You understand the problem. But understanding it hasn’t changed it.
You may already know why something bothers you. You may understand where the pattern came from, what you wish you could do differently, and what a reasonable next step would be.
And yet the response keeps showing up.
Brainspotting is a focused approach that uses where you look and what you notice to work with experiences that may not shift through insight or conversation alone.
You do not need the perfect explanation before you begin. We can start with what you notice now.
Book a Call with Jennie About BrainspottingWe can talk about what you want to work on, whether Brainspotting makes sense for it, and what the next step would look like.
Sometimes you already have the insight. What has not changed is the response.
Brainspotting uses eye position, focused attention, and what you notice in your body and mind.
Brainspotting was developed by psychologist David Grand, Ph.D. in 2003. It grew from the observation that where someone looks can be connected with what they are feeling or experiencing. If you want to read more about the method itself, you can visit the official Brainspotting website .
During Brainspotting, we identify a point in your visual field that seems connected with the issue you want to work on. You keep your gaze near that point while noticing what happens internally.
Watch this short overview to see how a Brainspotting session works and what you can expect when we meet.
You might notice thoughts, emotions, body sensations, memories, images, associations, changes in intensity, or simply a sense that something is shifting.
There is no single correct Brainspotting experience. What you notice may be very clear, very subtle, or difficult to put into words.
Brainspotting uses a relevant eye position to help focus attention on the experience you are working with.
You may notice that the same issue feels different depending on where you look.
One eye position may feel fairly neutral. Another may bring more emotion, tension, awareness, memory, or connection with what you are working on.
We use those differences to help locate a relevant point in your visual field, often called a brainspot.
Once we find a useful spot, the goal is not to stare harder or figure something out. You stay connected with the issue and notice what happens.
That sustained attention can give you room to experience the issue differently than you do when you are immediately analyzing, explaining, correcting, or talking yourself through it.
You do not need a dramatic story or a perfectly defined problem.
A useful starting point is often something that keeps having more impact than you want it to, even when you understand it intellectually.
Feeling stuck does not automatically mean Brainspotting is the answer.
Sometimes there is a practical problem that needs a practical solution first.
Information, structure, capacity, boundaries, or strategy may need to change.
Sometimes you need more information. Sometimes the expectation is unrealistic. Sometimes the workload is too high, the boundary needs to change, or the situation itself is the problem.
Brainspotting does not replace a practical correction when a practical correction is what you need.
The practical answer is workable, but your response still is not changing.
You may understand what is happening, know what you want to do differently, and have a reasonable next step.
Yet an internal response is still preventing, changing, or making that response much harder than expected.
“I don’t really know why this bothers me” is enough information to begin.
Some people come into Brainspotting with one very specific event, situation, thought, or reaction they want to work on.
Others know only that something feels heavy, uncomfortable, frustrating, frightening, or much harder than they think it should.
You do not have to tell the perfect story. You do not have to identify exactly where the response came from. You do not have to understand every connection before we start.
If talking about the context is useful, we can talk. If what you are noticing is primarily a sensation, emotion, image, memory, or internal shift, you do not have to turn all of it into a detailed explanation for me.
I guide the structure. You do not have to figure out how to “do Brainspotting.”
I will help you establish a focus, find a useful brainspot, and stay oriented to what you are noticing without trying to force the session toward a particular outcome.
We begin with what matters today.
You may arrive knowing exactly what you want to work on, or we may spend a little time identifying where it makes sense to start.
I walk you through the process.
You do not have to locate a brainspot yourself or know what you are supposed to feel. We use what you notice to guide us.
I do not need you to perform the session for me.
You can talk when talking is useful. You can also have stretches where you are simply noticing. Silence does not mean nothing is happening.
You are not left alone with the process.
I stay with you throughout the session, check in when appropriate, and help you remain connected to what you are working with.
You do not have to make Brainspotting mysterious for it to be useful.
It can be less verbal than the work you may be used to.
You may spend less time explaining and more time noticing. That does not mean you cannot talk.
If words are useful, use them. If there is nothing you need to say for a while, you do not have to fill the silence.
It is not about producing a dramatic reaction.
You do not need to cry, remember something huge, feel an obvious physical release, or have a major revelation for your experience to be valid.
We work with what actually shows up, not what we think should show up.
You do not have to tell me every detail.
Some people prefer giving me a lot of context. Others want to share very little about the content itself.
We can work with the amount of verbal detail that is useful for you and for the session.
It does not replace a practical solution when you need one.
Sometimes the answer is information, a boundary, a decision, more support, a different strategy, or changing the situation itself.
Brainspotting makes more sense when the practical pieces are workable but an internal response is still preventing or changing what you are able to do.
Brainspotting makes more sense when you hear people describe what it was actually like.
There is not one standard Brainspotting experience. Some people notice unexpected connections. Some notice a change in intensity, tension, or emotion. Others describe something that had felt stuck beginning to feel different.
These clients describe their own Brainspotting experiences, in their own words.
CLIENT EXPERIENCES
What Brainspotting Felt Like for Them
Brainspotting can be difficult to explain from the outside. These clients describe what they noticed during and after their own sessions.
Amy Ebert shares her experience with Brainspotting with Jennie Hays.
