The third generation therapies They are oriented towards the concept that body and mind are a whole that must be taken into consideration equally and not separately. The therapies EMDR and the Brain Spotting They are two of the techniques that are gaining the most popularity and, although they are based on the same principle, their practice shows differences.
Both therapies seek the reconciliation of body and mindin order to heal the sensory symptoms that the body can express in response to everyday stimuli that remind us of a trauma, conflict or problem from the past. The objective is clear, but how do we achieve it? We have previously explained thatThese techniques allow the patient to reach the memory of the trauma in a conscious state through bilateral stimulation..
This technique, which simulates the brain state of the REM phase – the phase in which the brain sorts and archives memories and experiences – allows us to reproduce the “archived” state of memories and access them. In particular, to access traumatic memories that have not been processed and have become stuck, adrift. Bilateral stimulation can be carried out in various ways – vision, touch or hearing – and in both cases, EMDR and Brain Spottingthe focus is on auditory stimulation.
At this point, we already find differences. EMDR practices auditory stimulation through sets sound which alternate during the session. He Brain Spottinginstead, keeps the sound latent throughout the session. This stimulation is practiced through the use of recordings that the therapist provides to the patient through headphones, which he or she will keep on until further notice.
There are reasons why one technique uses auditory stimulation more sparingly than another. EMDR, based on non-continuous sets, is recommended for patients who are in the initial phase of treatment and, therefore, weaker. On the other hand, Brain Spotting, since it is constant, is more effective, direct and profound, and is therefore aimed at patients who have already done some internal strengthening work and who have the necessary tools – provided by the therapist – to be able to control the symptoms, reactions and impulses that may occur during the session once they enter a state of bilateral stimulation, always with the help of the therapist.
In the spotlight
Beyond auditory stimulation, the quintessential difference between EMDR and Brain Spotting is that this second therapy goes further. He Brain Spotting complements auditory stimulation with the theory of brain spot.
Various studies show that trauma is anchored in a brain area that connects directly to the point of focus we focus on during the experience that will turn out to be traumatic. This is the brain spot, a visual and ocular gateway to the memory that has become stuck.
Finding the brain spot is generally an exercise of the therapist, although it can be found in two ways:
– Spontaneously. When we talk about some experience we always tend to look at some specific point without being aware of it. That is because we are looking for the brain spot which is associated with memory. The same thing happens in a therapeutic session and when the patient verbalizes his trauma or lived experience, the professional must be skilled in detecting that point of view, the brain spot which will serve as an access key to the trauma.
– In a forced manner. Another technique may be to guide the patient to find the object in the room environment. brain spot in question. The patient is encouraged to talk about the trauma, however painful it may be, while the therapist guides his gaze with a stick. While he expresses the trauma and focuses his gaze on different points, the patient feels different sensations in his body. When he places himself on an unpleasant sensation, he has already found the brain spot which will be taken into account for the rest of the sessions.
Necessary preparation: therapeutic tools
Reach the state of bilateral stimulation and work with the brain spot already found It takes time. It is not a “here and now”. Before reaching this point and beginning to work on the mind-body connection, the patient must “train” himself with the strategies that the therapist will offer him so that he can calm down in case of experiencing a loss of control of the sensations during the practice of stimulation and brain spotting. And this implies good work.
One of the main strategies is that of the safe place or anchorage. This strategy consists of associate a keyword and a space as a safe corner. This association is a brain link that develops in response to a stimulus-response. It is therefore a matter of the patient and therapist deciding on a word and a place and, through cognitive exercises, the patient integrates that this specific word and this specific place are of maximum safety. To activate this strategy, the patient must put its integration into practice at home. In this way, once in therapy and practicing bilateral stimulation – and the brain spot – the therapist will be able to “rescue” the patient, in case he or she is entering into a situation of serious suffering, and take him or her to that agreed safe place.