Brainspotting

[sanmagic7]

hi, all,

i've recently been hearing of a new modality for trauma treatment called Brainspotting.  from what i've read, it seems to be a gentle, non-intrusive means to help people pinpoint a traumatic experience w/o having to relive it in its original intensity, and release physical and emotional toxins and impact.  its premise is that trauma is stored not only in the brain, but in the body as well.

from what i could garner on the internet, i tried a version of it on myself, and did have some positive results (i usually use myself as a guinea pig w/ these kinds of things if possible).

it's supposed to be helpful for trauma, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and somatic issues.  therapists can be trained in this, and i just read there are more than 8,000 t's who have gone thru the training in the U.S.  don't know if it's available in other countries.  has anyone else heard of this or tried it? 

love and hugs to you.

[Three Roses]

I've seen it mentioned but didn't read up on it. Do you need specialized equipment?

[Kizzie]

I haven't heard of it San but am interested in any therapy that involves the body vs just the brain.

[Blueberry]

my T uses it, but not with me. He did try it out, not on anything traumatic, but he discarded it fast. If I remember correctly, he had a pointer which he moved around a bit and my eyes were to follow. I didn't notice anything happening emotionally and he obviously didn't get any result, so decided on Screen Processing for me, which I have described elsewhere.

[sanmagic7]

3r, like blueberry mentioned, there's a pointer involved, and i've also read that it used bilateral sounds (some emdr t's put headphones on their clients and have beeps that you hear in one ear, then the other).  when i did it on myself this morning, i tapped the arms of my chair hard enough to make a noise, one then the other.

when i took my nap, i had 2 dreams about my ex, which was who i'd focused on this morning.  not good dreams, but not nightmares, either.  it feels like something moved that's been stuck for quite a while.  i've had a hard time the past several months getting rid of neg. thoughts and emotions about him.  i'm hoping this might calm some of that down, as well as allowing my body to relax somewhat, instead of it always being in a defensive, tension-filled position. 

i'll do it again. 

blueberry, like any modality, it won't necessarily work the same for everyone.  it seems that your screen processing has been bringing you good results, so i'm glad your t had that in his toolbox for you.

kizzie, there are quite a few canadians in the emdr network, so i wouldn't be surprised to find some who have been trained in this.

thanks for your responses.  love and hugs to all.   

[Elphanigh]

San, I have heard of and read about it. My T before I moved mentioned it as she was getting that training and starting to use it with other clients. Said it was really effective with repeated/complex trauma. I am personally really curious to try it myself when I go back to therapy, and hopefully get trained in it as well.

Let me know how it goes for you

[Kizzie]

Yes, plse let us know San 

[sanmagic7]

hey, el and kizzie,

as i said before, i did try a sort-of version on myself, and i felt movement w/in my mind.  i had 2 dreams following my experiment,pertinent to what i had targeted, and that tells me that something shifted.  neither of those 2 targets have bothered me again, but other remembrances (re: my ex) have since come to the forefront of my consciousness.  i will do it again at some point (am recovering right now from a bunch of stress) as i do believe it helped.  plus, the bad dreams weren't nightmares, which i've had about him in the recent past.  i consider that to be some progress as well.

on another note, i just heard that francine shapiro, the creator of emdr has died.  i'm now grieving this as well.  one more stress thing to lay on the pile i'm dealing with.  she will leave an emptiness in the world of trauma healing that will never quite be filled the same way again.  brainspotting was conceived by an emdr therapist, and the bilateral stimulation is a component of emdr.  her work in the field of trauma healing has such far-reaching effects on clients around the world.  and, i had personal contact w/ her as she did one of the training components that i attended.   she will be sorely missed. 

love and hugs to you all.

[Blueberry]

  to you in your mourning, san.

[Kizzie]

Really sorry to hear about the founder of EMDR.   

JUst wanted to mention that I found the EMDR I did last time to stop being so caught up in Trump's N behav did "shift" me out of all that, it's a good word to describe what it felt like San     I was stuck, then something shifted and I was unstuck (so thankful as no-one should live with DT in their head all day every day).  It's why I would try it or another approach like brainspotting again.   

[sanmagic7]

thank you for your well wishes, blueberry and kizzie.  i tried going on the emdr forum yesterday, but it was broken.  she touched the lives of so many so profoundly.

i did a second round of my adulterated version of brainspotting, but i'm seeing it in a very pos. light.  i focused on some extremely neg. thoughts/feelings i've been having toward my ex - i've never, to my recollection - hated anyone before.  i did 2 sets, and both times i involuntarily bent over, as if i was going to vomit (however, i had no physical feelings of nausea or anything, just bent at my waist).  i wanted to connect them to a pain in my side, see if i could reduce that.

don't know about the pain yet, but the thoughts and emotions are now relegated to the nebulous arena.  i am not now able to fully form in a concrete manner, those intrusive thoughts/feelings that would come unbidden in the past and that i had to mentally scream STOP!!! several times before i'd have some peace in my mind.  it's quite different, quite calm.  when i've attempted to bring those feelings back, it was, again, like my mind just started skipping around and wouldn't fully land on them.

as a bonus, 2 days ago, i woke up and consciously thought 'i am safe now', something i haven't actually felt since i was 2 (a tangible memory).  that was so surprising, i told my d right away.  i still feel that.  i did a smudging afterwards, released the negativity, and had some dreams that i can't remember, but today i feel stronger, more stable, than i have in quite a while. 

i'm going to keep on doing this, maybe once a week or so, let my mind/brain settle between episodes.  so far, tho, i'm giving it a  .  i don't know what it would be like w/ someone trained in this, or if i'm able to tolerate this because i've been working on my * for some time now, or what.  i do know that changes are happening, and they're good ones, so i'll take it.    love and  to you all.

[Tee]

  glad you found something that's working.

[sanmagic7]

thanks, tee.  me, too.