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Brainspotting works by activating the limbic brain, the emotional center of the brain, through focused eye positions. As the eyes hold on a spot, the midbrain is engaged, allowing emotions, memories, and thoughts to surface into conscious awareness. This can help to release and reprocess traumatic events and experiences that are "stuck" in the nervous system.




What is Shadow Work?

Carl Jung emphasized the importance of integrating the shadow, which includes the repressed and undeveloped parts of our personality. The shadow can show up in dreams and fantasies, and through projections onto other people. To integrate the shadow, Jung recommended engaging in shadow work.


Shadow work involves becoming aware of and making conscious the parts of ourselves we have disowned and repressed. This allows us to develop a more balanced and whole personality. Jung believed shadow work was necessary for individuation, the process of achieving wholeness and self-realization.


How Brainspotting Facilitates Shadow Work

Brainspotting is a powerful tool for shadow work because it helps you access deep subconscious memories and emotions.


Releasing Repressed Emotions

Once a brainspot is located, you keep your eyes fixed on the spot while you reflect and/or report any sensations, images, thoughts or feelings that arise. This helps release emotions you've repressed- like pain, fear, anger or sadness. Allowing and experiencing these deeply hidden feelings can be intense, but it's profoundly healing.


Gaining Awareness and Insight

Brainspotting also helps you gain awareness and insight into how past experiences influence your thoughts and behaviors today. As you access old "stuck" stuff, you may gain clarity into unhealthy patterns or limiting beliefs you've carried for years without realizing it. This awareness is the first step to overcoming the shadows of your past.


Finding Inner Peace

Releasing trapped emotions and gaining self-awareness ultimately helps you find inner peace. Brainspotting can help fully process negative influences from your past, allowing you to show up more fully in the present. When you free yourself from past shadows, you open up space for more light and joy.


Brainspotting is a transformative technique for shadow work. By helping you access and release deep-seated emotions and gain insight into the roots of your pain, it illuminates your shadows and helps you step into the light of your true self.



Brainspotting, Explained

Brainspotting is a psychotherapy modality where clients learn to process emotions by focusing their visual attention. Brainspotting provides a direct line of access into the unconscious mind. By illuminating our metaphorical shadowy places, we gain awareness and understanding about hidden parts of ourselves which can then be integrated, leading to greater wholeness and well-being.



There are two main things that happen in Brainspotting:


1. Locating a ‘brainspot’

To begin, the therapist will have you scan your field of vision to locate a spot that feels emotionally charged or activates a felt sense of your issue. This could be any spot that draws your attention. Focusing on this spot helps access unconscious material.


2. Holding the brainspot

Once you’ve located a brainspot, you hold your gaze on that spot as feelings, memories, thoughts or sensations emerge. This holding of the brainspot, along with the therapist’s guidance, helps you gain awareness and process the material that surfaces. By locating and focusing on brainspots, deep unconscious material can emerge and be processed without the client needing to verbally describe memories or experiences. Brainspotting gives the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” a whole new meaning. Through this visual doorway, profound healing and insight can occur.


Brainspotting can help you gain access to your shadow self in a gentle, supportive way. Give yourself permission to explore whatever comes up, embrace it with compassion, and begin the process of integrating these parts of yourself. Over time, brainspotting can help illuminate your shadows, reduce their influence over you, and allow you to reclaim lost parts of your whole self.


References

Casement, A. (2012). The shadow. In The handbook of Jungian psychology (pp. 94-112). Routledge.

Grand, D. (2013). Brainspotting: The Revolutionary New Therapy for Rapid and Effective Change. Sounds True.



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