Updated November 2026 · By Joel Blackstock, LICSW-S

Taproot Therapy Collective in Hoover, about ten minutes from Vestavia Hills and fifteen from downtown Birmingham, has six therapists trained in brainspotting. In brainspotting, you keep your gaze on one eye position and notice what a memory or symptom does in your body while the therapist watches you closely. We offer it at the office and by secure video anywhere in Alabama.

The research on brainspotting is small, and almost none of it involves the people who most often ask us for it: adults with complex trauma, dissociation, or a history of therapies that did not hold. For them, choosing the technique matters less than choosing the frame around it. In our clinical judgment, whether brainspotting helps or floods a person depends on whether the therapist paces the work, notices dissociation early, and can switch to parts work or body-based stabilization when an eye position stirs up more than the person can hold. This page argues that point and describes how we use the method.

This page was rewritten in November 2026. The earlier version put the office in Vestavia Hills. It also called Taproot the first practice to bring brainspotting to Birmingham and called our clinicians the most highly trained in the area. The office is in Hoover, and we could not document either of the other claims, so we removed them.

What brainspotting is

David Grand developed brainspotting in 2003. He is a social worker who studied psychoanalysis, worked for years as a sports psychotherapist and was trained in EMDR by Francine Shapiro. His working motto is “where you look affects how you feel.”¹ He wrote up the method in a 2013 book subtitled The Revolutionary New Therapy for Rapid and Effective Change.²

A session works like this. You hold a distressing memory, feeling or body sensation in mind while the therapist slowly moves a pointer across your field of vision. The brainspot is either the position where the activation feels strongest or the position where your eyes, breath or posture make a small reflexive response. You rest your gaze there and let whatever comes up run its course. The therapist stays quiet and attuned. Brainspotting International’s Phase 1 course calls the two ways of finding a spot the “inside window” and the “outside window.” The inside window is your own felt sense. The outside window is reflexes such as a blink, an eye wobble, a quick breath or a small shift in the body. Sessions often add what it calls BioLateral sound, recorded music that the client listens to through headphones.³

Grand and his co-author Frank Corrigan proposed a mechanism. In their account, holding the gaze on an activated spot recruits midbrain structures, including the superior colliculus, to reach and process sensorimotor memories of traumatic activation. They published it in Medical Hypotheses as a set of testable hypotheses.⁴ Those hypotheses have not been directly tested. The closest work we found is a 2026 master’s thesis at Carleton University that recorded EEG during a single brainspotting session in 19 people without PTSD. It reported shifts in large-scale patterns of brain activity and lower distress, with no change in heart rate variability.⁵ Scalp EEG of this kind cannot isolate the midbrain structures the hypothesis names. The earlier version of this page said brainspotting “bypasses” the thinking brain and releases trauma “trapped” in the brainstem. Those phrases restate the hypothesis. They are not findings. For the longer argument about what the method may actually be doing, see our piece on the neuroscience and phenomenology of brainspotting.

What the research shows so far

There are few outcome studies, and much of the work comes from people connected to the method.

