Brainspotting vs. EMDR
- Rachel Safadi
- Mar 4, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 6, 2021

Brainspotting vs. EMDR: What’s the Difference?
EMDR and brainspotting are two popular therapeutic techniques. Both are used to alleviate symptoms caused by anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Often considered to be “power therapies” for people working through past traumas, these tools can provide much-needed insight into the psychological issues that often lead to stress, anger, and procrastination.
There’s no doubt that EMDR and brainspotting can be incredibly effective in addressing these concerns. Understanding the difference between these therapies can help you decide which is right for your needs.
How Brainspotting Works
Where you look affects what you feel.
That’s the power philosophy behind brainspotting. Developed in 2003 by Dr. David Grand, this technique was originally designed to help survivors of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks and those who lived through Hurricane Katrina. Brainspotting, also known as BSP, allows therapists to tap into the deepest parts of a person’s brain. Simply moving your eyes to certain positions allows you to access unprocessed trauma.
During a brainspotting session, a therapist may ask you to move your eyes to different “brainspots.” Therapists trained in brainspotting know how to identify the source of an issue through reflex signals given off by the limbic system. This may include shifting of your body weight, changes in your facial expressions, yawning, coughing, or twitching. By focusing on a particular brainspot, you can access deep parts of the brain, allowing you to process and release trauma for good.
How EMDR Works
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing – better known as EMDR – also involves eye movements and trauma stored in the brain. Hand clapping and audio stimulation are also sometimes used in EMDR. Primarily used to overcome negative symptoms associated with PTSD, EMDR can also help with self-esteem issues, eating disorders, panic attacks, anxiety and depression.
EMDR helps people by unblocking their emotions and healing their brains from painful memories and fears. Treatment typically involves eight phases to address the past, present, and future. At its core, EMDR targets difficult memories and challenges you to identify positive and negative beliefs you have about them. Rating those beliefs on how true they are sets EMDR stimulation into motion.
Similarities and Differences
Both of these techniques help you reprocess information, memories, and difficult emotions. Both EMDR and brainspotting allow you access to information stored in the amygdala, an area of the brain that can’t be accessed verbally. Both use bilateral stimulation. But that’s where the similarities between EMDR and brainspotting end.
Brainspotting accesses the brain in a very focused way that can be used with almost any person. EMDR, on the other hand, can be overstimulating for some. EMDR follows a very specific protocol, while brainspotting is considered to be more flexible. The biggest difference, though, lies in the visual differences experienced by the client. Brainspotting usually focuses on a fixed eye position. EMDR is done with rapid eye movements.
When to Try Brainspotting or EMDR
If you feel you’ve hit a wall with traditional talk therapy, EMDR and brainspotting can provide solutions. While it may seem strange to connect the movement or placement of your eyes back to trauma you’ve experienced, the proof is in the pudding. Countless individuals have benefitted from these modalities through the years. If you’re hoping to process past trauma and gain new perspective, consider giving brainspotting or EMDR a try.
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