Brainspotting Therapy in Oakland and the East Bay

Brainspotting is one of the newer tools in my practice, and one I've found genuinely useful, particularly for clients who've hit a wall with other approaches, or who find that their most significant material sits below the level where talking can easily reach it.

It's closely related to EMDR, which is the modality I use most. Both work with the nervous system's stored responses to difficult experiences. But where EMDR tends to be more structured and directive, Brainspotting is slower, more body-focused, and gives the client's own processing system more room to lead. Some clients respond better to one than the other; some benefit from both.

Where It Comes From

Brainspotting was developed by Dr. David Grand in 2003, out of his work with EMDR. He noticed that when a client's gaze paused at a particular spot in their visual field, it correlated with a strong emotional or physical activation. This led to a core hypothesis: where you look affects what you feel, and certain eye positions appear to access specific neural networks where emotionally significant material is stored.

The name you may encounter on my navigation, "Visual Field Processing," refers to the same approach. I use that term alongside "Brainspotting" because it's more descriptive of what's actually happening, but the two are interchangeable. (I like the modality, I have never cared for the name “Brainspotting.”)

What a Session Involves

In a Brainspotting session, we first identify something to work with — a feeling, a memory, a physical sensation, or a situation that carries emotional weight. I then help you locate a specific point in your visual field where that activation is strongest or most resonant. Once we find it, you hold your gaze there while I support you in simply noticing whatever arises — thoughts, feelings, images, body sensations — without trying to direct or analyze the experience.

Most sessions also involve bilateral audio stimulation through headphones, which appears to enhance processing in a way similar to EMDR.

The experience is often subtle at first and deepens over time. Many clients describe a sense of something shifting or releasing, often without being entirely sure what happened — which can feel strange for analytically-minded people who like to understand their own process. I find that clients who can tolerate sitting with that ambiguity tend to get the most out of Brainspotting.

What Brainspotting Can Help With

I use Brainspotting with clients dealing with:

  • Anxiety that feels physically held — in the chest, the gut, the throat

  • Performance issues and anxiety in professional or creative contexts

  • Substance use driven by emotional states the client finds hard to tolerate

  • Emotional material that has been difficult to access through talking or cognitive approaches

  • Trauma and PTSD, including complex or developmental trauma

  • Somatic symptoms connected to stress or past experiences

  • It's particularly well-suited for clients who feel like they've processed something intellectually but haven't felt it change in their body.

Working With Me

I see clients in person in Oakland and via telehealth throughout California. I work outside of insurance, which means fully confidential care without third-party involvement. I offer a free 20-minute consultation if you'd like to learn more about whether this approach might be a fit.