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Brainspotting combines elements of neuroscience and body-based therapy to identify and target “brainspots”. Brainspots are areas of the brain believed to contain traumatic memories and responses. Through the use of eye movements, a trained therapist assists the client in confronting and releasing emotional blocks and traumas, while through helping them to reconnect with their emotional self. Brainspotting is based uses the eyes to gently release emotional memories that stored in the brain. The movement of the eyes can help locate these memories and release them. . During a brainspotting…

J reported that he has been being harassed by his co-worker for the last two years as retaliation after a prior minor conflict. The patterns of harassment involve humiliation, intimidation, offensive behaviors and statements, spreading of groundless rumors, and so on. The bully tries to intimidate J by constantly giving J nasty looks and gestures as if he is going to hurt him, or waiting for J to fail at something so he can report it to the manager. J does not feel safe in front of the bully, as he is targeted. The bully would brag about his power, that he could harm J in different ways or get…

Recently when I was doing some continuing ed, I was reading an article on Shame and Humiliation in relationship to childhood abuse. (If you want to know: It was published in the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation by the ISSTD and written by Martin Dorahy in 2017.) It was quite a fascinating read, I must say! It showed clearly the difference between experiencing shame and humiliation especially in relation to abuse. And it was quite eye-opening the difference. Dorahy makes the difference this way: "In shame, the self is the failure and others may reject or be critical of this exposed, flawed self…

Do you ever feel anxious, or embarrassed when meeting a new person? How about when you drive over a bridge, or go on a plane, or when you sit in the passenger seat of a car – do you get a bit nervous? ALL of these experiences originate in a trauma! And more often than not, they are what we refer to as a ‘small t’ trauma (as opposed to a ‘big T’ trauma). If a ‘big T’ trauma is abuse, neglect or a serious injury, a ‘small t’ trauma can be a friend not wanting to sit next to you on the school bus, giving the wrong answer in class, struggling through homework, falling off your bike, or being…