What Is Brainspotting? A Guide to This Healing Tool

Brainspotting has come up in enough conversations and questions lately that it's worth a dedicated explanation. Here's what it actually is, what a session looks like, and what to know before booking.

What Brainspotting Is

Brainspotting, often shortened to BSP, is a body-based approach developed by Dr. David Grand, built around the idea that where you look affects how you feel. It works with eye position and bodily sensation to help access the parts of the brain connected to stress responses, the places where difficult experiences often get stored beneath conscious awareness.

Brainspotting is offered at The Soul Work Center as its own distinct service, separate from psychic readings. It draws on my training and certification as a Certified Brainspotting Practitioner, alongside my clinical background as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), not on intuitive or psychic work.

What a Session Actually Involves

A typical session starts with a brief check-in and some goal-setting: what you'd like to focus on that day. From there, you're guided to hold your gaze on a specific point, or moving between spots, while noticing what comes up in your body, sensations, emotions, or images. That point of focus is called a "brainspot."

You don't need to narrate the details of a difficult experience out loud if you don't want to. Brainspotting emphasizes body-based processing over verbal recounting, so you can work with sensations and images rather than the story itself, though some clients do find it helpful to talk through what's coming up as they go.

Sessions typically run sixty or ninety minutes and are offered both in person in Scarborough and online.

What Brainspotting May Support

Brainspotting is commonly used by people working through stress responses connected to difficult or overwhelming experiences, including trauma, anxiety, chronic tension, and patterns that feel hard to shift through talking alone. Many clients describe feeling calmer, clearer, or less reactive after a course of sessions.

Brainspotting sessions alone are not a substitute for medical, psychiatric, or ongoing clinical mental health treatment. If you're working through significant trauma for the first time, it's strongly recommended that you also work with a licensed mental health provider alongside Brainspotting sessions.

How Brainspotting Differs From a Psychic Reading

This is worth being direct about: Brainspotting and a psychic reading are two completely separate services. Brainspotting is a clinical, body-based technique grounded in my LCSW training. A psychic reading draws on intuitive perception and is not a clinical service at all. The two are never combined into a single appointment, and one is never framed as a substitute for the other.

If you're not sure which service fits what you're looking for I offer free 15-minute consultation calls. We can discuss your needs and the best offering for you at this time.

FAQ

Do I have to talk about a traumatic event in detail during a session?

No. Brainspotting emphasizes body-based processing. You're encouraged to share as much or as little as feels right, and quiet processing without narration is a normal, valid way to work.

How many sessions will I need?

This varies by person. Some clients notice a shift after a single session; others benefit from ongoing sessions over weeks or months. There's no fixed number that applies to everyone.

Can Brainspotting be combined with therapy I'm already doing?

Yes. Brainspotting is often used alongside ongoing work with another licensed provider, and that combination is generally recommended if you're processing significant or complex trauma.

Is Brainspotting the same as a psychic reading?

No. They are separate services with different foundations, a psychic reading is intuitive work, and Brainspotting is a clinical, body-based technique. They are never combined in the same session.

Do I need to be in Maine to do Brainspotting with you?

No. Brainspotting is offered online as well as in person in Scarborough, and works effectively through a secure telehealth platform.

Ready When You Are

If you've been curious about Brainspotting, or you've heard about it from someone who's tried it, hopefully this gives you a clearer, grounded picture of what it actually involves.

Learn More or Book a Brainspotting Session → | Learn more about Sarah →

In light,

Sarah