Brainspotting: How Your Eyes Help You Heal
by Ashlea Kielar, Brainspotting Therapist, LPC-IT
Let’s start with an exercise.
Take a moment to visualize a time when words alone felt too difficult to capture an experience. You might picture yourself talking with friends, writing a report, or even sitting across from your therapist in a session.
As you hold that moment in your mind, notice your eyes. Are they fixed on a certain spot in the room? Do they shift across points in your surroundings? What you may be noticing is the same phenomenon that David Grand, PhD—founder of Brainspotting—discovered in session: that our gaze can access deep, meaningful parts of the brain.
Brainspotting in Milwaukee, WI
Brainspotting uses eye-positioning to activate the subcortical brain, which governs our instincts, emotions, and other unconscious processes. This technique brings deeply stored trauma into awareness so it can be processed and released.
What is Brainspotting?
Brainspotting is a powerful, brain-based therapy developed by David Grand, PhD in 2003. It explores the connection between eye position and emotional activation to help process trauma stored deep in the brain. By accessing the subcortical brain, Brainspotting allows for the identification and release of unresolved trauma, emotional pain, physical distress, and dissociation—often without the need for verbal processing.
At Forward Healing Therapy in Wauwatosa, WI, Brainspotting is one of our core trauma-informed approaches to healing.
So, How Does It Work?
“The technique was simple, but the response was complex.” — David Grand, PhD
Here’s what a typical Brainspotting session looks like:
Your therapist helps you identify an emotionally activating memory, thought, or feeling while holding a safe, grounded space.
Together, you locate a “brainspot”—a visual point that triggers an internal response.
Once the brainspot is found, your gaze remains fixed as you begin to process bodily sensations, emotions, and memories that surface.
As your brain processes, your body may begin to release long-held trauma naturally.
One unique aspect of Brainspotting is that it often does not rely on talking. After identifying the brainspot, much of the session may occur in silence—allowing your brain and body to do the healing work from within.
Brainspotting in Wauwatosa, WI: A Flexible Healing Tool
At Forward Healing Therapy, we offer Brainspotting both in-person at our Wauwatosa office and through virtual telehealth sessions across Wisconsin. This modality is effective in treating trauma, anxiety, depression, dissociative symptoms, and more.
Are Brainspotting and EMDR the Same?
Brainspotting and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) are both somatic therapies designed to process trauma. While they share similarities—such as their use of eye movements and body-based processing—they differ in their structure and approach:
EMDR uses bilateral eye movement in a structured, step-by-step format to help clients reprocess traumatic memories.
Brainspotting, on the other hand, is more fluid and intuitive. It focuses on a single eye position to tap into the brain’s emotional activation, often without requiring words or cognitive effort.
Both are evidence-based, effective trauma therapies. Choosing between them depends on your needs and preferences.
Final Thoughts: Is Brainspotting Right for You?
If traditional talk therapy hasn’t helped you reach the root of your trauma, or if you're simply curious about a new approach to healing, Brainspotting may be a powerful next step. By accessing areas of the brain previously thought unreachable, Brainspotting offers a nonverbal, body-centered path to relief.
To learn more about Brainspotting therapy in Wauwatosa, WI, reach out to Ashlea Kielar at ashleakielar@forwardhealingtherapy.com, or fill out our contact form at www.forwardhealingtherapy.com.