Brainspotting for Depression: How This Somatic Therapy Can Help You Heal
You might be used to powering through your low days. Maybe you’ve even gotten good at pretending everything’s fine on the outside while your body feels like it’s moving through molasses. Suppose traditional talk therapy hasn’t felt like enough. Or if you know the story of your depression but still feel stuck, Brainspotting offers another path. As a somatic therapist offering Brainspotting therapy in Phoenix, I’ve seen how this approach can shift the heaviness people have carried for years.
What Does Depression Feel Like in the Body?
Depression isn’t always sadness. Sometimes, it feels like a quiet numbness that stretches across your day or a heaviness. It settles into your bones. Exhaustion, irritability, and brain fog can make simple tasks feel insurmountable. From a somatic lens, this often resembles a freeze response. This is your nervous system's way of protecting you when it’s overwhelmed by chronic stress, grief, or trauma.
In my work, clients often describe depression as a weight they can’t seem to set down. Their bodies feel heavy, their thoughts sluggish, and even sleep doesn’t restore them. That deep stuckness isn’t about weakness; it’s the body’s survival strategy doing what it knows best. When we slow down and attune to what the body has been holding, we begin to gently create space for something new to emerge.
How Does Brainspotting for Depression Help?
If you’re wondering, "How does Brainspotting work?", you’re asking an important question. Especially if talk therapy hasn’t touched the deeper layers of your experience, Brainspotting is a powerful form of somatic therapy. It uses specific eye positions to help you connect with parts of the brain where unprocessed trauma and emotional pain are stored. This approach works with the brain-body connection. It allows your nervous system to access and process what talking alone may not reach. For many clients, it becomes a doorway into parts of their story that have felt unreachable or frozen. By staying connected to the body and its signals, Brainspotting creates space for real, felt healing to begin. As we locate a "brainspot," often tied to a felt sensation or emotional charge, your body begins to guide the process, inviting awareness, release, and integration.
Instead of trying to think your way through depression, Brainspotting therapy invites your nervous system to express what’s been locked away. This might come through as sensations, images, or even subtle emotional shifts that arise without needing to be named right away. This approach helps access the deeper, nonverbal areas of the brain where depression and trauma often live. Brainspotting therapy invites your body to communicate in its own language, allowing healing to emerge in a quiet, natural way. It’s not about fixing you; it’s about helping what’s been stuck finally move with care and compassion.
Why Depression Needs a Somatic Approach
Many people come to Brainspotting after years of trying to "figure it out." They’ve done the self-help books, the cognitive strategies, and even trauma work, but something still doesn’t feel resolved or integrated. That lingering heaviness isn’t a failure of effort. It’s often a sign that the roots of depression live deeper—woven into the body’s tissues, rhythms, and survival patterns. When we approach healing through the lens of Brainspotting therapy, we begin to listen not just to the mind, but to the quiet stories your nervous system has been holding. This is why Brainspotting therapy in Phoenix can be such a powerful shift. It’s a somatic approach that allows us to address the emotional residue and survival responses stored in the nervous system.
When we take the time to slow down and listen to the body, we uncover more than just thoughts. We begin to access stuck energy, frozen emotion, and protective patterns that have been quietly operating in the background for years. The goal isn’t to push through or dissect, it’s to gently support what’s been waiting for safety. In my practice, I weave together Brainspotting, trauma-informed care, expressive arts, and nervous system regulation tools to create a space where your body feels seen and supported. Each session is paced intentionally, so you’re never rushed or overwhelmed, just steadily supported in your own rhythm of healing.
What to Expect in a Brainspotting for Depression Session
There’s no "right way" to do Brainspotting. Some sessions involve a lot of silence. Others include tears, body sensations, or unexpected memories. You’re always in control of the process. During a Brainspotting therapy session, we might start by identifying where the depression shows up in your body.
It might feel like a heavy chest pressing down, a foggy head that won’t clear, or limbs weighed down by exhaustion. These sensations often show us where the body is holding on. Then we find a corresponding eye position, or brainspot, and let your system take the lead. You don’t need to talk the whole time. You can rest, breathe, or just be with what arises. You might wonder: "Do you have to talk during Brainspotting?" The answer is no. That’s part of why it works so well for depression, where words can feel out of reach.
What Shifts Clients Notice Over Time With Brainspotting Therapy
Brainspotting therapy doesn’t usually create instant transformation, but over time, the shifts can be profound. It’s a process that honors the nervous system’s pace. In my practice, I’ve watched clients slowly reconnect with emotions they thought were lost.
Clients often notice:
A reduction in emotional numbness
More energy or motivation
A deeper connection to themselves
Greater emotional range
If you’ve been asking yourself, "how do I know if Brainspotting is working?", these are some of the signs. You might also feel tired after sessions. That’s common. Your nervous system is doing important work.
"Why am I so tired after Brainspotting?" Because your body is processing. It’s not just about insight, it’s about integration.
How Brainspotting Also Supports Anxiety
While this blog focuses on depression, it’s important to note that many people experience anxiety and depression together. You might swing between feeling shut down and feeling overstimulated or on edge. Brainspotting for anxiety in Phoenix, AZ works similarly to Brainspotting for depression. We identify where anxiety shows up in the body—tight shoulders, racing heart, upset stomach—and give space for your nervous system to regulate. Over time, clients find they can respond to life with more capacity and calm.
