Self-Brainspotting demo.
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- Опубликовано: 22 апр 2021
- Brainspotting is a brain-based physiological therapy with profound psychological consequences. It helps desensitize and reprocess distressing events and feelings.
This is a powerful technique and should not be used for traumatic memories without the assistance of a trained mental health professional.
Self-Spotting is great to use for self-care, managing stress, personal exploration, learning about the brain-body connection, and understanding your thoughts and reactions better.
Common experiences with self-spotting include bodily sensations, emotional releases, feeling tired, yawning, shaking, feeling hot or cold. It usually comes in waves and can continue for several days afterward. Please take this guidance into consideration before trying this for yourself.
Can be used for working through something causing distress, and also for expanding on existing skills, resources, grounding, and meditating.
To do this focus on an event that took place that made you feel neutral, grounded, calm, or confident. Identify where in the body you notice that and then try and find the Brainspot that expands this.
Bilateral and biolateral sound is often used in a brainspotting session. It can help with processing, regulation, and attention. NB: Not everyone finds the music helpful, if that is your experience you don't have to use it. Some of my favorite artists are listed below:
• The Dawning of a New Day
bodhitreebilateral.com/home
• 1H Deep Relax Bilatera...
www.bspuk.co.uk/bspuk-free-mu...
For more information check out my website and LinkedIn profile.
healeytherapy.com/
/ matt-healey-
If you come in late to this at one part it looks like your having a meaningful discussion with a stick. Lol
Lol! Yes it does appear that way, thanks for adding some wonderful humor Debbie Sunlight! I appreciate it!
That's my favourite part lol
😂😂😂😂
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
😂😂😂😂 This comment made my day!
Beautiful demonstration and your calming voice is the perfect therapist voice to feel safe in!
Thank you Julienne! So glad you found it helpful. 😊🙏
Great demo. A paramedic I know explained to me last week how he does brainspotting with a therapist to deal with trauma from his profession, and I knew right away I could use it for my own trauma from childhood. Man does it work quickly!
Yes, Brainspotting is a great tool for those who work with trauma in there profession. It can help maintain and nurture the health of the nervous system. Also very helpful for childhood trauma. Thanks for sharing that. All the very best on your healing journey.
I just feel healed by the British accent. Brits can simply read names out of the phone book, and I feel better.
Thanks 😊, im actually Australian, but you're not the first person to think I'm English.
It’s Australian 😂
His voice is extremely soothing
Thanks 😊
Yesterday I tried that, and that was really amazing. I am 36 years old, and I tried so far very different type of calming methods, like breathing, yoga, islamic salah (sejdah), vagus nerve calming techniques, EMDR etc, but none of them was effective as much as this.
Last night, first time I tried this, I tried to work on a memory of mine I lived when I was 13 years old, Than somehow it turned to my relationship with my dad, mother, and younger brother. I started to cry with tears, and just like I started to talk my father. (He died 17 years ago.) Our relation with him was not so good in his last years..
Anyway, that is I think an incredible technique to release emotional loads.. I will try to learn about this more and more..
Thanks Matt for these... I cannot thank you enough for this..
Thankyou so much for sharing your beautiful process. I'm so glad you have found it helpful. All the very best on your healing journey Enver Firat Can!
In addition to dealing with trauma in my brainspotting sessions, I’ve been able to self spot for so many other things. I’m on a terrible medication I don’t need anymore and tapering was slow and had recently become impossible without nasty withdrawal symptoms. This has been a process of years. Since I’ve been self spotting I’ve been able to increase my taper by more than double. Now I have only 5 months left not over a year. Spotting can aid in physiological as well as psychological issues. It’s all connected after all. It’s been a miracle for me in so many ways. I’ve added spotting to my meditation sessions too.
Hi Julia Kay, thanks so much for sharing that, I really appreciate it. And I'm so glad you have found benefit from Brainspotting and self spotting with your experience of tapering off medication. It's such a demanding and exhausting process. I wish you all the very best :)
How serendipitous that I read your comment. I just started seeing a therapist last week who uses brain spotting and I am also beginning a taper off 36 years of benzodiazapines this week. I am so grateful to find yet another tool for my toolbox to finally get healthy. Thank you for your channel.I am so glad that your little boy was okay. My son used to hide in the clothing racks in stores and just about give me a heart attack. He is 40 now and gives them to me much less,LOL
@@smallhouseinthemeadow6131 thanks for you message. All the very best for your healing journey. 🙏🙂
Benzo taper is rough, but you can do it and enjoy Life again!
