Brainspotting for Neurodivergent Trauma Burbank, Pasadena, and Virtual California

A Gentle, Sensory-Friendly Approach to Healing for Autistic, ADHD, and Highly Sensitive Adults

While you may intellectually understand your history, talk therapy often hits a ceiling because it stays in the analytical parts of the brain. Brainspotting bypasses this "chatter" to reach the subcortical root, using your visual field to directly process and unburden the physical trauma that words cannot touch.

Whether the Internal Narrator is distracting you or your system feels a nameless "heavy" charge, we use your visual field to locate the exact spots where your brain holds stress.

By holding a focused eye position, we create a steady anchor that allows the midbrain to metabolize tension at its source finally.

Dry wild grasses and thistle plants at sunset with a partly cloudy sky and the sun near the horizon.
Traditional Talk Therapy Brainspotting Therapy
Top-Down Approach Relies on the analytical "thinking" brain (Pre-frontal cortex). Bottom-Up Approach Accesses the subcortical brain where trauma is physically stored.
Focuses on rationalizing emotions and understanding the "why" behind behavior. Regulates the autonomic nervous system to release "stuck" stress and chronic sensory overload.
Requires high verbal performance and "talking in circles" around trauma. Minimal Talking Necessary; allows for non-verbal processing of somatic tension.
Initial Relief Often shows faster initial relief but lower long-term maintenance of change. Sustained Recovery Research indicates deeper, more lasting physiological change than cognitive methods. Source: Hildebrand et al. (2017), IJERPH (2023)

Targeted Relief

Close-up of green four-leaf clovers and yellow flowers with dew drops, with a background of blurred houses and trees under a blue sky.

PTSD & Complex Trauma

Close-up of a dandelion seed head with water droplets, set against a blurred natural background.

Neurodivergent

Burnout

Green grasses and plants on a hillside with distant houses and hills in the background.

Artist Blocks

  • PTSD & Trauma: Comparable to EMDR in efficacy, with PET scans proving physical changes in the brain’s trauma centers.

  • Neurodivergent Burnout: Regulates the autonomic nervous system by bypassing "verbal overload" common in ADHD/Autism.

  • Creative Blocks: Research shows more sustained long-term benefits than traditional cognitive methods.

  • Hildebrand, A., Grand, D., & Stemmler, M. (2017). Brainspotting - the efficacy of a new therapy approach for the treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in comparison to Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

  • International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2023). Comparative efficacy of Brainspotting (BSP) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in sustained trauma recovery.

  • Alshelh, Z., et al. (2022). Neuroimaging and PET Scan Analysis of Subcortical Activity Changes following Brainspotting Intervention.

  • Weekly sessions offer a steady, gradual "unstacking" of stress, ideal for long-term connections. Intensives are deep-dive sessions (multiple hours or days) designed to move through a specific traumatic block or creative "jam" rapidly without the interruption of weekly life.

  • Unlike talk therapy, we spend less time on the narrative and more time on the "brainspot". I will help you find an eye position that correlates with a physical sensation in your body; once we find that anchor, we stay with it, allowing your midbrain to process at its own pace while I provide a quiet, grounding presence.

  • Yes. Virtual sessions are highly effective as they allow you to process from your own "container" at home, which often facilitates deeper unmasking and more authentic regulation. We use specialized digital tools to maintain precision in your visual field during our sessions.

  • While both are "bottom-up" (body-to-brain) therapies, the main difference is the visual focus. EMDR uses bilateral movement (eyes moving back and forth), which can sometimes feel overstimulating for sensitive nervous systems. Brainspotting uses a fixed eye position, which often feels gentler and allows for deeper, more still processing. Many clients find Brainspotting reaches "stuck" places that EMDR's movement might bypass.

Not sure if EMDR or Brainspotting is the right fit? We will determine which modality best supports your unique nervous system during our initial consultation.

I'm pumped, let's do this!