EMDR vs. Brainspotting: Which is Better for Neurodivergent Brains?
EMDR and Brainspotting offer unique approaches to brain-body healing. Discover which therapy might be a better fit for you based on factors like structure, flexibility, and session frequency (weekly vs. intensive).
What’s EMDR?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a brain-body therapy that uses bilateral stimulation (BLS) to facilitate processing and healing.
While eye movements are the most well-known form of BLS, other methods can also be used, including alternating audio tones (heard through headphones), tactile stimulation (such as tapping or buzzers held in each hand), and even self-administered tapping on the knees or shoulders.
What’s Brainspotting?
Brainspotting is a brain-body therapy that uses fixed eye positions to facilitate processing and healing. It’s based on the principle that “where you look affects how you feel.”
IMPORTANT NOTE
While EMDR (developed by American psychologist Francine Shapiro) and Brainspotting (developed by American psychotherapist David Grand) were created within Western psychology, they both reflect and draw upon healing principles found in Indigenous cultures.
These principles include:
integrating somatic practices (such as tapping, exploring energy and sensations, and honoring the body’s wisdom)
recognizing the mind-body connection
trusting the natural unfolding of the healing process
healing through music & sound
What can EMDR & Brainspotting help with?
EMDR and Brainspotting can effectively address a range of issues, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, complex trauma, phobias, and intergenerational trauma.
Both therapies utilize the mind-body connection to facilitate deep healing.
Because each individual’s nervous system and processing style is unique, some may find greater benefit from EMDR for certain issues, while others may find Brainspotting more effective.
What are similarities between EMDR & Brainspotting?
Both modalities focus on non-verbal nervous system processing, minimizing the need for extensive verbalization. There’s no pressure to recount painful experiences in detail. This can be a significant relief for clients who have struggled with traditional talk therapy, and for neurodivergent folks who prefer to process and communicate non-verbally.
Both encourage mindful, non-judgmental observation of internal experiences. In Brainspotting, this is called “focused mindfulness.”
Both therapies work directly with the nervous system, bypassing the talking/thinking parts of the brain and accessing parts where subconscious memories are stored.
Both EMDR and Brainspotting work well in-person and online, offering flexible access.
It makes sense that these modalities are similar in many ways. Brainspotting was developed out of a branch of EMDR therapy. According to this research article:
“Brainspotting (BSP) is a development in psychotherapy which was discovered by David Grand in the course of a Natural Flow EMDR session in which slow eye movements are used.
When his client’s eye movements wobbled and froze, David Grand also stopped spontaneously and waited with what happened. The client then processed traumatic material which had not been accessible previously. ”
What are differences between EMDR & Brainspotting?
A key difference between EMDR and Brainspotting is the level of structure.
EMDR sessions follow a defined structure.
Typically, you begin by focusing on a specific memory (e.g., that time I fell on the playground at age 6) or a related series of memories (e.g., all the times I felt nervous going to kindergarten while wearing those shoes).
Your therapist then guides you through sets of bilateral stimulation — such as eye movements, audio tones, or self-tapping. Each set lasts 1-2 minutes.
After each set of stimulation, your therapist will check in with you, asking, “What are you noticing?” This is an opportunity to share whatever you’re experiencing, whether it’s a feeling (like sadness), a thought (like negative self-talk fading), or a physical sensation (like a lump in your throat).
As the process continues, you’ll likely find that the memory itself begins to change.
It might become less vivid, the images less clear, the emotions less intense, or the physical sensations less pronounced.
To ensure you leave feeling grounded and centered, each session concludes with a debrief, a grounding practice, and/or time for closing reflections.
Brainspotting is a more flexible approach.
Rather than using repeated sets of stimulation, Brainspotting focuses on specific points in your visual field, called Brainspots, to facilitate processing.
These brainspots are discovered in a few ways. Your therapist might use a pointer, moving it across your field of vision until you intuitively connect with a particular spot that resonates with the issue you’re working on.
Another way a brainspot can be identified is through Gazespotting, where you naturally find yourself looking at a specific point while discussing a topic in therapy (for example, looking down and to the right while processing grief). You and your therapist might then choose to focus on that point.
The time spent on a Brainspot can range from a brief moment to the majority of the session, and the amount of conversation between you and your therapist will also vary depending on what feels right in the moment.
Brainspotting is guided by your nervous system’s needs and your unique processing style.
This may result in a fluid and non-linear sense of time passing during the session.
What’s the science behind EMDR & Brainspotting?
One theory behind EMDR’s effectiveness is that it facilitates communication between the brain’s left and right hemispheres.
EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (BLS), which involves alternating stimulation between the left and right sides of the body. This back-and-forth stimulation allows your brain to re-access and reprocess memories that have become “stuck” in your nervous system.
As this research article notes:
“Under this hypothesis, it is not important which sensory channels incentivize communication between the left and right hemispheres, but that there is an alternating and rhythmic left-right stimulus.”
In other words: EMDR aims to help your brain re-integrate stuck memories. The exact type of bilateral stimulation (eye movements, audio tones, or tappers) seems to be less important than the fact that the stimulation is moving back and forth.