Whatever you wanna work on, go back over the experience & bring the feeling back up in your body.
Move a pointer up and down and side to side while looking at it, to notice the bodily sensation's intensity.
Sit and notice the feeling you have.
Great demo. Thanks a lot.
Absolutely amazing. Thank you!
You're welcome Vicopocho! So glad it was helpful 😊🙏
Thank you so much for this video, deeply helpful!
You're so welcome Terra! I'm glad you found it helpful! :)
Thank you so much for this great demonstration!
You're welcome Ann. Glad you found it useful. I appreciate your kind message.
Thank you for posting this video
You're welcome Jelle De Wispelaere, Thanks so much for your comment.
Thank you for posting. Very helpful
You're welcome, Leilani! I'm glad you found it helpful. Thanks for your comment and support.
Thank you so much for putting this across in detail and so effectively. 🙌🏽 It was really easy to follow the process and I recently tried it out. I must say I wasn't sure what to expect, but somehow I feel less burdened and less chaotic during and after doing this. Thank you so much 🙏🏽♥️ I'm going to keep doing this whenever I feel the need
Thank you for the feedback Sriramya Nambu! I'm so glad you are finding it useful. All the very best on your healing journey 🙂🙏
Thank you for sharing this beautiful simple and helpful video. Your voice is very calming and your talking through the process was brilliant. Thank you!
Thanks Julianna, so glad you found it helpful. I appreciate your kind words.
This is fascinating. I was told about brainspotting just a couple days ago when I was describing an experience I had while attempting to scry (a friend said “oh, that sounds like brainspotting”).
I’m sure I’m not alone in having uncomfortable emotions and memories come up and feeling my eyes lock in a certain position; and sometimes keeping that position to think about and sometimes changing it to run away from them. I’ve definitely wondered about using this intentionally in the past, how cool to find that it is an established process.
Thanks for your comment seadawg93! Yes, it's fascinating, we do brainspotting naturally all the time, we call that gazespotting. Many practices harness this, including yoga and qigong. Intentionality and focused mindfulness make the difference in our ability to process difficult emotions, body memories etc. Having the support of a highly attuned therapist is also very important. I hope you enjoy exploring this phenomenon further.
Wonderful demo thank you. One of my online healer therapists uses this but ive never known you could self spot, thank you.
Thank you LuckyBug Tarot!
Thank you. I am out , well up, in the rural mountains of Montana. Referred to your channel as self help. Other than CBT Etc there isn’t much, but meds are available. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Thank you for this kindness. Lorraine
You're welcome Lorraine, so glad it's been a comfort. Thank you for your kind words. I hope you enjoying your time in the mountains. Wild nature is some of the best medicine.
Thanks for sharing this - really interesting and it definitely worked.
You're welcome JB. So glad you found it helpful 😊🙏
Thank you for your wonderful video... I have just started brainspotting therapy and now you’ve opened my eyes to also being able to ‘self spot’... thank you very much for sharing the teaching experience... it really is an amazing tool... 🦄🙏
Hi Alison, you're welcome! so glad you found the video helpful... Brainspotting is an amazing tool, I wish you all the best with your process. Thanks for the support!
Thank you so much for sharing your skills! You are a gift in this world! 🙏
You're welcome! I'm so glad you found it useful.
Thank you for your energy
You're welcome Mona Hasan! Thank you for your support and kind words! 😊🙏
Thank you. What a gentle soul you are - lovely.
You're welcome Theodora Feliciott! Thank you for your kind message.
This is great info. I started BSP with a practitioner who I didn’t feel much of a vibe with, but she taught me good skills nevertheless. Adding these tools to my toolbox, thank you!
Thanks for sharing that! The relationship with the therapist is so important, it can take time to build that. I always suggest to people seeking any therapy or coaching to shop around and find someone they vibe with.
Pause sit observe the emotion, attune to that brainspot , just feel all or any changes! Its ok to notice the heavy sad/angry/frustrating emotions, ! Relax release the energy whatever it is , cry stretch breathe burb, laugh….!
