HELP YOUR BODY RELEASE WHAT IT IS HOLDING

Brainspotting therapy in Vermont   

Have you talked through your experience, but your body still reacts like it’s happening now?

You may understand your trauma.

You may be able to explain your patterns, name your triggers, and trace your reactions back to where they began.

And yet your nervous system still responds as if the danger is present:

  • Your chest tightens.

  • Your body braces.

  • You feel suddenly younger, smaller, or overwhelmed.

That’s not because you’re failing — it’s because some experiences are stored deeper than words can reach.

Brainspotting is a trauma-focused therapy designed to access and process those deeper layers.

Your body is capable of healing

What feels stuck now can shift.
What feels overwhelming can settle.
What feels unfinished can integrate.

And Brainspotting helps create the conditions for that change —
gently, and at your pace.

What is Brainspotting?

Brainspotting is a neuroscience-based therapy that helps the brain and body process unresolved trauma stored in the subcortical brain — the part responsible for survival responses, emotional memory, and nervous system activation.

When something overwhelming happens, the brain doesn’t always fully integrate the experience. Instead, it can remain “stuck” in the nervous system, continuing to trigger anxiety, shutdown, shame, or hypervigilance long after the event has passed.

Brainspotting works through the connection between your visual field and the deeper emotional centers of your brain. During a session, we use a pointer to help locate a specific eye position (a “brainspot”) that corresponds to where the experience is being held.

By gently holding your gaze on that spot and staying present to what arises — sensations, emotions, images, or shifts — your brain begins to process and integrate the material naturally.

There is no need to re-live or explain what happened in detail. The healing unfolds beneath the surface, guided by your brain’s innate capacity to reorganize and settle what was once overwhelming.

You deserve to feel at home in your own body.

If you’re ready, we can begin.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT BRAINSPOTTING

FAQs

  • Where you look affects how you feel. Brainspotting works by finding the specific eye position—or “brainspot”—that connects to where trauma or emotion is stored in the subcortical brain.

    In Brainspotting, you’ll focus gently on this eye position, allowing your system to process without needing to “figure it out.” Some clients also like to listen to bilateral music (alternating between left and right headphones) to support the process.

  • Brainspotting sessions are often quieter and more internally focused than traditional talk therapy.

    You may speak throughout the session, or you may spend stretches in silence. Both are welcome.

    We use bilateral sound (gentle music alternating between ears) to support processing while you hold your gaze on a specific eye position. As you stay with your internal experience — without forcing or analyzing it — your nervous system begins to integrate what was previously stuck.

    The work unfolds in a contained and supported way.

  • Brainspotting is an an innovation discovered by an early EMDR therapist, David Grand, who stumbled onto the use of eye position in reprocessing trauma while using a modified version of EMDR. As a result, they have many things in common:

    Both EMDR and Brainspotting:

    * Use bilateral stimulation to help your brain complete unfinished healing

    * Are rooted in neuroscience and nervous system safety

    * Help you integrate trauma so it no longer hijacks your present

    * Can be adapted to your unique pace, needs, and thresholds

    * Work without talking through the details of your story

    Brainspotting is different because it includes the use of the fixed eye position to support reprocessing. It is also less structured than traditional EMDR therapy, although in my practice, I use EMDR in a flexible and relational way.

    Neither is “better” than the other. I have found that many clients respond to both, and some find a natural preference for one versus another. It’s not about choosing the perfect method—it’s about working with someone who knows how to listen to your system, track your cues, and create the right conditions for healing.

  • My approach to therapy is focused on your individual needs, so how long you need to be in therapy will be specific to you. When we first start to work together, we will clarify your goals and identify the benchmarks that will let you know when you will be ready to end. My hope is to help you reach your goals, AND to find relief and make changes throughout the process of working towards them. Some will reach their initial goals and feel ready to end treatment, and others will discover new goals that they want to continue working towards.

    Generally speaking, trauma that occurred one time can be shorter to treat, while more complex trauma that happened many times, while someone was a child, or by a trusted person takes longer. Each person’s treatment is unique - what’s most important to me is that you get what YOU need.

  • Reach out to schedule a free initial 15 minute consultation. During that call, we will talk briefly about what is going on for you and what you’re needing help with. I will also ask you about any past experiences of therapy so that I can learn what has or has not worked for you before. I will also talk more about how I work and answer any questions you have to make sure we are a good fit. If so, we will schedule our first session and discuss any logistics you need to know in advance. 

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