Brainspotting is a brain-based therapy that uses eye position and music/sounds to access the brain's innate self-scanning and self-healing capacities. Sources of emotional pain, traumatic experiences and a variety of challenging symptoms are released with this modality.
As far as psychotherapies go, Brainspotting is relatively new with its accidental discovery and then further development by Dr. David Grand in 2003. The idea is that we hold our pain in certain parts of our brain which can then be accessed with our eyes. The motto of Brainspotting is, "Where you look affects how you feel."
Let me put this into Layman's terms: Whenever you walk into a room, you orient yourself with your surroundings. You look to see where people are, where the exit is, where you can sit, if there's a dog nearby, if there's something on the ground that would impede you from getting by. Well likewise, your brain is constantly scanning and orienting itself internally, unbeknownst to you, making sure it's safe and free of danger. Unfortunately, when we've experienced traumatic events in life, it's hard for our brains to differentiate harm from safety, so the brain is constantly on alert. The memories from these traumatic events become trapped in certain parts of our brains. Brainspotting works to dislodge these memories from those spots and release the trapped energy that is holding you back from living more fully.
Brainspotting was originally developed for PTSD, but it is also effective and helpful for depression, anxiety, anger control issues, stress, relationship issues, negative self-esteem, compulsive behaviors and so much more.
Brainspotting is a brain-based therapy, which means we're looking at the way the brain is functioning as a complex organ, and we're keeping in mind its ability to change and rewire itself. "Brainspotting allows us to harness the brain's natural ability for self-scanning so we can activate, locate and process the sources of trauma and distress in the body," explains Dr. Grand.
For more information, go to: https://brainspotting.pro/page/what-brainspotting
About Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is an approach to psychotherapy that identifies and addresses multiple sub-personalities or families within each person’s mental system. These sub-personalities consist of wounded parts and painful emotions such as anger and shame, and parts that try to control and protect the person from the pain of the wounded parts. The sub-personalities are often in conflict with each other and with one’s core Self, a concept that describes the confident, compassionate, whole person that is at the core of every individual. IFS focuses on healing the wounded parts and restoring mental balance and harmony by changing the dynamics that create discord among the sub-personalities and the Self.
For more information about IFS, go to: https://ifs-institute.com/
About Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
The theories and techniques that distinguish psychodynamic therapy from other types of therapy include a focus on recognizing, acknowledging, understanding, expressing, and overcoming negative and contradictory feelings and repressed emotions in order to improve the patient’s interpersonal experiences and relationships. This includes helping the patient understand how repressed earlier emotions affect current decision-making, behavior, and relationships. Psychodynamic therapy also aims to help those who are aware of and understand the origins of their social difficulties, but are not able to overcome their problems on their own. Patients learn to analyze and resolve their current issues and change their behavior in current relationships through this deep exploration and analysis of earlier experiences and emotions.
For more information, go to: https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2010/01/psychodynamic-therapy
About Attachment-Based Psychotherapy
Attachment-based therapy is a brief, process-oriented form of psychological counseling. The client-therapist relationship is based on developing or rebuilding trust and centers on expressing emotions. An attachment-based approach to therapy looks at the connection between an infant’s early attachment experiences with primary caregivers, usually with parents, and the infant’s ability to develop normally and ultimately form healthy emotional and physical relationships as an adult. Attachment-based therapy aims to build or rebuild a trusting, supportive relationship that will help prevent or treat anxiety or depression.
For more information, go to: https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/attachment-based-family-therapy