Thanks for your comment and summary of the process Mona! I appreciate it.
Thank you!! it helped a whole FB group im on 🙏🏽❤️ been Brainspotting for almost 4 years and self spotting for 3+
That's wonderful! Thanks for sharing that.
What does help as i listen to you, is that your voice is so calm and soothing. Your explination is so helpful and moves toward better understanding of brainspotting. Thank you
Thankyou for your kind feedback, I really appreciate it.
thank you, this has been really helpful
You're welcome Gediminas, I'm glad you found it helpful. Thanks for your kind comment. 🙂🙏
You're amazing OMG your voice goodness gracious me extremely calming Thank you I'm gonna try self spotting Thanks for sharing
Thank you Agnes Lawrence!
Beautifully done.
Thank you Katharina Herten. I'm glad you liked it.
Thanks, these videos are great!
Thanks for your kind message and support! I'm glad you liked them.
Amazing thank you so much I really could feel it and recognize my bodies reaction im really kind of emotional still but happy and excited for the healing!!! Wow thank you ever so much sending you so much love to you and your family ❤❤❤
Thank you for your kind message ! I'm glad you found it useful. All the very best on your healing journey.
Great therapist, thank you so much.. ill use this for when im stressing.. Was together with a narc for 1 yr lol
This was very empowering I love content that helps us help ourselves. Thank you so much
Thanks! I'm glad you found it useful. All the best on your healing journey.
I loved how simply Matt described and demonstrated the process. And his gentle voice and demeanor feel very safe and inviting. I definitely want to learn more and add this process to my therapeutic took kit. Thank you, Matt, for making and offering this to us.
Thanks for the kind feedback. brainspotting.com/ has information about upcoming trainings, research and other publications.
I am going to attend a course on brainspotting in Poland and preparing I just found your video.
Thank you for instructions but what touched me most was you voice.
That's great Ula. I wish you a wonderful training. And thank you for your kind message. 😊
This is going to be so helpful in my healing journey. Thank you so much for this 🖤
How has it worked for you doing the sessions yourself?
Thank you for your kind message Kayla Maley. All the very best on your healing journey.
Thank you so much
You're welcome Jenny Louise Johansson ! Thanks for your support!
Me ayudó mucho. Muchas gracias M H.
¡De nada! gracias por tu amable mensaje!
That was fascinating… my Naturopathic Doctor mentioned this in a visit the other day. Thanks for this understanding.
Thanks for your kind message
Hi, Thank you for yhis powerful video and tool. I have experienced the brainspoting a few days ago and i discovered that i had forgotten my 5 first years.... Many things came out and i want to work it with the self spoting so thank you very much for your video and if you have any zoom sessions i would be glad to follow them. take care
You're welcome Yoo Start! Im really glad you found it useful. Thank you for sharing your experience with brainspotting, sound like a very meaningful session. All the very best with your healing journey. :)
I'm just about to start working with brainspotting with a new therapist. Thank you for this. It's helped me feel a bit more relaxed about it, as I'm quite defensive about new methods and new therapists. You have a lovely calming voice too. :)
Thanks Kalila! so glad it helped. All the best for your healing journey!
You are so soft spoken it made me at ease and it almost made me feel ASMR like relaxation :)
Thank you for your kind comment.
Thank you for this.
You're welcome! Thanks for the support.
very helpful and informative, thank you
Thanks, I'm glad you found it helpful.
Thank you! This helped alot!
Thank you! So glad it helped.
thank you for this useful tool.
You're welcome! I'm glad you found it useful. All the best on your healing journey.
Great video 👌
Thank you, Richi!
I see you posted 3 years ago, but this is the first I have heard of this process. The technique you described (also TY for the calm smooth voice), is something I may be able to use to self-regulate my emotions.
Thank you for the feedback, it's a good tool for working with minor stressors and as a meditative practice. For any significant distress its best done alongside a skilled practitioner.
Great video!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I know this video is a year old but I had never heard of this before watching another video on EMDR, where they mentioned this technique casually. Thank you so much for showing this. I can’t speak for others, but I know for me there would be zero chance that I would start looking for local therapists to try this. I haven’t tried it yet - but I’ve just painted pink nail polish on the tip of a small metal rod that should work. I know I could have used anything but I often need to over think these things!
