Introduction to Brainspotting (3 CE credits)

Presented by Lisa Larson, LMFT This Introduction to Brainspotting mini-course introduces students to the theory, research, and best practices of Brainspotting, how it works to heal trauma and other mental health conditions, education on the importance of reaching the deepest regions of the brain in order to have resolution, and the basic ‘frames’ or techniques used to engage clients via a specific eye position, or “Brainspot,” so that they can process their trauma and be relieved of other diagnoses and mental health issues such as PTSD, Depression, and Anxiety. "Brainspotting" is a powerful, brain-based trauma therapy that bridges the gap between the mind and the body. Brainspotting accesses the deepest regions of the brain where traumatized clients store their traumas and survival terror. It works by identifying, processing and releasing core neurophysiological sources of emotional and body pain, trauma, dissociation, anxiety, and other challenging symptoms. Symptoms of unprocessed trauma, which include chronic anxiety, insomnia, and numbing are notoriously difficult to eliminate through talk therapy. Brainspotting is adaptable to almost all areas of specialization. It provides therapists with powerful tools which enable their clients to quickly and effectively focus and process through deep brain sources of many emotional, somatic, cognitive, relational and performance problems. Attention is given in this course to the utilization and integration of Brainspotting into ongoing treatment, including highly dissociative clients. Two peer reviewed studies demonstrated that Brainspotting was as effective as EMDR for reducing PTSD symptoms and Generalized Anxiety Disorder symptoms. "Brainspotting" was voted the most effective trauma treatment by the parents and survivors of the Sandy Hook massacre after a five-year study comparing over 25 therapeutic modalities.