Brainspotting is based on the discovery that where you look affects how you feel. More specifically, that there are particular positions in your visual field that correspond to areas of activation in the brain and body where unprocessed trauma or difficult experience is being held.

When we find one of these positions, called a brainspot, and hold your gaze there while staying attuned to what's happening in your body, the brain begins to access and process material that is often outside conscious awareness. Unlike therapies that rely heavily on talking through what happened, Brainspotting works beneath the level of language. It accesses the deeper subcortical parts of the brain where trauma is actually stored, rather than the thinking, narrating parts that we typically engage in conversation.

As with EMDR, we don't move into processing until you're ready. The preparation phase involves getting a clear picture of what you're carrying, understanding how it's showing up in your life now, and building your capacity to stay with difficult material when it surfaces.

We do resourcing work, which might include developing a felt sense of safety in your body, identifying what calm or okayness feels like for you physically, and building containment skills for what arises between sessions. We also spend time mapping what we'll be working with, so that when we do begin, there's a clear and considered direction.

How long this takes varies considerably from person to person. Some people arrive already well resourced and move into processing relatively quickly. Others need more time in preparation, and that time is not wasted. It is foundational to everything that follows.

Once we begin processing, you'll be invited to bring your attention to something you're holding. That might be a specific memory, a feeling, a physical sensation, or a belief about yourself that you know is there but can't quite shift. We'll identify where you feel it most strongly in your body, and give it a charge rating so we have a sense of where we're starting.

From there, we find your brainspot. This involves slowly scanning your visual field until we locate the eye position that most activates the experience you're holding. You might notice that your gaze landing in a particular spot causes something to shift in your body, an increase in sensation, emotion, or simply a sense of something being there. That's the spot we work with.

Once we've found it, you hold your gaze there. I stay present with you throughout, tracking what's happening and holding the space while your brain and nervous system do the processing. There is no script, no protocol you need to follow, and very little you need to say. You might notice images, memories, emotions, physical sensations, or seemingly unrelated thoughts arising. All of it is part of the process. You follow whatever comes up internally while keeping your gaze on the brainspot.

Check-ins happen periodically, where I'll ask what you're noticing, and then we continue. The session closes with a return to your body, a check on where the charge is now, and some grounding before we finish.

Most people find that more happens beneath the surface than they expected. The processing is largely internal and often continues in the days following a session, with shifts becoming apparent gradually rather than all at once.

Brainspotting is effective for trauma, anxiety, grief, chronic shame, and experiences that have resisted other approaches. It is particularly well suited to people who find talk therapy useful but feel there is something deeper that words haven't been able to reach. It also tends to work well for people who find EMDR's more structured protocol difficult to tolerate, as Brainspotting is generally more gentle and less directive.

Because it works beneath conscious awareness, it can access material that the thinking mind has kept protected, defended, or simply couldn't articulate. If you've spent years understanding your experience intellectually without it shifting at a felt level, Brainspotting may be worth exploring.

Brainspotting can be subtle. Sessions don't always feel dramatic in the moment, but the processing continues after you leave, and changes often become apparent in the days that follow. People notice that something has shifted without always being able to pinpoint exactly when or how.

Over time, the experiences we work on tend to lose their charge. A memory that once felt raw or present begins to settle. A pattern of responding that felt automatic starts to soften. Many people describe a growing sense of ease in their body, a quietening of the background noise that they had come to think of as just the way they were.

Brainspotting doesn't require you to relive what happened in detail or find the right words for something that may have never had words. It simply asks you to be present with your own experience while your nervous system does what it is designed to do.

Brainspotting is not currently recognised under Medicare, which means sessions are not eligible for a rebate. EMDR, by contrast, does attract a Medicare rebate when provided by a registered psychologist under a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP. If cost is a consideration in deciding between the two approaches, this is worth factoring in. I'm happy to talk through the options with you before you book.