If you've tried talk therapy and still feel stuck, you're not alone. Many people carry emotional wounds that words alone can't fully reach. That's where brainspotting therapy comes in. This powerful, brain-based approach helps access and release trauma stored deep in the nervous system, often reaching places that traditional talk therapy simply cannot.
Brainspotting is gaining attention for good reason. Whether you're navigating the aftermath of a traumatic event, struggling with anxiety, or carrying years of unprocessed pain, brainspotting therapist Leslie Vaughn at SomaMind Counseling Services in Dallas offers this approach as part of a comprehensive healing path.
What Is Brainspotting?
Brainspotting was developed by Dr. David Grand in 2003, emerging from his work with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). While working with a client, he noticed that where a person directed their gaze corresponded with where they held emotional distress in their body. From that discovery, brainspotting was born.
The core idea is straightforward: where you look affects how you feel. By identifying specific eye positions, called "brainspots," a therapist can help you locate and process unresolved trauma held in the subcortical brain. This is the part of the brain that stores survival responses, emotional memories, and bodily sensations, all of which lie below the level of conscious thought.
Unlike some therapeutic approaches that rely heavily on verbal processing, brainspotting works directly with the body and brain's natural capacity to heal. Sessions are often quiet and deeply internal, which makes them particularly helpful for people who find it hard to put their experiences into words.
How a Brainspotting Session Works
During a session, you'll typically focus on a specific area of disturbance or emotional charge, something you want to work through. Leslie will then guide your gaze to different positions while you notice what comes up in your body and mind.
Bilateral sound through headphones is often used alongside this process. The music helps stimulate both hemispheres of the brain, supporting deeper access to where trauma is stored. You don't need to narrate everything you're experiencing. Simply noticing is enough.
The therapist's role is to hold a steady, attuned presence, what's called "relational attunement," while you process at your own pace. Sessions can surface memories, emotions, or physical sensations that have been dormant for years. Many people describe feeling a sense of release they didn't expect, often after only a few sessions.
What Brainspotting Therapy Can Help With
Brainspotting therapy for trauma is one of its most recognized applications, but the approach reaches far beyond a single diagnosis. It can be effective for a wide range of experiences and struggles, including post-traumatic stress, anxiety and panic, grief and loss, narcissistic abuse recovery, chronic pain with an emotional component, performance blocks, and burnout.
For survivors of narcissistic abuse or complex trauma in particular, brainspotting can be a meaningful complement to other therapeutic work. Because it bypasses the need to tell and retell a story repeatedly, it can feel less retraumatizing than some other methods. The brain is allowed to process and integrate at its own pace, rather than being pushed through a verbal narrative.
Brainspotting vs EMDR: What's the Difference?
A common question that comes up is how brainspotting compares to EMDR, since both work with eye positioning and trauma processing. They share roots, but they diverge in important ways.
EMDR tends to be more structured, using specific protocols and bilateral stimulation in the form of eye movements, taps, or tones. It often involves more active therapist direction throughout the session.
Brainspotting, by contrast, is more open and client-led. Once a brainspot is located, you're given space to process organically with minimal interruption. The therapist trusts your brain's innate healing capacity rather than guiding you through a set procedure. For some people, this feels more natural and less clinical.
Neither approach is universally superior. The best fit depends on your history, personality, and how you process emotionally. If you've tried EMDR and found it too structured, or if you're curious about a quieter, body-based approach, brainspotting may be worth exploring.
Why Body-Based Therapy Matters for Trauma
Trauma doesn't just live in the mind. It lives in the body. Research in neuroscience and somatic psychology has shown that unresolved trauma is often stored as physical sensation, tension, and dysregulation in the nervous system. Approaches that only target conscious thought can miss much of what needs healing.
Brainspotting works with the body as a guide. You might notice tightness in your chest, a heaviness in your shoulders, or a subtle shift in your breathing during a session. These sensations are information. They point toward what needs to be processed, and the brainspot helps the brain do exactly that.
This body-inclusive approach is central to Leslie's work at SomaMind Counseling Services. With a background in somatic techniques and certification as a trauma professional, the work is grounded in an understanding that lasting healing requires reaching the whole person, not just the thinking mind.
What to Expect After Brainspotting Sessions
People respond to brainspotting differently. Some feel a significant shift after just one or two sessions. Others find that layers of processing unfold gradually over time. There's no single timeline, and that's by design.
After a session, you might feel tired, emotionally tender, or unusually reflective. This is normal and often a sign that the brain is continuing to integrate what was processed. Staying hydrated, being gentle with yourself, and allowing space to rest afterward can support this integration.
Some people also notice that old memories or feelings surface between sessions. Rather than pushing these away, the invitation is to observe them with curiosity. The therapeutic work continues even outside the session room.
Taking the Next Step
If you've been living with the weight of trauma, anxiety, or emotional pain that hasn't responded to other approaches, brainspotting therapy may offer a new pathway forward. It's a respectful, body-honoring method that works with your brain's natural ability to heal, not against it.
SomaMind Counseling Services, located in Dallas, offers brainspotting as part of a trauma-informed counseling approach tailored to your specific needs and history. Sliding scale rates are available to support accessibility.
Reaching out is the first step. To book a session or learn more, contact SomaMind Counseling Services today and start the conversation about what healing could look like for you.