• Hildebrand, Grand and Stemmler (2017). Seventy-six adults seeking help after a traumatic event received three 60-minute sessions of either EMDR (23 people) or brainspotting (53 people). Self-reported PTSD symptoms fell in both groups. Effect sizes were larger for EMDR (d = 1.19 to 1.76) than for brainspotting (d = 0.74 to 1.04). The study had no untreated comparison group, and Grand was a co-author.⁶
• D’Antoni and colleagues (2022). Forty psychologists and physicians each brought four distressing memories. Each memory got one 40-minute session of a different method: EMDR, brainspotting, body scan meditation or book reading. Distress ratings afterward were lower for EMDR and brainspotting than for the other two.⁷ The participants were healthy professionals, not patients with PTSD.
• Palsimon (2022). Thirteen women aged 18 to 39 at a residential rehabilitation center in the Philippines, most of them sexually assaulted as children and all with severe PTSD symptoms lasting at least two years, received three brainspotting sessions. PTSD scores dropped sharply and stayed lower at a two-week follow-up. There was no comparison group, and the follow-up was short.⁸
• Horton and colleagues (2024). This was the first randomized trial. Sixty-three people with PTSD at a private practice were randomly assigned to five sessions of brainspotting or to treatment as usual, and only 27 finished.⁹ Both groups improved. Treatment as usual looked better right after the five sessions, and the brainspotting group looked better at a follow-up about a month later, judging from the reported data rather than a statistical test of the difference. The National Center for PTSD’s review points to the small sample, the high dropout and the unconfirmed diagnoses. It concludes that methodologically stronger studies are needed.¹⁰
• Glantschnig (2025). A German-language study added brainspotting to cognitive behavioral therapy for people seen after a single distressing or traumatic event. Participants were randomized to start brainspotting right away or later in treatment. The immediate group responded faster, and both groups showed large improvements on a standard trauma symptom scale by the end of treatment and at follow-up. The author writes that the study’s limitations sharply restrict how far the results generalize and that randomized controlled trials are urgently needed.¹¹

A 2015 review of three newer trauma therapies, brainspotting among them, noted that many new approaches enter clinical practice without a solid evidence base and called for more study.¹² That still describes it fairly. Exposure therapy, cognitive processing therapy, cognitive therapy and EMDR, by contrast, are supported by a 2016 systematic review of 64 trials in adults with PTSD, with the strongest evidence for exposure therapy.¹³ If you want the approach with the most evidence behind it, ask about those first. Brainspotting can be a reasonable option for someone who has tried them, could not tolerate them, or prefers a quieter, less scripted approach, and who knows the evidence is preliminary.

Grand’s subtitle promises rapid change. In our experience, complex trauma usually takes months of work, not a handful of sessions. We have written about why quick fixes in therapy often end up costing more.

Why complex trauma changes the question

Complex PTSD is now a diagnosis in the World Health Organization’s ICD-11. It describes people who have the core PTSD symptoms along with lasting problems in three areas: regulating emotion, how they see themselves, and relationships.¹⁴ A 2013 study of 302 people seeking treatment found that chronic trauma, such as childhood abuse, was more strongly linked to the complex profile than to ordinary PTSD, and that the complex profile came with more impairment.¹⁵

For this group, most experts have favored a sequenced approach. In a 2011 survey by the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, 84 percent of the 50 experts polled endorsed phase-based or sequenced treatment, with interventions matched to specific symptoms.¹⁶ Judith Herman’s 1992 book Trauma and Recovery described recovery in three stages: establishing safety, remembrance and mourning, and reconnection with ordinary life.¹⁷ Treatment guidelines for dissociative identity disorder also use three phases, and safety and stabilization come first.¹⁸ That consensus has been challenged. In 2016 a large group of PTSD researchers argued that the studies behind a required stabilization phase are methodologically limited. They also found no rigorous evidence that adults with complex PTSD fail to respond to standard trauma-focused treatment.¹⁹

We take both positions seriously. Stabilization should not turn into an open-ended waiting room. At the same time, brainspotting can bring up material quickly and with little talking, and that speed cuts both ways. In a person who dissociates, a spot that is too activating can produce numbness, lost time or a sudden shutdown instead of processing. With complex trauma, the useful question is how activating a spot this person can work with today, and what the plan is if it turns out to be too much. Brainspotting’s own training addresses this. Phase 2 spends a day on resource techniques for clients with very complex PTSD and for those outside the window of tolerance.³ We have written more about how we brainspot clients with severe dissociation.

How brainspotting fits with IFS and somatic work

At Taproot, brainspotting is usually one tool inside a broader trauma treatment, not a stand-alone protocol. Two other approaches do most of the pacing around it.

