How Is EMDR Different From Brainspotting?

How Is EMDR Different From Brainspotting?

Short Answer: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Brainspotting are different approaches, although Brainspotting developed partly out of EMDR. EMDR uses a structured process that works with memories, thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and body sensations while using bilateral stimulation, such as side-to-side eye movements, alternating sounds, or tapping. Brainspotting typically involves finding a particular position in the visual field—called a “brainspot”—and maintaining attention around that gaze position while noticing thoughts, emotions, and body sensations. EMDR has a much larger research base, particularly for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), while research on Brainspotting is still relatively limited.

Key Takeaways

• EMDR and Brainspotting are related but distinct approaches.
• EMDR commonly uses moving bilateral stimulation, such as side-to-side eye movements.
• Brainspotting generally uses a selected, relatively fixed point in the visual field.
• EMDR follows a structured treatment framework with defined phases.
• Brainspotting tends to allow more sustained attention to whatever emerges around the chosen gaze position.
• Both can involve memories, emotions, thoughts, and body sensations.
• EMDR has a substantially larger and more established research base than Brainspotting.
• Brainspotting research is promising in places, but it is still limited compared with EMDR.

What Is Brainspotting?

Brainspotting was developed by psychologist David Grand in 2003.

According to the official Brainspotting organization, the method is based on the idea that particular points in a person's visual field may correspond with emotionally or physically activated material. The practitioner helps identify one of these points, referred to as a brainspot, and the person maintains attention around that position while noticing what develops internally.

Brainspotting often pays attention to:

• Emotions
• Body sensations
• Memories
• Thoughts
• Internal shifts
• Changes in physical activation

The process can be relatively open-ended once the gaze position has been identified.

Where Did Brainspotting Come From?

Brainspotting has a direct historical connection with EMDR.

David Grand developed the method after noticing an unusual response to a particular eye position while conducting an EMDR session in 2003. From that observation, he developed a separate approach centered on identifying meaningful points in the visual field.

So Brainspotting did not develop independently of EMDR.

However, it has since become its own method with different procedures and theories.

What Does EMDR Do Differently?

EMDR usually begins by identifying a specific target.

That target may include:

• A distressing memory
• An image
• A negative belief
• An emotion
• A body sensation

The person brings that material to mind while bilateral stimulation is used.

Bilateral stimulation may involve:

• Side-to-side eye movements
• Alternating sounds
• Alternating tapping or tactile stimulation

After a brief set, the stimulation stops and the person notices what is present now.

The process then continues through additional sets while thoughts, emotions, memories, images, beliefs, and body sensations change.

What Is the Main Difference in Eye Movements?

This is probably the most visible difference between the two approaches.

In standard EMDR, visual bilateral stimulation commonly involves following a target as it moves from side to side.

The eyes repeatedly move back and forth.

Brainspotting generally works differently.

A practitioner may slowly move a pointer or guide the person's gaze until a particular position appears especially connected with the issue being addressed. The person then tends to maintain their gaze around that point rather than continuously moving the eyes from side to side.

So, in simplified terms:

EMDR commonly uses moving eye stimulation.

Brainspotting commonly uses a selected gaze position.

What Is a “Brainspot”?

In Brainspotting terminology, a brainspot is a particular location in the person's visual field that appears connected with emotional or bodily activation around the issue being addressed.

A practitioner may move a pointer slowly across the person's field of vision while asking them to notice changes in:

• Emotion
• Physical sensations
• Internal tension
• Thoughts
• Other responses

The point associated with greater activation may then become the focus of attention.

The idea that specific eye positions provide direct access to particular subcortical material is part of Brainspotting's theoretical model. It should not be treated as an established neurological fact, because the mechanism has not been demonstrated with the same depth of research available for more established trauma treatments.

Does EMDR Use Fixed Eye Positions?

Not as its standard visual bilateral stimulation procedure.

EMDR generally uses repeated side-to-side eye movements rather than maintaining one gaze position.

However, EMDR is broader than eye movement alone.

It can also use:

• Alternating sounds
• Alternating tapping
• Other forms of bilateral stimulation

This means that eye position itself is not the defining feature of EMDR.

