Unlocking Healing Beyond Words: How Brainspotting Helps You Access Deeper Emotional Relief

A woman gazing at the sunset

What Is Brainspotting?

Brainspotting is a powerful brain-body therapy that helps people access and resolve deeply held emotional and physical stress — often when traditional talk therapy can only go so far.

Developed by Dr. David Grand, Brainspotting uses a simple but profound process: your eyes are connected to your brain’s processing centers. Where you look can directly affect how you feel. By finding a “brainspot” — an eye position linked to an unresolved issue — we can help your brain and body process stuck emotional material.

As Dr. Grand says, “Where you look affects how you feel.”

This method can uncover and release stress stored in the subconscious and nervous system, allowing healing to unfold beyond what words can reach.

Brainspotting Is Precision EMDR

Brainspotting emerged from the field of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and is often considered an evolution of it — one that offers even greater precision and depth.

Dr. David Grand, an experienced EMDR therapist, discovered that when a client focused on a specific spot in their visual field — particularly when combined with biolateral music (which alternates sounds between the left and right ears to engage both brain hemispheres) — something remarkable happened: their brain began to process unresolved trauma with greater intensity, clarity, and speed.

While EMDR typically guides the eyes through a series of horizontal movements to stimulate both hemispheres of the brain, Brainspotting allows the therapist and client to locate one exact visual “spot” that holds a connection to a subconscious or somatic memory.

This focused gaze helps the brain go directly to the root of the issue, unlocking stuck stress patterns that may be hard to reach through talk therapy or standard EMDR protocols.

Experts trained in both modalities often report that Brainspotting allows for deeper, more intuitive resolution — especially for trauma, anxiety, performance blocks, and chronic physical symptoms.

Another strength of Brainspotting is its flexibility. It can be creatively integrated with other healing approaches such as somatic coaching, nervous system regulation tools, and energy work like Reiki — allowing for a holistic, personalized experience that meets clients exactly where they are.

How It Works: Tapping Into the Subconscious

When you experience something overwhelming, your brain stores not just the memory, but also the felt sense — the body’s imprint of the experience. These stress patterns can live on in your nervous system long after the event is over, contributing to anxiety, emotional reactivity, fatigue, pain, or a sense of being “stuck.”

Brainspotting allows us to gently access these subconscious patterns — without needing to talk about the event in detail. Once your “brainspot” is located, we sit together in compassionate presence as your system processes and releases what’s been held.

This process engages the deep brain and body systems (including the brainstem and midbrain), allowing for healing from the inside out.

What Can Brainspotting Help With?

Brainspotting is a flexible and powerful method that supports a wide range of issues, including:

• Trauma (including developmental, medical, or relational)

• Anxiety and panic

• Grief and loss

• Chronic pain or tension

• Fatigue and burnout

• Self-sabotaging patterns

• Perfectionism and high-achiever stress

• Creativity blocks and performance anxiety

Because it works beneath the surface, Brainspotting is especially helpful for people who say:

“I’ve done a lot of therapy, but I still feel stuck.” “I can’t explain why I react this way — it just happens.” “My body feels wired, but I can’t turn it off.”

Why Brainspotting Feels So Different

Unlike many structured therapies, Brainspotting is client-led. There’s no pressure to “do it right.” You’re supported in following the natural unfolding of your inner world — at your pace, with curiosity and care.

People often report feeling:

• A deep sense of calm or relief afterward

• Spontaneous shifts in perspective or emotion

• Increased connection to their body, breath, and intuition

It’s healing that doesn’t require retelling — just being present with what arises.

Ready to Try It?

Whether you’re dealing with chronic stress, emotional exhaustion, or simply seeking a deeper connection with your body and inner self, Brainspotting can help you reset from the inside out.

At Retune Health, I blend Brainspotting with somatic coaching, trauma-informed care, and nervous system support to create a safe, personalized path toward healing and vitality.

You don’t have to relive it to release it.You just need a space that helps your body feel safe enough to let go.

Curious if Brainspotting might be right for you?

👉 Book a free consultation or explore more on my Services Page.

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✍️ About the Author

Andrea Goodwin is a Somatic Coach and the founder of Retune Health, a science-backed, heart-centered wellness practice that helps high achievers and wellness seekers regulate their nervous systems, release subconscious stress patterns, and restore balance in body, mind, and spirit.

With over 20 years of experience as a healthcare executive, Andrea brings a unique blend of real-world leadership, clinical insight, and holistic care to her work. Because burnout and overwhelm show up in our bodies, minds, and energy, she offers deeply personalized, mind-body-spirit support to help clients feel more grounded, clear, and alive — often in ways they never thought possible.

Through 1:1 sessions, group programs, and integrative experiences, Andrea guides clients toward a more intuitive, connected, and joyful way of being.

🌿 Explore sessions or subscribe to the newsletter at www.retunehealth.com

📍 Based in the northwest suburbs of Chicago | Virtual sessions available worldwide