Internal Family Systems (IFS). Richard Schwartz’s model treats the mind as a system of parts. Some parts are protective. They manage daily life or put out emotional fires. Others are younger and wounded, and the protectors keep them out of awareness.²⁰ In IFS terms, when a brainspot goes blank or a session stalls, a protective part is often the reason. Asking that part what it fears would happen, before pushing past it, is often what makes the next spot workable. The research on IFS itself is early. An uncontrolled pilot with 17 adults who had PTSD after multiple childhood traumas found large symptom reductions over sixteen 90-minute sessions.²¹ A 2026 randomized trial of a 16-week online IFS group found that PTSD symptoms fell significantly, but not significantly more than in an active comparison group.²² More on the model is on our IFS therapy page.

Somatic Experiencing (SE). Peter Levine’s method directs attention to sensations inside the body and to posture and movement.^{23, 24} Two of its ideas fit brainspotting well. Titration means approaching distress a little at a time instead of all at once. Pendulation means letting attention swing back and forth between activation and settling.²³ In brainspotting, the same ideas show up when the therapist works from an eye position where the body feels calmer, or changes the spot when activation rises too fast. The first randomized trial of SE, with 63 people with PTSD, found large effects compared with a waitlist.²⁵ A 2021 scoping review called the evidence promising but of mixed quality.²⁶ Our article on how Somatic Experiencing works goes further.

We found no study that has tested brainspotting combined with IFS or SE. The only trial we found of brainspotting built into another therapy used cognitive behavioral therapy and single-event trauma. Our combination is a matter of clinical judgment, not an evidence-based package, and we say so to anyone who asks. Some sessions also use imagery, drawing or music, especially when words run out. If creative work helps you between sessions, there is a list of art, music and creative recovery resources around Birmingham and Hoover.

What this looks like in therapy

The first sessions are not brainspotting. They cover your history, current safety, sleep, substance use and medical issues. With complex trauma, they also include a careful look at dissociation: whether you lose time, go numb, feel unreal, or notice parts of yourself pulling in different directions. Your therapist will also ask what has and has not helped before.

Once brainspotting starts, a typical session follows a pattern. You name what you want to work on, notice where you feel it in your body and rate its intensity from 0 to 10. The therapist finds a spot with the pointer, and you hold your gaze there, usually with headphones on. Most of the session is quiet, and you can talk as much or as little as you like. Images, memories, sensations and feelings come and go. Some people shake, cry or yawn, and many leave tired. Near the end, the therapist helps you come back into the room and asks for the rating again. Our sessions run 50 to 80 minutes, and the same work can be done over video, with a fixed point in your own room standing in for the pointer.

With complex trauma, the work around the spot matters as much as the spot itself. A good session may be one where you stayed present with a moderate feeling for twenty minutes, not one where you hit a ten. If you leave sessions flooded, numb for days or unable to remember what happened, tell your therapist. That is a signal to slow down, change the approach or work with parts first. It is not a sign that the therapy is working.

People also bring things other than old trauma to brainspotting: performance blocks, panic, a recent loss. That includes grief people are often told they should be over by now, such as the loss of a beloved pet. The same pacing rules apply.

Choosing a brainspotting therapist in the Birmingham area

Brainspotting is a technique taught through private trainings. It is not a license. In Alabama it should be practiced by someone already licensed to provide psychotherapy, such as a licensed independent clinical social worker, a licensed professional counselor or a psychologist. Brainspotting International says more than 13,000 therapists have trained in the method.³ The relationship matters across all methods. A meta-analysis of 295 studies with more than 30,000 patients found that the strength of the working alliance correlated with outcome at about r = .28.²⁷ That is a good reason to weigh fit with a particular therapist alongside the trainings listed on a bio page.

Still, the training levels are worth understanding, because practices advertise them. Phase 1 teaches the basic inside-window and outside-window methods. Phase 2 is a three-day course on further techniques and on clients with very complex PTSD. Grand teaches the advanced trainings himself: Phases 3 through 5 and a Masterclass. Since November 2025, becoming a Certified Brainspotting Practitioner has required Phases 1 and 2 plus one advanced training, 50 documented sessions, and either six hours of consultation with an approved consultant or a five-day intensive.²⁸ Phase 2 training is a solid foundation. It is not the top level, and it is not certification.