Does Brainspotting Use Bilateral Stimulation?

It can, but bilateral stimulation is not its defining procedure in the same way it is in standard EMDR.

The central Brainspotting procedure is usually the identification and use of the brainspot, or gaze position.

Some Brainspotting practitioners may also use bilateral sound or other sensory input, but the method does not depend on the same structured sets of bilateral stimulation used in EMDR.

Is EMDR More Structured?

Generally, yes.

EMDR follows a standardized eight-phase framework that includes preparation, target assessment, reprocessing, installation, body scan, closure, and reevaluation.

Brainspotting tends to be less protocol-driven once the gaze position is established.

The person may remain focused on the brainspot while noticing whatever emotions, sensations, memories, or associations emerge.

This can make Brainspotting feel more open-ended, while EMDR often has more clearly defined stages and check-ins.

Do Both Approaches Work With Body Sensations?

Yes.

Both approaches pay attention to the body.

During EMDR, a person identifies physical sensations connected with the target, notices how those sensations change during processing, and later completes a body scan.

Brainspotting also places substantial emphasis on physical responses. In fact, practitioners may use changes in body sensation or activation to help identify a brainspot.

So body awareness is an important area of overlap.

Do Both Work With Memories?

Yes, although they organize that work differently.

EMDR generally identifies a particular memory or other target and then uses structured sets of bilateral stimulation.

Brainspotting may begin with a distressing issue, memory, emotion, or body sensation and then locate an eye position associated with the person's response.

Once the brainspot is found, attention may remain there while internal processing unfolds.

Both therefore can work with emotionally charged memories, but the procedures are different.

Does Brainspotting Require Detailed Talking?

Not necessarily.

Brainspotting often allows the person to spend extended periods noticing internal experiences with relatively little verbal direction.

EMDR also does not require detailed storytelling.

During EMDR reprocessing, there are usually brief check-ins between sets, but a person does not need to give a detailed narrative of everything happening internally.

So both approaches can involve less continuous talking than some traditional forms of psychotherapy.

Does EMDR Direct the Processing More?

It is more structured, but that does not mean the practitioner dictates what the person should think.

During EMDR, the target is established more formally, and the process typically includes repeated sets of bilateral stimulation with brief check-ins.

However, once processing begins, the person is usually encouraged to notice whatever emerges.

Brainspotting tends to place even greater emphasis on sustained internal observation around the selected gaze point.

The distinction is therefore more about structure and procedure than one treatment being entirely therapist-directed and the other entirely self-directed.

Is Brainspotting Basically a Version of EMDR?

It grew out of EMDR, but it is now presented as a separate approach.

The two share several features:

• Attention to distressing experiences
• Visual focus
• Body awareness
• Emotional processing
• Relatively limited need for detailed storytelling

But they differ in:

• Eye procedures
• Treatment structure
• Theories about mechanism
• Use of bilateral stimulation
• Amount of supporting research

Calling Brainspotting simply another name for EMDR would therefore be inaccurate.

Which Approach Has More Research?

EMDR has the much larger evidence base.

EMDR has been studied for decades and is included in major treatment guidelines for PTSD.

Brainspotting is considerably newer.

Its official research collection includes case reports, observational studies, and some comparative or controlled work, but the overall research literature is much smaller.

This distinction is important.

It does not mean Brainspotting has been shown not to work.

It means there is currently much less evidence available to determine how effective it is, how consistently it works, and how it compares with established treatments.

Has Brainspotting Been Compared Directly With EMDR?

There has been some comparative research, but the evidence is limited.

One study listed by the Brainspotting organization followed 76 adults who had experienced traumatic events. Twenty-three received EMDR and 53 received Brainspotting over three sessions.

Both groups showed reductions in PTSD symptoms.

However, the study was relatively small, the groups were unequal in size, and the available evidence is nowhere near large enough to establish Brainspotting as equivalent to EMDR.

So it is reasonable to describe the results as preliminary and promising, not definitive.

Does Brainspotting Have the Same Evidence for PTSD as EMDR?

No.

That would overstate the current evidence.

EMDR has a large body of clinical research supporting its use for PTSD.

