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Colleen Tretton, LPC, SEP - Prescott Arizona
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Brainspotting is a powerful, body-based psychotherapy method that helps people process trauma, stress, and emotional challenges by using specific eye positions to access unprocessed experiences stored in the brain and body. It works by tapping into the body’s natural ability to heal itself through focused awareness and therapeutic support.
What is Brainspotting?
Brainspotting is a powerful, body-based psychotherapy method that helps people process trauma, stress, and emotional challenges by using specific eye positions to access unprocessed experiences stored in the brain and body. It works by tapping into the body’s natural ability to heal itself through focused awareness and therapeutic support.
Understanding Trauma
Trauma occurs when our body’s survival response becomes stuck or frozen. This happens when we experience too much, too fast, or don’t get enough support. Without the chance to safely release this energy, it can manifest as:
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Anxiety
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Depression
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Chronic pain
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PTSD
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Illness
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Emotional disconnection
Our society often discourages healthy emotional release, making it harder to process trauma. Healing begins in the presence of a caring, attuned therapist, allowing the body to safely release this survival energy through natural expressions like crying, shaking, or deep breathing.​
Bottom-Up vs. Top-Down Therapy
Most traditional talk therapies use a top-down approach, focusing on logic, reasoning, and language. These methods engage the neocortex (frontal lobe), which isn’t directly responsible for emotional regulation.
Brainspotting uses a bottom-up approach, accessing the midbrain—the area responsible for survival responses, emotion, and trauma storage. By starting from the body’s signals, Brainspotting reaches the root of emotional pain more directly and effectively.
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How Brainspotting Works
The eyes are deeply connected to the midbrain through the optic nerve. Brainspotting uses this connection to help the brain locate where trauma or stress is stored.
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Have you ever caught yourself staring into space while lost in thought?
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That natural gaze holds a clue: it’s your brain trying to process something.
Brainspotting helps identify that exact gaze point—called a brainspot—to access and release trapped emotional or physical experiences.
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What Happens in a Brainspotting Session?
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Locating the Brainspot: The therapist guides you to find a specific eye position linked to a feeling or issue.
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Focused Processing: You hold that gaze while the brain activates its self-healing abilities.
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Emotional Release: Waves of emotions, physical sensations, or memories may surface as the body processes and discharges trauma.
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Return to Balance: These waves are followed by feelings of calm, grounding, and well-being—your body finding homeostasis.
The Role of the Therapist
The therapist’s presence is crucial. Their attunement helps create a space of neurobiological safety and secure attachment. This connection encourages the brain’s ability to reorganize and heal.
As clients process their emotions, they often revisit connected memories or sensations, even from unrelated times. This is a sign the brain is doing deeper integration work.
Why Brainspotting?
Brainspotting goes beyond words. It helps people who feel “stuck” despite trying talk therapy or self-help strategies. By working directly with the nervous system, Brainspotting supports healing from:
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Trauma and PTSD
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Anxiety and panic
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Grief and loss
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Chronic pain
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Performance blocks
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Emotional numbness
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Take the first step towards a more fulfilling life. Contact me today to schedule your appointment and embark on a journey of rapid resolution and lasting change.
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