Tiffany O’Hearn shares a reaction immediately after her first Brainspotting session with Jennie Hays.
Joni Pauley shares her experience of Brainspotting with Jennie Hays
"We did a Brainspotting session and it rocked! I found Brainspotting with Jennie to be really helpful for shifting confusion and stuckness."
— A.L.
"It helped me get around that protective part of my mind that wasn't allowing me to go forward."
— Anonymous
“We did a Brainspotting session and it was very helpful at looking at the blocks in my life... I am feeling good today and wanting to integrate more of what I discovered.”
— S.G.
PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE
What a Referring Provider Has Seen
Brainspotting clients are not the only people who have seen the difference. Dr. Stephanie Best has experienced the work personally and has also referred clients to Jennie for Brainspotting.
"Because of Jennie's coaching and Brainspotting, my practice income has nearly doubled, and my clients are progressing faster. I now refer clients for adjunctive Brainspotting whenever I sense a block that feels deeper than talk therapy can reach."— Dr. Stephanie Best
I care less about making the session look a certain way and more about working with what is actually there.
I’m the Execution Block Specialist , a Brainspotting Practitioner, and business coach. I spent 25 years in emergency medicine, where paying attention to what is actually happening matters more than forcing the situation to match the explanation you expected.
That same approach carries into Brainspotting. We establish a clear starting point, work with what you notice, and do not manufacture intensity just because we think something dramatic is supposed to happen.
Brainspotting is one tool I use. I do not assume every problem needs it, and I do not want to use an internal tool to solve something that actually needs a practical change.
Questions about Brainspotting, what a session is like, and whether it makes sense for what you are dealing with.
What is Brainspotting?
Brainspotting is a focused approach that uses eye position, focused attention, and what you notice internally while working with a particular issue or experience.
During a session, we identify a point in your visual field that seems connected with what you are working on. You keep your gaze near that point while noticing thoughts, emotions, sensations, memories, images, associations, or other changes that arise.
How does Brainspotting work?
Brainspotting works by pairing a relevant eye position with focused attention on the issue you want to work with.
Different places in your visual field may feel different when you are connected with the same issue. We use those differences to help identify a useful brainspot.
Once we find one, you stay connected with that point and notice what happens rather than trying to reason your way toward a particular answer.
What happens during a Brainspotting session?
We begin by identifying what you want to work on and what you notice when you connect with it.
I then guide you through finding a useful eye position. Once we have a brainspot, you keep your gaze near it while paying attention to what happens internally.
You may talk, sit quietly, notice sensations, make connections, remember something, experience changes in intensity, or notice something much subtler.
What does Brainspotting feel like?
There is no single Brainspotting experience.
Some people notice clear emotion or body sensations. Others notice memories, thoughts, images, associations, changes in intensity, or simply that the issue begins to feel different.
A useful session does not require a dramatic reaction or revelation. We work with what actually shows up.
How is Brainspotting different from talk therapy?
Brainspotting can involve talking, but it does not depend on talking through every detail or explaining the issue continuously.
Much of the session may involve noticing what happens internally while staying connected with a relevant eye position.
Brainspotting is used by many different kinds of practitioners. My work with you is not about diagnosing a mental-health condition. If you need diagnosis, crisis support, or mental-health treatment, those needs belong with an appropriately licensed healthcare professional.
Do I have to know where the issue came from before a Brainspotting session?
No.
You may know exactly where a reaction or pattern started, or you may have no idea.
We can begin with what is happening now. You do not have to construct a complete explanation, identify every connection, or tell the perfect story before we start.
What can I bring to a Brainspotting session?
You can bring something that keeps having more impact than you want it to.
That might be a strong reaction, recurring pattern, performance or confidence block, difficult conversation, boundary, visibility issue, decision, past experience, or a goal that feels disproportionately difficult to approach.
The starting point does not have to sound dramatic. “I know something is happening here” can be enough to begin.
How do I know if Brainspotting is the right approach for me?
Brainspotting may make sense when you already understand what is happening, know what you would like to do differently, or have a reasonable practical next step, but the internal response is still not changing.
It can also be useful when you cannot fully explain what is happening but notice that a particular issue, situation, or goal keeps producing a stronger response than you expect.
A call with me gives us a chance to look at what you want to work on before deciding whether Brainspotting is a useful fit.
Is Brainspotting always the right solution when I feel stuck?
No.
Sometimes the problem is practical. You may need more information, a clearer boundary, more support, a different strategy, a smaller workload, better structure, or a change in the situation itself.
I use Brainspotting when those practical pieces are workable and an internal response is still preventing or changing what you are able to do.
The goal is not to make every problem a Brainspotting problem. It is to use the tool when the tool actually fits.
What happens if I book a call with Jennie about Brainspotting?
Bring the issue, reaction, situation, or goal you are considering Brainspotting for.
We can talk about what is happening, what you have already tried, whether there is an obvious practical solution that needs attention first, and whether Brainspotting appears to make sense as a next step.
You do not have to diagnose yourself or know exactly why the issue is happening before booking the call.
Bring me the thing that still gets a reaction even though you understand it.
We can figure out whether something practical needs to change first or whether Brainspotting makes sense for the response that is still showing up.
Book a Call with Jennie About Brainspotting