Next NAMI program at The Commons will look at ‘Brainspotting’
“Where you look affects how you feel,” discovered Dr. David Grand, PhD. in 2003 when he developed his psychotherapeutic technique called Brainspotting. It is used to help a client access unprocessed trauma by using eye gaze and subcortical brain activity to locate the spot deep within the subcortex where emotional pain is experienced.
“Where in the visual field does it feel worse as you follow my pointer with your eyes?” a therapist might ask as you talk about your difficult issue. This is the method used to locate the spot in your subcortical brain related to pain.
The neurobiological approach is a brain, body, mindfulness-based relational therapy. The role of the client-therapist comes first, hence the strength of the relational piece. The brain, body, and mindfulness therapies are layered together with the relational therapy to form a psychodynamic approach.
Brain-based research has found Brainspotting to be remarkably effective with PTSD, simple and complex traumas, anxiety and depression issues. The technique is exposed to continuous brain-science research throughout the world as there are 12,000 therapists and 48 trainers on seven continents.
David Grand is a clinical psychologist and author of “Emotional Healing at Warp Speed” and “Brainspotting: The Revolutionary New Therapy for Rapid and Effective Change.” On Thursday, May 9 at 1 p.m. at The Commons at Central Hall his video presentation “Healing Trauma with Brainspotting” will be presented by NAMI Piscataquis County.
Grand exudes a deep commitment to his work to help people move from dysregulation to regulation in their lives. Using a life-size model of the brain, he teaches clients how the brain works to relieve the self-blame and guilt they may feel for their problems. He travels to Newtown, Connecticut annually to work with those who still are troubled with the trauma of the school shooting five years ago.
The presentation on May 9 is rich in information about brain function and the coordination with eye movements to explain how Brainspotting works. Grand uses excellent slides and his brain model for explanation to relate new insights about the workings of the subcortical region of the brain. The program is intended for professionals and others with intense interest in or some knowledge of psychotherapeutic practices. If you are fascinated by the workings of the brain, you will surely enjoy this program.
To register for this free, stimulating program, call 924-7903 or write to nami.piscataquis@gmail.com.