field. It is a subtle process but easier that you might expect!

The processing

Once we've found your Brainspot, your thoughts, emotions and body sensations will process naturally. All you need to do is observe, without judgement. You’ll ‘notice what you notice’, mindfully observing what you experience. I stay mostly quiet at this time, to not interrupt the process, but I am attuned to you throughout. You may also prefer to remain quiet, or you may wish to narrate what is going on.

This is the part that differs from traditional coaching or therapy. You don't need to ‘do’ anything. You don’t even need to talk, unless you wish to. You stay aware of your own experience - whatever comes up: images, feelings, memories, physical sensations, or sometimes simply a gradual easing around the subject.

Some people find it feels almost meditative, or trance-like (this is because we are mostly in the deeper part of the brain). Others notice waves of emotion moving through, perhaps memories arise, but not always. Many describe a sense of something shifting or easing. Everyone's experience is different, and every session is different. And you cannot do it wrong.

Your brain and body know what to do. Just by being present with the experience, we shine a light on the ‘map’ and the brain can find the way there.

Afterwards

At the end of the session we take time to come back gently, and to talk briefly about what you noticed. You only share what you wish to. Processing can continue for a day or two after a session, which means you might feel tired, dreams may be more vivid, emotions may feel closer to the surface. This is normal and temporary, and just part of your brain integrating the work we began in the session.

What will I experience after the session?

Everyone’s experience will differ, and sessions are as unique as we are. But overall, my sense is that there is a return to self. One way I see it is that we have experiences that we accumulate throughout our lives, particularly in childhood and adolescence, that leave a residue on our feelings, behaviours, motivations. When we can remove the emotional charge from these experiences, we feel like ourselves again. Whatever was getting in our way is no longer there, or affecting us to the same degree. Without this weight, we feel lighter, we can experience the fullness of ourselves.

In another post I talk about Personal Intensives, where we do longer sessions on consecutive days, for accelerated healing in a condensed time-frame.

If you'd like to know more or book a first session, [I'd love to hear from you.]

Next in the series: Brainspotting and trauma

Louisa Collyns is a certified Brainspotting practitioner working with clients in person and online.