a deep reset for your nerves. more calm in your life.
Brainspotting Therapy in Southington, CT & online across CT
You’ve tried talk therapy, but still feel stuck in survival mode.
You’ve done the work—maybe even years of therapy, reflection and self-help books, dissecting things, ”spilling the tea” with your girlfriends, and trying to “figure it all out.” But even with all that insight, you still feel like your internal alarm system is going off—WHOOP-WHOOP-WHOOP!
Something still feels stuck and heavy. You’re tired of taking baby steps with minimal relief in return. You want real change—not just coping skills, but deep healing. You can feel that the answer isn’t just in your thoughts.
You’re ready to heal from the inside out — to connect with your body and spirit to finally release what’s been weighing you down.
Sometimes you don’t even have the words or reasons for what you’re feeling—it just is. You’ve spent so long trying to make sense of it all, but now you’re ready to let your body and soul lead the way. That’s where Brainspotting comes in…
Healing is not by rote or ritual, it’s by presence and attunement.
—David Grand, Founder of Brainspotting
How brainspotting works
You can trust your system to heal from the inside out.
Brainspotting is a gentle, body-based therapy that helps you process and release the emotions, sensations and experiences that talk therapy alone can’t always reach. It works by using specific eye positions—called brainspots—that connect to the emotions, body sensations, or memories stored deep in your brain and body.
When you focus on a brainspot, your nervous system naturally begins to process what’s been stuck or unhealed. This allows your brain to do what it’s designed to do: move you toward balance, safety, and relief.
Brainspotting is powerful because it doesn’t require you to find the right words or make sense of everything first — your body leads the way, and your brain intuitively directs the healing.
You can think of it like this: when a computer freezes, talking about why it happened doesn’t fix it—but finding the stuck file and letting the system reset does. Brainspotting helps your brain “unfreeze” those emotional files so you can finally feel lighter, clearer, and more at ease.
What can I expect in a Brainspotting session?
Resourcing
We’ll begin by finding a few “resource spots” in your field of vision—places that help you access calm, comfort, or groundedness. These become your anchors if processing ever feels intense, giving your nervous system a way to regulate in real time.
Setup
Next, we’ll identify the issue you want to work on and check in on how it feels in your body. As you notice that sensation, I’ll slowly move a pointer across your visual field. Together, we’ll find the eye position—or brainspot—where you feel that sensation most strongly.
Processing
You’ll then hold your gaze on that spot, staying curious about what your body notices or remembers. This focused attention helps your brain naturally process whatever has been stuck beneath the surface. My role is to guide and support you as your system does its own healing work.
Wrap-Up
We will always move at an organic and gentle pace that feels right for you. We’ll close by checking in on your level of activation. Many people notice a clear shift—a sense of release, lightness, or groundedness. The brain often continues to process in the hours or days after, deepening the healing from session.
Brainspotting can help you…
Calm your nervous system—reduce anxiety, fears, phobias and nightmares
Overcome performance blocks in professional, creative and athletic pursuits
Ease depression and grief while creating space for emotional relief
Build self-trust and confidence by processing limiting beliefs
Improve sleep and soothe tension or chronic pain
Heal wounded parts and reconnect with yourself
Frequently asked questions about brainspotting
FAQs
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Brainspotting can help with a wide range of struggles—including trauma, anxiety, grief, depression, performance blocks, chronic pain, and stress. In addition, it includes techniques to heal and integrate wounded and protective parts of yourself as well as to process recurring dreams or nightmares.
Brainspotting works with the body’s natural ability to process emotions, it’s also helpful if you feel stuck in traditional talk therapy or can’t find words for what you’re feeling or what is causing the emotions.
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Most people describe sessions as calming, focused, and surprisingly gentle. You’ll be guided to notice sensations in your body as we find your brainspot. You might experience emotions, body sensations, images or memories surfacing—or you might just feel a quiet stillness.
Healing doesn’t always feel dramatic or emotional and there’s no “right” way for your system to process; whatever comes up is part of your healing. Sometimes the biggest changes happen quietly, and you might notice shifts later—in your mood, body, or reactions to things that used to feel hard. Your brain keeps processing even after the session ends.
Some clients feel noticeable relief after just a few sessions, while others prefer to integrate Brainspotting into ongoing therapy. We’ll work together to find a pace that feels safe and supportive for your system—there’s no rush or pressure to meet a timeline.
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Brainspotting is safe as it is designed to work within your nervous system’s natural limits. Before we begin processing, we create resource spots—visual anchors that help you return to calm and safety if anything feels too intense.