Brainspotting has a much smaller research literature and has not accumulated comparable evidence from large numbers of high-quality randomized controlled trials or major treatment guidelines.

This is one of the most important differences for someone comparing the two approaches.

Do We Know How Brainspotting Works?

Not with certainty.

Brainspotting's official explanation proposes that particular eye positions may provide access to unprocessed material associated with deeper or subcortical brain processes.

However, these proposed neurological explanations remain theoretical.

Current evidence is not strong enough to establish that a brainspot corresponds to a specific location or stored source of trauma in the brain.

A careful description is therefore:

Brainspotting uses particular gaze positions as a therapeutic technique, but exactly why or how this may produce change remains uncertain.

Do We Know Exactly How EMDR Works?

Not completely.

Researchers continue to study the mechanisms behind EMDR as well.

One leading explanation involves working memory: holding a distressing memory in mind while simultaneously performing an attention-demanding task may reduce the vividness and emotionality of the memory.

Other processes may also contribute.

So neither treatment has every mechanism completely explained.

The difference is that EMDR has a much larger experimental and clinical research literature testing its procedures and possible mechanisms.

Is Brainspotting More “Body-Based” Than EMDR?

Brainspotting places strong emphasis on moment-to-moment bodily responses.

However, EMDR also includes substantial body awareness.

EMDR works with:

• Physical sensations during target assessment
• Changes in sensations during reprocessing
• A specific body-scan phase

So it would be misleading to describe EMDR as purely cognitive and Brainspotting as purely somatic.

Both involve the body.

The difference is more about how each treatment organizes attention and processing.

Is Brainspotting Gentler Than EMDR?

There is not enough evidence to make that statement as a general rule.

Some practitioners or clients may experience Brainspotting as more open-ended or less structured.

Others may prefer the predictability and shorter stimulation sets used in EMDR.

Terms such as “gentler,” “deeper,” or “faster” are often used in descriptions of trauma therapies, but they are difficult to support as universal claims.

Individual experience varies.

Is One Faster Than the Other?

Current evidence does not support a reliable general answer.

Brainspotting's research base is too limited to establish that it works faster than EMDR.

Likewise, a small study comparing the two cannot tell us what will happen for every person or every problem.

Claims that one approach is consistently faster should therefore be treated cautiously.

Can EMDR and Brainspotting Be Combined?

Some practitioners are trained in both and may integrate elements from the two approaches.

Brainspotting itself developed from observations made during EMDR, so there is historical and procedural overlap.

However, combining techniques does not make the two methods identical.

A person receiving standard EMDR should expect a different structure from someone receiving standard Brainspotting.

Which One Should Someone Choose?

That can depend on several factors, including:

• Which approach is available
• Personal preference
• Previous therapy experience
• Comfort with different treatment structures
• Whether someone prefers moving eye stimulation or sustained gaze
• How important the strength of the research evidence is to them

The evidence is much stronger for EMDR, particularly for PTSD.

Someone may still prefer Brainspotting or find its style more appealing, but that preference should be distinguished from claims that both treatments have the same level of scientific support.

What About Self-Guided EMDR?

The distinction also matters when EMDR is provided in a structured self-guided format.

With Virtual EMDR, the user works independently through an online EMDR process and manages pacing, pauses, and available bilateral stimulation settings.

That remains different from Brainspotting.

Virtual EMDR is built around an EMDR-based structure and bilateral stimulation rather than identifying and holding a particular brainspot in the visual field.

Conclusion

EMDR and Brainspotting share some similarities, but they are not the same approach.

Both can involve attention to memories, emotions, body sensations, and internal changes.

The clearest procedural difference is what happens with visual attention.

EMDR commonly uses moving bilateral stimulation and follows a structured processing protocol. Brainspotting generally identifies a particular point in the visual field and maintains attention around that point while internal processing unfolds.

There is also an important difference in scientific support.

EMDR has been researched extensively over several decades, particularly for PTSD. Brainspotting is much newer and currently has a far smaller evidence base, although some preliminary studies have reported promising results.

The simplest distinction is:

EMDR is a structured, extensively studied reprocessing approach using bilateral stimulation; Brainspotting is a newer approach centered on sustained attention to selected gaze positions, with a more limited research base.