At Taproot, six clinicians are trained in brainspotting, and each uses it alongside other methods. Joel Blackstock and Kristi Wood list Phase 2 training. Others combine brainspotting with Lifespan Integration, Somatic Experiencing or treatment for dissociative disorders. Each clinician’s training and focus is listed on our brainspotting therapy page. Questions worth asking any brainspotting therapist, here or elsewhere:

• Which brainspotting trainings have you completed, and are you certified or getting consultation?
• What other trauma therapies do you offer if this one is not a fit?
• How do you screen for dissociation, and what do you do if a session becomes too much?
• How will we know whether it is working, and when would we change course?

The practical details: Taproot Therapy Collective is at 2025 Shady Crest Drive, Suite 203, Hoover, AL 35216. The building is on Highway 31 beside Full Moon BBQ, near the Riverchase exit off I-65. Here are turn-by-turn directions to the Hoover office. The phone number is (205) 598-6471. Most clinicians accept Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, the practice has an income-based sliding scale, and the first step is a free 15-minute intake call.

Books worth reading

• Judith Herman, Trauma and Recovery (1992). A classic account of what trauma does to people and how recovery moves in stages.¹⁷
• Suzette Boon, Kathy Steele and Onno van der Hart, Coping with Trauma-Related Dissociation (2011). A skills-training workbook for people with dissociative symptoms and their therapists.²⁹
• Onno van der Hart, Ellert Nijenhuis and Kathy Steele, The Haunted Self (2006). The theory of structural dissociation, written for clinicians.³⁰
• Richard Schwartz, Internal Family Systems Therapy (1995). The original statement of the IFS model. A second edition, written with Martha Sweezy, is also available.²⁰
• Peter Levine with Ann Frederick, Waking the Tiger (1997). Levine’s popular introduction to the ideas behind Somatic Experiencing.²⁴
• David Grand, Brainspotting (2013). The developer’s own account. It is enthusiastic by design, so read it alongside the research above.²

If you live in the Birmingham area and are wondering whether brainspotting fits what you are carrying, the brainspotting therapy page lists who offers it. You can also contact the office to set up the free intake call. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.

References

1. Lyford, C. (2024, January/February). Turning the spotlight on Brainspotting: Did an unexpected discovery reveal a quicker path to healing? Psychotherapy Networker. https://psychotherapynetworker.org/article/turning-the-spotlight-on-brainspotting
2. Grand, D. (2013). Brainspotting: The revolutionary new therapy for rapid and effective change. Sounds True.
3. Brainspotting International. (2026). Get trained in Brainspotting; Brainspotting Phase 1; Brainspotting Phase 2. Retrieved November 8, 2026, from https://brainspotting.com/training/
4. Corrigan, F., & Grand, D. (2013). Brainspotting: Recruiting the midbrain for accessing and healing sensorimotor memories of traumatic activation. Medical Hypotheses, 80(6), 759–766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2013.03.005
5. Comisso, L. (2026). Processing a triggering memory during a ‘Brainspotting’ session: Effects on brain microstate features and heart rate variability (Master’s thesis, Carleton University). https://doi.org/10.22215/etd/2026-17049
6. 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. Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.6092/2282-1619/2017.5.1376
7. D’Antoni, F., Matiz, A., Fabbro, F., & Crescentini, C. (2022). Psychotherapeutic techniques for distressing memories: A comparative study between EMDR, Brainspotting, and body scan meditation. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3), Article 1142. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031142
8. Palsimon, T., Jr. (2022). The preliminary efficacy and clinical applicability of Brainspotting among Filipino women with severe posttraumatic stress disorder. Archives of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, 24(1), 54–64. https://doi.org/10.12740/APP/143015
9. Horton, L. M., Schwartzberg, C., Goldberg, C. D., Grieve, F. G., & Brdecka, L. E. (2024). Brainspotting: A treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder. International Body Psychotherapy Journal, 22(2), 57–72. https://ibpj.org/issues/IBPJ-Volume-22-Number-2-2024.pdf
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28. Brainspotting International. (2025). Certification application: Requirements for certification. Retrieved November 8, 2026, from https://brainspotting.com/certification/
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