You’re always in control of how far we go. Think of the client-therapist relationship as if you are the head of a comet on a journey and I am the tail of it following you wherever you go. You set the pace, and you can pause or stop at any time. My role is to guide and support you—not to push or interpret. You’ll stay fully present and aware throughout the process.
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Not at all. One of the most powerful parts of Brainspotting is that it doesn’t require you to talk through every detail. You are welcome to talk during processing if you feel moved to do so or you can be quiet as well if that is what suits you.
Even if you don’t have a clear memory or explanation for how you feel, your body still knows where the pain or tension is stored—and Brainspotting helps your system process it safely.
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Both Brainspotting and EMDR are mind-body approaches that help your brain reprocess unhealed experiences. EMDR moves through 8 phases guided by the therapist.
Brainspotting tends to feel more intuitive and less structured—you don’t follow a script or sequence of steps. It’s client-led by your body’s natural rhythms, not by a therapist giving directions.
Unlike traditional talk therapy, Brainspotting doesn’t rely on insight or analysis; instead, it helps you feel and release what’s been stored beneath words.
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Yes. Brainspotting is flexible and can easily be woven into the work we’re already doing together.
My style is to combine Brainspotting with person-centered talk therapy, parts-based approaches (such as IFS), EMDR Therapy, or Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy—because therapy should be as unique as you and your needs at any given moment.
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Yes. Brainspotting can be offered as an adjunct therapy format for clients who are already in treatment and would like to incorporate deeper nervous-system processing into their care. This option is ideal for targeting specific blocks, trauma experiences, or emotional patterns through focused, short-term work. You may continue therapy with your primary provider, and collaboration is available with your written consent.
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Brainspotting (and IFS-Informed EMDR or OCD) Intensives are focused, concentrated therapy sessions with a customized treatment workbook, designed to give you the space to make progress more quickly.
You can think of Intensives as extended therapy sessions clustered over a short period of time. I offer a 1-day, 2-day or 3-day format with 3-hour sessions, scheduled within a week or month depending on your needs. This model provides the momentum and continuity needed for deeper healing.
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Absolutely. Brainspotting works very well through telehealth. Using your screen and a pointer, I’ll guide you to find your brainspot just as I would in person. We also don’t limit ourselves to the screen size and can use gazespots to look offscreen in your home space. Many clients appreciate doing this work from the comfort of their own space, where they already feel grounded and safe.
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I received my Brainspotting training in 2025 through a multi-day PESI training led by the developer of Brainspotting, David Grand, Ph.D. During the training, I was especially struck by the live demonstrations and the depth of nervous system change that could occur with a focused, attuned approach. Experiencing Brainspotting myself further deepened my understanding of its impact.
I began integrating Brainspotting into my clinical work right away, finding it to be a gentle, intuitive method that often allows clients to access and process experiences beyond words. Many clients notice a sense of relief, clarity, or internal shift that feels different from traditional talk therapy. Brainspotting also integrates seamlessly with supportive talk therapy, allowing us to move fluidly between verbal processing and nervous system–based work, based on what feels most helpful in the moment. There is always space to reflect, ask questions, and make sense of what’s coming up—at a pace that feels safe and collaborative.
My Brainspotting work includes approaches such as Inside and Outside Window, GazeSpotting, ResourceSpotting, PartSpotting, and DreamSpotting. I also participate in ongoing Brainspotting peer consultation to support ethical, effective, and thoughtful use of this method. As a lifelong learner, I remain committed to continued training, education, and consultation in Brainspotting. And while technique matters, I always hold the therapeutic relationship as central—because feeling secure, understood, and supported is what allows this work to unfold.
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If you're curious about Brainspotting therapy, it’s important to work with a therapist you feel comfortable with and trust. If you're considering this approach, here’s what the process typically looks like:
The first step is scheduling a brief consultation call here. This gives us a chance to talk about what you're hoping to work through and whether Brainspotting may be a good fit for your needs. If we decide to move forward, we’ll schedule your intake session during that call. At that time, I will also collect a form of payment to hold your appointment.
Within about 24 hours after scheduling, you’ll receive your intake paperwork through your email. These forms help me understand your background, current concerns, and therapy goals. I ask that the paperwork be completed at least 48 hours before your intake session so I have time to review everything thoughtfully before we meet.
During the intake session, we’ll explore what has been bringing you to therapy and discuss how Brainspotting may fit into your treatment goals. From there, we’ll develop a treatment plan and begin the therapy process, integrating Brainspotting when it aligns with your goals and readiness.