What Is Brainspotting and How Is It Different from EMDR?

If you've researched EMDR, you've probably come across another therapy called Brainspotting. Both use bilateral stimulation, both are designed to treat trauma, and both are considered body-based or somatic approaches to psychotherapy. But they emerge from different theoretical frameworks and have meaningfully different methods.

EMDR: A Brief Recap

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a structured eight-phase protocol. Shapiro had her founding observation in 1987 and published the first controlled study in 1989. It involves identifying a specific target memory, assessing the associated negative beliefs and body sensations, and It involves identifying a specific target memory, assessing the associated negative beliefs and body sensations, and then processing that memory using bilateral stimulation — typically eye movements, auditory tones, or tactile tapping — until the memory loses its emotional charge and can be integrated with a positive belief.

EMDR is highly protocol-driven. The eight phases are sequential, and therapists follow a structured approach. This consistency is part of why EMDR has an extensive body of research supporting its effectiveness, particularly for PTSD.

Brainspotting: The Core Idea

Brainspotting was developed in 2003 by David Grand, PhD, a licensed clinical social worker who had previously trained in EMDR. Grand made his key observation while working with a 16-year-old figure skater who was unable to master a particular jump. He noticed that holding her gaze at a specific point in her visual field seemed to unlock the processing that eye movements had not. He began experimenting with this "brainspot" concept — a fixed gaze position rather than the moving stimulus used in EMDR — and found it consistently correlated with where clients were holding unprocessed material.

The central premise of Brainspotting is that trauma is stored subcortically, in the midbrain and brainstem — regions that don't respond well to talking or cognitive intervention. By finding a brainspot and holding the gaze there, the therapist creates an access point to these deeper brain regions, allowing processing to occur outside of conscious narrative.

Key Differences

Eye movement vs. fixed gaze: EMDR uses moving bilateral eye movements. Brainspotting uses a fixed gaze position held for an extended period.

Protocol structure: EMDR has a highly defined protocol. Brainspotting is more relational and follows the client's process, with the therapist playing a more attuned, observational role.

Role of language: EMDR involves more verbal dialogue about the target memory. Brainspotting often happens largely in silence, with the therapist tracking the client's subcortical responses.

Bilateral audio in both: Both modalities use bilateral stimulation audio, often called "biolateral" music in Brainspotting. The audio serves a similar function — maintaining access to subcortical processing while reducing the dominance of the analytical brain.

Which Is Better?

Neither is categorically better — they serve overlapping but slightly different populations and presentations. EMDR's structured protocol makes it particularly well-suited for discrete traumatic events and PTSD. Brainspotting's more flexible, relational approach may suit people with complex or developmental trauma, or those who struggle with the cognitive demands of EMDR's structured protocol.

Many therapists are trained in both and use them in an integrated way, choosing elements from each based on what a particular client needs in a given session.

The Role of the Therapist Relationship

One significant practical difference between EMDR and Brainspotting is the nature of the therapeutic relationship during processing. EMDR, with its structured phases and verbal check-ins, involves more explicit communication between therapist and client during a session. The therapist is an active guide, asking questions, directing attention, and providing cognitive interweaving when processing stalls.

Brainspotting places more emphasis on what its founder calls "relational attunement" — the therapist's ongoing empathic presence rather than active verbal guidance. Many Brainspotting sessions are largely silent, with the therapist simply maintaining attuned, focused presence while the client processes. This suits some clients extremely well, particularly those who feel that talking interrupts their processing, or who have experienced therapy as over-intellectualized.

The Bilateral Audio in Brainspotting

Brainspotting uses what David Grand calls "biolateral" audio — a specific form of bilateral music where the sound gently increases in volume in one ear, then decreases before building in the other, creating a softer, more wave-like alternation than standard click-based bilateral stimulation. The intention is to support subcortical processing without the sharp, attention-demanding quality of more clinical BLS sounds.

Standard bilateral stimulation tools, including Bilateral Binaural, can be used effectively in a Brainspotting context by simply using a slow speed and softer tone settings. The core requirement — rhythmic left-right alternation of auditory input — is the same regardless of the sound type used.

The Role of the Therapist Relationship

One significant practical difference between EMDR and Brainspotting is the nature of the therapeutic relationship during processing. EMDR, with its structured phases and verbal check-ins, involves more explicit communication between therapist and client during a session. The therapist is an active guide, asking questions, directing attention, and providing cognitive interweaving when processing stalls.

Brainspotting places more emphasis on what its founder calls "relational attunement" — the therapist's ongoing empathic presence rather than active verbal guidance. Many Brainspotting sessions are largely silent, with the therapist simply maintaining attuned, focused presence while the client processes. This suits some clients extremely well, particularly those who feel that talking interrupts their processing, or who have experienced therapy as over-intellectualized.

The Bilateral Audio in Brainspotting

Brainspotting uses what David Grand calls "biolateral" audio — a specific form of bilateral music where the sound gently increases in volume in one ear, then decreases before building in the other, creating a softer, more wave-like alternation than standard click-based bilateral stimulation. The intention is to support subcortical processing without the sharp, attention-demanding quality of more clinical BLS sounds.

Standard bilateral stimulation tools, including Bilateral Binaural, can be used effectively in a Brainspotting context by simply using a slow speed and softer tone settings. The core requirement — rhythmic left-right alternation of auditory input — is the same regardless of the sound type used.