Thank you again
Thank you 😊
You're welcome Paula Smith! So glad you found it helpful. :)
Thank you so muchhh for this demooo!! It is greattt!!
You're welcome, glad you liked it.
You're welcome, glad you liked it.
Aww, It's very effective for me. For the first time, I don't believe this process. But I can see situations of my past with the past. Thank you for your sharing.
You're welcome! I'm glad you found it useful . All the best on your healing journey 🙏
I want to have a connection to a stick like this man has! Brainspotting!
Thank you :)
You're welcome! So glad you found it useful. :)
This was the second video I saw on brain spotting, I’m really impressed and grateful to know that it can be used safely as a self therapy . I am currently studying a diploma in Councelling and would love to use it in my future Councelling sessions. Also I remember having EMDR sessions and finding my eyes would lock in one place at certain times but the therapist would tell me to keep following the pointer, perhaps they should combine the therapies ? I will be practicing on myself until I start working as a Councellor, thank you again 😉 🙏 . Looking forward to seeing your other videos , I have subscribed 🙌🤩🥰
Thanks for sharing that. brainspotting.com/ has all upccoming trainings . I recommend doing at least phase 1 and 2. That gives you are good foundation to begin utilising it within your scope of practice. All the best with your studies.
Thank you so much for this video, you explained it so well and are a calming gentle person :) I read in your description box that it can also be used to enhance skills? Do we need to think about the skill/applying the skill/how we feel about our lack in the skill? How does the enhancement work with this technique if you could elaborate please? Many thanks :)
Thanks for your comment and question Ello Theree. Using this for expansion or mindful focusing on existing skills, resources, experiences of feeling grounded, capable, present or optimistic can be attained in a similar way as working on a something that might be troubling or stressful. Focusing on the felt sense of these qualities is a good starting point. Saying that , expansion work with Brainspotting is nuanced and is best done with a certified practitioner. It is common to have to work through obstacles that get in the way of theses preferred states and that can take time and care. All the very best.
What a wonderful and calming voice. Thank you. Can this therapy help for depression? After my father passed away, my mother is on a deep depression, medication is not helping a lot… she doesn’t want to talk about anything regarding my father or about her self.
Hi VK Luz, thanks for your message and question. In my experience brainspotting is helpful for depression and grief, especially complex grief. But it's only going to be helpful if the client chooses that for themself.
❤ I loved your presentation of brainspotting! Does it help with better focusing & anxiety? I'm sure it does.
I will get on your website soon. Beautiful!
Thanks for your comment.
Muy interesante, INFINITAS GRACIAS POR SU INMENSA GENEROSIDAD Y compartirnos esta valiosa herramienta.
Disculpe mi atrevimiento, quisiera hacerle una consulta:
¿Como debería realizar este trabajo para trabajar en mi la autodesvalorizacion originada en mi infancia por mi padre?
No recuerdo ninguna situacion puntual, solo sé que abandoné todos mis trabajos por sentirme INCAPAZ de realizarlos. Tengo 63 años y solo siento inmensa frustracion en mi corazon por no poder concretar nada en mi vida...
De antemano NFINITAS GRACIAS!!!
Gracias por tu comentario y pregunta. Creo que la terapia personal con un profesional de la salud mental es el mejor lugar para explorar estos temas.
I think this is interesting and I wanted to see what this was all about. Glad this demo exists,but I think I like Somatic Experiencing better.
Hi Maja…why is that ?
If you don’t mind sharing …
Thanks MajaChenmoLhamo, SE is fantastic. The principles and process of SE are a major part of Brainspotting.
Thankyiu.
You're welcome Debbie Starlight! So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for your comments and support!
Hello, thanks so much for this video. Are you supposed to think about the memory/event or focus on your fingers or the feelings in your body. Where should the mind be while focusing? Thanks so much!
