Phase 1 Training

Phase 1 training will cover working with clients both traditionally in-person, as well as online.

The training is fully credited towards certification.

Brainspotting is both an in-person and effective online therapeutic modality/psychotherapy and the training will incorporate not only the key principles of Brainspotting but also the experiential embodied practice of working with others online using Brainspotting techniques and the core principles of dual attunement.

Yes, BSPUK offers both online and in-person trainings.  

Since the recent global events and developments in technology, we have moved more towards working effectively with clients online. This can be a new experience and an unfamiliar way of working for many of us. The training has been designed to acknowledge this and support you in delivering quality online therapy to our clients.

After Phase 1 Brainspotting training, you will have the basic skills and understanding to bring this to your practice.  Please note that this training is not a therapy training and is to be integrated into your previous skills, trainings and supervision support networks.  

See this David Grand mini video https://vimeo.com/186019577

Brainspotting makes use of natural phenomenon through its use of relevant eye positions. This helps the Brainspotting therapist locate, focus, process and release a wide range of emotional and bodily-based conditions.

Brainspotting is also a brain-based tool to support the therapy relationship. We believe that Brainspotting taps into and harnesses the body’s natural self-scanning, self-healing ability. When a Brainspot is stimulated, the deep brain appears to reflexively signal the therapist that the source of the issue has been found.

Brainspotting can also be used to find and strengthen our natural resources and resilience. Brainspotting is designed as a therapeutic tool that can be integrated into many of the healing modalities.

Therapists are continually learning and growing. Brainspotting allows the therapist to expand their tool sets. It opens the door for a therapist to be able to upgrade to what they are already doing or make a breakthrough into a whole other way of doing things and understanding things.  As therapists, we often feel that we are truly attuned to our clients.  This training takes this to a whole other level.

Brainspotting therapy can work for anyone. Brainspotting gives the therapist access to both the brain and body. The goal is to bypass the conscious thinking processes of the neo-cortex to get to the deeper more emotional and body-based processes from the sub-cortex part of the brain. Brainspotting can be the primary mode of treatment or it can be integrated in with the expertise that is already being provided. 

There are currently 4 Phases of Brainspotting training.  There are also Masterclasses and numerous speciality workshops.  After completing Phase 1, you are in a good position to attend any of the other trainings as works for you.

Phase 1 is the first step towards completing your certifications. See all the certification requirements here.

Brainspotting is a powerful therapeutic approach known for its effectiveness in healing trauma. By targeting specific eye positions called Brainspots, Brainspotting accesses and processes trauma-related neural networks in the brain and body.

Through the dual attunement process between the therapist and client, a safe space is created for the unconscious mind to naturally process and release trauma. With resourcing techniques and a focus on somatic experiences, Brainspotting allows for holistic healing.

As trauma is released, clients experience integration, relief, and empowerment, leading to positive behavioral and emotional changes. Certified therapists facilitate this transformative healing process, providing personalized care tailored to each individual’s needs and experiences.

This is an excellent question often asked to us at BSPUK.  EMDR has been a huge development in making psychotherapy more effective and powerful.  Indeed, David Grand, founder of Brainspotting was using a form of EMDR when he discovered Brainspotting.  

EMDR could be said to be one of the most embodied forms of psychotherapy as it brings more focus onto the client’s physiological state as a gateway into the emotional world. 

Brainspotting then builds on this to deeper and profound levels through using not moving, but still eye positions that appear to access specific neural networks with laser-like accuracy that are then processed towards healing.  You could say that all profound healing is only as good as relational attunement.  Brainspotting takes this to a whole new level and instead of focussing on a range of protocols, the client is what you truly follow.  Through a deepening sense of trust, there becomes a divine sense of oneness that is immensely powerful in approaching healing in a safe and resourced way.  

It has been interesting to see an explosion in how therapists are further developing their skills in using parts work in psychotherapy.  The latest development in this, IFS, has really become popular as it is clear to understand and apply in practice.  Brainspotting is a ‘parts model’ and when working with parts it is not uncommon to be able to help the client towards recognising that they are complex beings with many parts and identities.  As they appreciate this richness a more mindful relationship is developed which can create a ‘non-attachment’ to the part in a way that can feel empowering and liberating.  Brainspottng can then identify specific brainspots that run in parallel with this part, obtain a deep embodied connection and then process them through.  Brainspotting takes parts work to a whole new level to deep subcortical processing as the all-important implicit parts process along those that are more explicit.  It’s amazing!