Common Questions About Brainspotting Therapy
If you’ve ever Googled “brainspotting therapy near me” or “brainspotting for depression in Phoenix, AZ,” chances are you have some questions. Let’s explore the ones I hear most often.
Is Brainspotting a somatic therapy?
Yes. Brainspotting is a body-based somatic therapy that works directly with the nervous system to help access and process unresolved emotional pain. It’s a form of somatic therapy that uses the body’s signals to guide the healing process.
Is Brainspotting a legitimate therapy?
Absolutely. Brainspotting is practiced globally by certified therapists and is supported by emerging neuroscience that highlights the brain-body connection in trauma and emotional healing. Many therapists, including myself, have seen how effective it can be for clients when traditional talk therapy hasn't been enough.
How successful is Brainspotting?
Success can look different for everyone, but many people who’ve felt stuck for years report meaningful shifts with Brainspotting therapy. Clients often find themselves feeling lighter, more connected, or finally able to process emotions that once felt out of reach.
Is Brainspotting the same as EMDR?
No, Brainspotting has distinct differences from EMDR. While both therapies access the brain’s processing systems, Brainspotting tends to be more fluid, intuitive, and client-led. It doesn’t follow a strict protocol like EMDR, and it allows for a quieter, more internal experience that many clients with depression prefer.
Do you have to talk during Brainspotting?
No, you don’t have to talk. That’s one of the reasons Brainspotting is so powerful for depression. It allows space for healing without needing to verbalize everything.
How long does a Brainspotting session last?
Most sessions last about 50-60 minutes. However, some people benefit from extended sessions. Especially when working through deeper layers of emotional pain.
Who shouldn’t do Brainspotting?
Brainspotting may not be the right fit if you're currently in crisis, experiencing severe dissociation, or are without a stable support system. In those cases, we’ll first focus on building safety and grounding tools before moving into deeper work.
Is Brainspotting Therapy for Depression Right for You?
If you’ve been searching "Brainspotting near me in Phoenix, AZ" or wondering if it could help with your depression, it may be time to try something new. Brainspotting therapy meets you where you are—tired, stuck, or disconnected—and offers a pathway toward reconnection.
You don’t need to be fixed. What you need is a safe space to feel, process, and move through what’s been held inside for too long.
Could Brainspotting for Depression in Phoenix, AZ Be the Somatic Support You’ve Been Searching For?
If your body feels like it’s been carrying something too heavy for too long, you’re not alone. At Through It All Counseling, Brainspotting for depression in Phoenix, AZ offers a compassionate space to help you slow down, reconnect with your body, and begin healing from the inside out. Whether you're navigating chronic overwhelm, long-standing sadness, or grief that won't let go, Brainspotting therapy can meet you where words often fall short. I’ve supported many clients who’ve tried everything else and still felt stuck—until we gave their nervous system a place to process at its own pace. Healing through Brainspotting isn’t about trying harder; it’s about creating safety in the body, so something deeper can begin to shift. If this approach resonates with you, I’d be honored to walk alongside you as you take that next step toward relief.
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Learn More About Brainspotting and Somatic Therapy
You Don’t Have to Explain Everything—Your Body Already Knows the Way
More Therapy Services Offered at Through It All Counseling
At Through It All Counseling, I understand that healing depression—especially when it’s felt like a constant companion—requires a holistic approach. This means honoring your emotional experience while also tending to the body’s signals and wisdom. That’s why I offer a range of integrative, creative, and evidence-based therapies that center the nervous system and honor your unique lived experience. Whether you’re moving through grief, navigating burnout, or feeling stuck in cycles of low energy and disconnection, you deserve support that adapts to where you are, not where someone expects you to be.
Alongside Brainspotting for depression in Phoenix, AZ, I work with children and teens using Play Therapy, Creative Arts, Bibliotherapy, and Expressive Arts interventions. These methods meet young people in the language they naturally speak—movement, story, and play. For adults and families, I integrate Polyvagal Theory, Mindfulness-Based Interventions, Family Systems Therapy, and practical tools like CBT, Motivational Interviewing, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy.
These aren't rigid protocols. They’re relational, embodied ways of helping your system feel safe enough to soften, feel, and move again. No matter your history, I meet you with warmth, respect, and the belief that healing doesn’t have to look like fixing—it can look like remembering what’s already wise and whole within you.
About the Author
Cristina Yturralde, M.C., LPC is a certified Brainspotting therapist, Brainspotting Consultant, and somatic therapist in Phoenix. With nearly 20 years of clinical experience and more than three decades of walking alongside families through illness, trauma, and emotional pain, Cristina brings a steady, grounded presence to her work. Her understanding of the mind-body connection isn't just clinical—it’s personal. Through her own healing journey, she’s come to trust the body’s quiet signals and inner wisdom, especially when traditional approaches haven’t been enough.
At her practice, Through It All Counseling, Cristina supports children, teens, and adults who feel weighed down by chronic sadness, nervous system dysregulation, or trauma that talk therapy hasn’t fully reached. She integrates Brainspotting for depression with Play Therapy, Expressive Arts, and Polyvagal-informed care, offering a deeply relational, body-centered approach to healing. Whether you're navigating grief, burnout, or the kind of heaviness that lingers no matter how hard you try to feel better, Cristina holds space with warmth, clinical depth, and a belief that healing starts when we stop trying to fix—and begin listening instead.