Great question B. In brainspotting we employ the uncertainty principle, which means we follow the activation and notice it , then see where it goes. We can't know where that will take us so we try to just follow what ever comes up. Activation refers to both body sensation and thoughts. Ideally we use a dual attunement, meaning whilst connected to the brainspot (fingers, pointer tip, or a GazeSpot) we also notice the activation. It's normal to struggle with ideas about "doing brainspotting right" when we begin. I often tell my clients to notice the part of you that wants to do it right, how does your body respond when you bring your attention there? Follow that and see where it goes. Self spotting is a fairly different experience compared to brainspotting with a skilled therapist. I don't recommend self spotting for significant distress. Does that help?
Thank you so much for this video. ❤Can you advise please, if person has generalized anxiety disorder and under constant tension and experiencing surrounding is already stress every second, how one can adapt this practice to relief stress without bringing specific trauma yet?
That's a good question Alexandra V. I think that's best explored with a therapist. Distress tolerance and understanding your circle of capacity / window of tolerance is essential for processing highly activated nervous system states. Self spotting is great for self care, processing daily stressors and deepening self awareness. For all other issues that cause significant distress I recommend working with an experienced mental health professional.
Thank you so much for sharing. Looking forward to try it out. I wonder if this could also work when thinking about a scary future event? (since my fear for the future is automatically connected to past experiences). Or should I focus on past experiences only?
I've tried some pretty out-there stuff in my lifetime in terms of different types of therapies but this honestly takes the cake. Or the stick, in this specific case.
Is this not essentially kinda like somatic experiencing/EMDR/mindfulness meditation?
Thanks for the feedback! It's definitely a different way of working. I hope you found it useful.
@@4LLT0G3TH3R when Brainspotting was being developed , in 2003 , it originally grew out of EMDR, elements of somatic experiencing, and mindfulness practices. So you are right to notice those influences.
R we Lily enjoyed that video thanks 🙏🏽 😊
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Hi. Thanks for posting this info. Been in a lot of therapy previously. Could you use this for physical issues? Example would be very tight muscles due to fear in a sitting stress job. And follow wand to place where the muscles intensify in tightness even if I do not have a particular memory. Going with the body.
And then could this be used in some fashion on Prebirth trauma without any memory obviously. Really curious about using without any memory. Thanks
Brainspotting is very helpful when working with implicit memory (body memory). There is a saying in Brainspotting "You don't need to know what it is to know that it is". There are several ways of accessing and working with that, one of those is focusing on the body sensation. However, I don't recommend doing self-spotting for personal trauma processing. Working with a competent trauma-informed therapist is the way to go, it's safer and more effective. I personally use self spotting for discharging moderate daily stress, meditation, and grounding, but only do significant trauma processing with my therapist. Prebirth, Perinatal, early developmental, and attachment trauma can be complex and difficult to work through, in my opinion, and experience most people require a great level of attunement and support to navigate that. Thanks for your thoughtful question Kim, I hope I was able to answer it sufficiently.
Hi how many times can you do this for different traumas in a day? Or weekly? Thank you for the informative video it's really helpful 😊
Good question Queeny, it depends on what you are trying to treat using Brainspotting or self spotting. For any significant trauma processing I always advise working with a skilled therapist. Self spotting is a practice better suited to processing daily stress and tension, and developing the skills associated with mindfulness, interoceptive awareness and dual attunement/awareness. But, yes you can overdo it and can result in greater amounts of dysregulation in the nervous system. This can look like many things including headaches, overwhelm, exhaustion, dissociation, just to name a few. If you experience any of these while exploring self spotting it's a good indication that you need an attuned co-regulating presence (ie a skilled therapist) to support your nervous system so it can safely and effectively process, desensitise, integrate and ground the experience. Best practice is to start small, see how you respond, listen to your body, notice and follow the process with curiosity and uncertainty. Bilateral music used with headphones/earbuds can help a lot too. I hope that helps!
Have developmental trauma from hospitalisation aged 1 , exact same. Wondering what tips you could give me . Based in Ireland so not many modalities
Today's the first I've heard of brainspotting or self-spotting. Thank You for sharing this. EMDR was expensive & didn't work for me so I'm hopeful this is different enough that it'll help me. I'm a level 1 hoarder that has been able to stop collecting for the last 5 years, yet I haven't been able to let go of my way excessive possessions.
Thanks for sharing that Good Intentions. I wish you all the very best on your healing journey.