This flexibility is good news! If you find eye movements uncomfortable or have a condition that prevents them, you can explore other BLS options with your therapist, such as:
listening to alternating tones
holding sensory-soothing buzzers in each hand
marching in place
tossing a fidget toy back and forth
drumming
and other creative methods
Here’s the science behind Brainspotting.
Brainspotting works by accessing deeper, subcortical areas of the brain where unprocessed trauma is stored.
By focusing on specific points in your visual field, Brainspotting directly engages the autonomic and limbic systems within the central nervous system.
Focused attention on a Brainspot can trigger a physiological release of tension and facilitate processing of past experiences on mental, physical, and emotional levels.
As this research article explains:
“Brainspotting is a psychotherapy based in the observation that the body activation experienced when describing a traumatic event has a resonating spot in the visual field. Holding the attention on that Brainspot allows processing of the traumatic event to flow until the body activation has cleared.”
Which is better for neurodivergent brains: EMDR or Brainspotting?
Neurodivergent refers to people whose brains operate differently from “typical” norms, encompassing experiences like autism, ADHD, high sensitivity, sensory processing differences, dyslexia, giftedness, developmental disabilities, and more.
Because of this range, no single therapy works best for everyone.
The choice between EMDR and Brainspotting depends on individual preferences and processing styles.
Here are some points to consider:
EMDR sessions use repeated sets of bilateral stimulation. This repetitive nature can feel like stimming—soothing the senses, regulating the nervous system, and moving stagnant energy. Many neurodivergent individuals naturally enjoy stimming, making EMDR a potentially good fit.
Some find Brainspotting gentler on the nervous system than EMDR. This may be because Brainspotting requires less active bodily participation. In EMDR, you might be self-tapping, moving your eyes back and forth, or using other bilateral movements. In Brainspotting, your eye position is fixed, and your body is still (unless you want to be moving around, fidgeting, etc.).
For some, Brainspotting may offer a more targeted approach to trauma processing. This may be due to the precise nature of brainspots—visual points connected to specific memory networks and subconscious information.
Those who find EMDR ineffective may benefit from Brainspotting’s gentler, more focused, yet flexible approach.
Those who find Brainspotting too open-ended or under-stimulating may benefit from EMDR’s more active, structured approach.
How many EMDR or Brainspotting sessions will I need?
The number of sessions you’ll need is unique to your situation. There is no guarantee that one modality will lead to faster results than the other.
It is accurate to say, however, the EMDR and Brainspotting – as trauma-focused therapies that work directly with the nervous system – tend to work more quickly than talk therapy.
The results of this meta-analysis suggest that EMDR is better than CBT, a type of talk therapy, in reducing PTSD symptoms and anxiety.
Additionally, this article reports:
“We found that EMDR and BSP were comparable in terms of efficacy, and similarly affected how the distressing memories were reported in terms of conciseness. These results were primarily attributed to the central role of paying attention with equanimity to one’s body sensations during memory processing.”
As a trauma therapist for neurodivergent adults and couples, who uses both EMDR and Brainspotting in my practice, here’s what I’ve found…
Some people find relief from specific concerns (social anxiety, driving anxiety, PTSD flashbacks, phobias, etc.) within 12-16 weekly sessions of EMDR or Brainspotting.
Others may need additional time (months-years) to heal through various layers of past trauma, as well as ongoing collective stress and trauma.
For faster progress, some people choose an intensive approach.
Intensives condense therapy work into a shorter timeframe, with sessions lasting 3-6 hours per day across 1-3 days.
Should I do weekly therapy or intensive EMDR/Brainspotting therapy?
Deciding between weekly and intensive therapy depends on your needs and preferences. Here’s an overview of each approach.
WEEKLY THERAPY
gradual & consistent work
steady progress across multiple weeks/months
ideal for: those who seek ongoing support, thrive on routine, or enjoy a gradual pace
INTENSIVE THERAPY
accelerated & focused work
significant progress in a short time period (weeks/months of therapy in hours/days)
quicker results & concentrated healing
ideal for: those with busy schedules who cannot commit to weekly therapy, but want to feel better soon; or those seeking to jumpstart their healing process
IN SUMMARY…
The choice between EMDR and Brainspotting depends on individual preferences and processing styles.
Those who find EMDR ineffective may benefit from Brainspotting’s gentler, more focused, yet flexible approach.
Those who find Brainspotting too open-ended or under-stimulating may benefit from EMDR’s more active, structured approach.
Both EMDR and Brainspotting are quicker and more effective than talk therapy.
Some people find relief from specific concerns within 12-16 weekly sessions of EMDR or Brainspotting.
For faster progress, some people choose intensive therapy.
Looking for a neurodivergent trauma therapist who specializes in Brainspotting & EMDR Intensives?
I help autistic, ADHD, and highly sensitive adults heal their nervous systems and connect with their authentic selves.
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About the Author
Liz Zhou is holistic trauma therapist providing therapy services in Colorado & coaching services worldwide. She helps highly sensitive, neurodivergent adults and couples heal their nervous systems and connect with their authentic selves. Liz’s specialties include EMDR, IFS, Brainspotting, psychedelic integration, and trauma therapy intensives for individuals and couples.
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