The question I get asked most often by clients who have done some research before reaching out is this. Should I do EMDR, or should I do Brainspotting, or should I do both. The honest answer is that the two modalities are more alike than they are different, and the right approach for you depends less on the modality itself than on what your nervous system responds to. Let me explain what each is, what they have in common, and where they differ.
Both EMDR and Brainspotting are body-based trauma therapies. Both work on the principle that traumatic experience is encoded in the deep, subcortical regions of the brain — regions that do not respond well to language alone. Both use eye-based attention as a way of accessing those regions. Both are designed to allow the brain to complete a processing task that was interrupted at the time of the original experience. Both, in the hands of a skilled clinician, can produce lasting change that talk therapy alone often cannot.
Where they diverge is in their structure and pace.
EMDR is a more structured, protocol-driven approach. Sessions follow a specific sequence. You identify a target memory or belief. You rate its intensity on a scale. You identify a negative belief associated with it and a positive belief you would like to replace it with. We do sets of bilateral stimulation — eye movements, tapping, or alternating sounds — and check in periodically about what you are noticing. We move through a target until the intensity comes down and the positive belief feels true. The whole structure has been studied and refined over decades. It is rigorous and reproducible.
Brainspotting is, by comparison, more open and less structured. We use eye position to find what is called a brainspot — a precise gaze location that activates the issue you are working on. We then hold the position and let the body do its work. There is less protocol. There is more following. The therapist's job is to provide a stable, attuned presence and to track your process gently, without directing it. The work is often quieter than EMDR. It can be deeper, faster, or slower depending on the person and the issue.
People sometimes ask me which is more powerful. The question does not have a universal answer. For some people, EMDR is more powerful because the structure provides a kind of containment their nervous system needs in order to do the work. For others, Brainspotting is more powerful because the open quality of it allows the body to lead. Most of my clients, over time, find that they respond to both, and that each is more useful for certain kinds of material.
Let me offer some general patterns I have noticed in my practice.
EMDR tends to work well for material that is specific and identifiable. A particular memory. A particular belief. A particular fear that the client can describe in detail. The structured nature of EMDR can be especially containing for people whose nervous systems are easily flooded — the protocols provide consistent ways back to the present moment.
Brainspotting tends to work well for material that is more diffuse, harder to name, or more strongly body-based. Sensations that have been with you for years but cannot be tied to a particular event. Patterns that you can feel in your body but cannot articulate. The more open quality of Brainspotting allows space for material that does not fit neatly into a protocol.
Some clients prefer EMDR because the structure helps them feel in control of the process. Some clients prefer Brainspotting because the openness allows for surprise. Some prefer to use them in combination — Brainspotting for the broader landscape, EMDR for the specific peaks.
I want to be clear about one thing. Neither modality is better. They are different tools, and a good trauma therapist can typically use either or both, depending on what the client and the material call for. If you are considering working with a therapist who only uses one and dismisses the other, I would gently suggest finding someone who is fluent in both. The therapeutic relationship is more important than the technique, but a therapist who can move between approaches in response to what you actually need is doing significantly better work than one who is committed to a single tool.
I integrate both EMDR and Brainspotting in my work with adults across Wisconsin and Colorado, virtually. Many of my clients in Madison, Waunakee, and Denver have done one modality with a previous therapist and want to add the other. Online therapy in Wisconsin and telehealth therapy in Colorado has made it possible to deliver both modalities effectively through a screen, which surprised me too the first time I tried it. The work translates.
If you are deciding which to start with, my suggestion is simple. Start with whichever feels more aligned with your temperament, and trust that you can add the other later if it serves you. The decision matters less than the willingness to begin.
If any of this resonates, I want you to know that what you are feeling makes complete sense — and that things can genuinely change. I offer virtual EMDR and trauma therapy for adults across Wisconsin and Colorado, including Madison and Waunakee. If you are ready to take the first step, I would love to connect. You can schedule a free consultation directly at https://alchemy-practice.clientsecure.me/ — no pressure, no obligation, just a quiet conversation to see if working together feels like a fit.