Hope you're doing well Good Intentions. You're not alone in it
This is so great. My question is after you have sat and processed how do you bring yourself out of the session. So if I’m upset and I’ve done the process how can I also use it to calm myself down and have closure? Thanks again…your voice is a dream!
Great question. I find that self spotting when there is significant dysregulation isn't very helpful. Mainly because there is no one else there to co-regulate with. Self spotting is better suited to dealing with daily stress and self care. Any significant trauma work requires a skilled mental health professional to support and guide you through the process.
The Bhudha has discovered this long ago. its just the same to the sense noise which can bring back memories.
Thankyou for reminding us Boonyanuch A! I hope the Buddha is pleased to see these teachings become cornerstones of so many contemporary healing practices.
Interesting. I may need to look more into brainspotting. If he's doing it correctly, it made me see that my ex-therapist who I used to do brainspotting with, did it incorrectly! She had me 'bring up something,' then find in my visual field where the pointer felt "best," meaning, where I felt the most comfortable and then she moved it side to side in like a EMDR way. Makes me sad that this was one of the many ways she was unhelpful to me.
I want to try self-brainspotting because the session with my therapist fails in some way.. I guess I maybe wanted to try too hard and felt myself under pressure to actually feel and bring up things that comes close to the event I had to process (also happened with EMDR). It's not easy to do so because I'm a highly sensitive person with complex PTSD with anxiety. I think if I try this at home in a safe place I can actually do it on my own phase without feeling any pressure or nervousness and explore the emotion in my body myself and processing it. So I was thinking maybe during a session when the emotions are felt through I can cover my right eye to activate my rational side of the brain and lower the emotional side to give the trauma or negative situation an objective point of view because I'm a very emotion person. How does that sound? I have a disassociation with my body so feeling emotions in my body is very hard for me to come by and need to restore that connection, do you have any tips about that? Also last question, is brainspotting more useful then EMDR if the trauma is anxiety driven but you can recall a specific memory when the anxiety started? Thank you so much for posting this informative video about self-brainspotting, your voice is very calming! Greetings from Belgium!
Dear Matt. I watched in a video about brainspotting, it was saying that durinb brain spotting session, we open time capsule of traumatic memories. And when we open it, we need a calm nervous system around to calm ourselves, just like we did when we were brand baby, and co-regulating, we get in traumatic memory and our limbic system / brain stem puts us in a stress full state, and our nervous system at that time observe our therapists nervous system, which is very calm, and just co-regulate itself.
Thus, this change the nervous system status of this memory. I'd appreciate if you can comment about this, thanks in advance..
Thanks for mentioning this Enver Firat Can. I always recommend any significant trauma processing should be done with an attuned and experienced therapist. Co-regulation, presence and attunement are all pillars of Brainspotting and they are part of the reason why it is an effective model for those who have suffered the effects of trauma. Dual awareness is also needed, which is the ability to recognise and differentiate a past experience from the present moment and maintain the activation of the prefrontal cortex so the 'capsule' of traumatic memory can be processed, desensitized and linked to a new experience. This is essentially what contributes to integration. I'll make a video to explain some of these concepts further. Thanks again!
@@MH-sc1rd Hi Dear Matt, Thanks a lot for reply, 👍🏻I got it better..
Interesting. Any safety measures one should be aware of? I suppose one should get into the unpleasant reactions to process them, but what are the signs of overdoing it to point of it becoming risky?
Good question GhettoGamer, it depends on what you are trying to treat using Brainspotting or self spotting. For any significant trauma processing I always advise working with a skilled therapist. Self spotting is a practice better suited to processing daily stress and tension, and developing the skills associated with mindfulness, interoceptive awareness and dual attunement/awareness. But, yes you can overdo it and can result in greater amounts of dysregulation in the nervous system. This can look like many things including headaches, overwhelm, exhaustion, dissociation, just to name a few. If you experience any of these while exploring self spotting it's a good indication that you need an attuned co-regulating presence (ie a skilled therapist) to support your nervous system so it can safely and effectively process, desensitise, integrate and ground the experience. Best practice is to start small, see how you respond, listen to your body, notice and follow the process with curiosity and uncertainty. Bilateral music used with headphones/earbuds can help a lot too. I hope that helps!
@@MH-sc1rd It certainly does, thank you for explaining.
Is there a safe amount of sessions one can do on self during the week and still allow enough time to process the experience? Thank you for sharing?
Good question artof1self, it depends on what you are trying to treat using Brainspotting or self spotting. For any significant trauma processing I always advise working with a skilled therapist. Self spotting is a practice better suited to processing daily stress and tension, and developing the skills associated with mindfulness, interoceptive awareness and dual attunement/awareness. But, yes you can overdo it and can result in greater amounts of dysregulation in the nervous system. This can look like many things including headaches, overwhelm, exhaustion, dissociation, just to name a few. If you experience any of these while exploring self spotting it's a good indication that you need an attuned co-regulating presence (ie a skilled therapist) to support your nervous system so it can safely and effectively process, desensitise, integrate and ground the experience. Best practice is to start small, see how you respond, listen to your body, notice and follow the process with curiosity and uncertainty. Bilateral music used with headphones/earbuds can help a lot too. I hope that helps!
Is it possible to do brainspotting remotely? There are no practitioners in my area, but I have seen it offered online. It seems like something that should be done in person. What is your opinion?
Absolutely, equally as effective as in person treatment. 90% of my work is online, I've worked this way for quite some time and see no difference with outcomes, or duration of treatment. I also see my own brainspotting therapist online and find it equally as powerful. Some practitioners don't enjoy working remotely, while others love it. Something to consider and inquire about when looking for a therapist remotely. Thanks for your question Diane.
@@MH-sc1rd This is good to know, because there are no brainspotting therapists in my area. I was diagnosed w/CPTSD years ago, but regular therapy was kind of a nightmare. It didn't help at all and just made me feel worse. I also think my husband needs this, maybe even more than me. Thanks for answering. I truly appreciate it!
You're welcome Diane, I hope you are able to find someone you feel comfortable working with. All the very best on your healing journey.
Will your focus spot always stay the same or does it change each time?
Great question. Generally the brainspots change as you process the event. You can find a brainspot that feels calming or resourcing which can be used repeatedly to help expand that state in the brain and body. I often set a client up with one of these that they can visit daily between sessions. Thanks Anniehope M.
Thank you
This should be a PSA for "Trauma Informed Care" -
Thanks Amy Cuaresma.
My therapist used brain spotting music too, is it necessary?
I use bilateral music too when the client feels like it helps with their process. Not everyone finds it helpful, some of my clients find it distracting, overwhelming, while others love it. I use it personally and find it really helpful. I also use it in many other situations like reading, writing, and meditation. It's thought that bilateral stimulation helps maintain flexibility in the experience of processing thoughts and sensations. It can help to not get stuck or fixated on certain parts of the brainspotting experience. At times I find it relaxing and at other times I have found it activating. It's very personal, I encourage my clients to explore and intuitively decide what's best for their body and brain.
How can we use brainspotting to optimize our skills and learn more about a situation or concern?
In a similar way to how you would process a stressful event. Focus on the content of your inquiry and find a point in your visual field that helps you feel more connected to it somatically.
Is there another method besides moving a wand from side to side? Can you use tapping or another technique, especially for those who are visually impaired and find it difficult to move their eyes side to side without discomfort?
How does this work with children that can't stay focused?
Thanks for your question Dean Jones! I don't work with children, but know there are many therapists who do and use Brainspotting. There is speciality training for that. Regarding clients that find it difficult to stay still or focus, in brainspotting we don't see that as a problem, rather we accomodate and work with it. There are many ways to do that.
So YOU GO INTO the tramatic thing?
A sad song would do that for me.
What do you mean processing? Allow any thoughts?
Good question Suzi Hazlove. Processing refers to the ability to witness, experience and remain present to whatever emotional, sensory, somatic material that comes up. Processing generally comes in waves and body activation often subsides after an amount of time. Dual awareness, ie noticing the past experience or memory from the present moment is really important. As is remaining within your window of tolerance or circle of capacity, ie developing adequate distress tolerance so you can process effectively. I don't recommend self spotting for trauma processing, that's best suited for a skilled therapist. I hope that helps.
I found it very interesting but once you stay in that activation mode and process what you are feeling , what do we do to release that anger, frustration, fear etc….
I find that through processing and being mindfully aware of what comes up leads to the releases. But it's not necessarily something you actively do , it's more about being with the experience and following it in whatever direction that entails. Remaining in uncertainty is a core principle of Brainspotting. I hope that helps.
Hi Matt, what if we have buried the trauma and don’t know what needs addressing but our body remembers?
Great question! Firstly I think this is a common experience. It's also quite natural for our system to "bury" the trauma, and conversely for the body to "hold" that implicit memory. In Brainspotting we work with both explicit memory (cognitive memories of lived experiences) and implicit memory (body memory, often lacking a narrative structure, and preverbal). Both provide equally good access points to what's being held in the body/brain. I always recommend working with a skilled and experienced therapist for any significant trauma processing.
are you supposed to focus on the thing you're processing the entire time? like, do you have to think about it the whole time or do you just have to think about it initially and then you're free to stare at the pointer for as long as it takes to process?
Good question. No you don't need to focus on the initial thing you are trying to process. You just need to focus on the brainspot ( point in your visual field) and notice and follow the sensations, thoughts and feelings that arise in your body/mind. Remain curious, try and embrace an element of uncertainty. Just follow whatever comes up. Processing usually comes in waves, timing/duration varies considerably. Oftentimes the initial activation felt at the beginning is reduced throughout processing. Use your intuition as to when it feels enough. I hope that helps
@@MH-sc1rd I stopped when my hand got tired! 🤣
Could this help with life traumas and survivors of narcissistic abuse?
Thanks for your question Jenny. Yes, Brainspotting is very helpful for survivors of narcissistic abuse. This is a population I work with often.
When do you stop? Is the feeling supposed to go away?
Great question. It depends on many factors. It's best to adopt a position of uncertainty and curiosity while mindfully processing.
when do you know when its safe to stop the process?
That's a tricky question to answer, but if that's something you are worried about it suggests that you might need someone there to support you during your process. Self spotting is a good tool for minor stressors but all significant stress or distress should only be worked on alongside a skilled practitioner.
I’m confused. Do we talk to ourselves or not? If so, what do we talk about?
Do we talk generalizations and hypotheticals, or do we talk about our actual experiences or emotions? 🤔
Great question Zein, for this demonstration I narrated my internal dialogue. But in sessions it varies, some clients talk the whole time while they're brainspotting, others are silent for the whole time. There is no right way to process. Do whatever feels right for you.
Is this method suitable for people with synaesthesia?
Thanks for your question Doris. Brainspotting is not contraindicated for those with synaesthesia. However, some people report a high level of sensory processing whilst Brainspotting (often likened to synaesthesia itself). If your own personal experience of synaesthesia is distressing or disturbing then I would advise Brainspotting with a skilled therapist. But if not, you can give it a go. I hope that helps.
@@MH-sc1rd many thanks for your quick response 👍
Good idea.
If it works.
But what about autism.....
Other suffering.
I personally don't work with this population very often so am not able to comment. But I know of many therapists using brainspotting with ASD and neurodiverse populations with great success. Thanks for your question Andy Clausen.
Does it work for happy nostalgic memories?
Yes, you can use Brainspotting for this.
Is brainspotting for only recent events?
Thanks Anna, brainspotting is used for a variety of issues, and is not limited to recent events. Or even events that have a clear cognitive memory associated with them. Brainspotting is especially helpful for working with implicit or body memory.
Was this inside window? Great video!
Thanks Sean Stutt. Yes, inside window refers to when the client finds their brainspot via their own internal activation. Outside window refers to when the therapist uses the automatic reflexes of the client (twitching, blinking, swallowing, changes in posture etc) to locate a relevant brainspot. You might have noticed my own automatic reflexes (blinking etc) while I was searching for the brainspot. Where I felt the activation most was also where I blinked. If I was having trouble finding that for myself my therapist might use outside window. Does that make sense?
@@MH-sc1rd yes! I’m a therapist too actually and just completed my first phase of training. I couldn’t remember if you used a slow horizontal scan on the x axis for inside window like you would for outside window. Or if you just moved the pointer to each individual quadrant and then refine the location like you did.
@@seanstutt5075 you can do both. I like a slow horizontal track left to right or vice versa. I hope you enjoy integrating bsp into your therapy work. Phase 2 is really helpful and expands the scope of practice considerably.