How Long Does It Take for Brainspotting to Work: What Clients Can Expect?
You’ve made the decision to try something new. Maybe you’ve been in talk therapy before and gained insight, but you still feel like something’s lingering—something your mind can’t quite untangle. It’s natural to wonder: how long will it take for Brainspotting to work and help you feel better? That’s a question I hear often, and while there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, there are patterns, guideposts, and reassuring truths that can help you understand what to expect.
As a somatic therapist in Phoenix, I’ve seen Brainspotting transform lives in ways that are both profound and deeply personal. This blog will walk you through what influences your healing timeline and what you might notice early on. It will also explain why Brainspotting works at a pace that’s guided by your nervous system, not just the clock.
How Do You Know the Pace Your Healing Should Take?
Healing rarely moves in a neat, predictable line. It bends, pauses, and sometimes circles back before moving forward again, and that can feel confusing when you’re eager for change. Your healing pace is shaped by your own story, your body’s sense of safety, and the way your nervous system responds over time. Every person’s rhythm is different, and honoring that difference is part of the process. Understanding this helps you see why your journey might look different than someone else’s.
Factors that can influence your timeline:
Nature of what you’re carrying: A single-event trauma may integrate more quickly than the effects of years of chronic stress, grief, or medical trauma.
How safe your nervous system feels: Your body has its own timing for releasing what it’s been protecting you from.
Consistency of Support: Weekly or biweekly sessions help your system stay engaged in the work and build momentum.
Life outside the Therapy Room: The safety and support you have in daily life—relationships, routines, self-care—will also influence your process.
You are never “behind” in healing. Your pace is the pace your nervous system knows you need, and honoring that is part of the work. This isn’t a competition or a race, it’s a relationship with your own capacity to feel safe and supported.
How Does Brainspotting Work?
Brainspotting is both brain-based and body-based therapy. It works by locating “brainspots” connected to stored trauma, emotions, or physical sensations. Using eye position, we access the subcortical brain—the part that governs regulation and survival. As you focus on a brainspot, I help you notice shifts in your body; breath changes, muscle releases, subtle sensations.
There’s no need to force memories or explain every detail. Your nervous system does the work in a way that’s often quieter and more efficient than traditional talk therapy. For those seeking somatic therapy in Phoenix, Brainspotting offers a unique way to invite the body into the conversation, making space for deep and lasting change
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What Clients May Notice in the First Few Sessions Into Brainspotting
In the early stages of Brainspotting, we’re creating the groundwork your nervous system needs to feel safe enough to do the deeper work. This is where we set the tone for your healing and give your body the message that it’s safe to explore, release, and reorganize what it’s been holding.
This can mean:
Building a sense of safety and trust in the therapy space.
Learning to notice and follow the subtle ways your body communicates.
Working with manageable pieces of stored experience instead of diving into the most overwhelming material right away.
As your system begins to trust the process, you might notice:
A lighter, calmer feeling after sessions.
Deeper, more restful sleep.
A softer reaction to stressors that used to feel overwhelming.
A clearer awareness of your body’s signals and needs.
It’s also common for emotions or body sensations to arise between sessions. You might notice subtle changes in your mood, unexpected memories surfacing, or shifts in your physical comfort. Sometimes these changes are quiet, and sometimes they ask for your attention in a bigger way. Either way, they are your system’s way of showing that the work is continuing, even outside the therapy room.
What’s the Difference Between Short-Term Shifts and Long-Term Change?
In the early stages of Brainspotting, many clients notice what I call “short-term shifts”—small but meaningful changes that can signal your nervous system is responding to the work:
Fewer anxiety spikes or a softer reaction to stress.
Less physical tension, like jaw clenching or shoulder tightness easing.
A clearer mind, as if mental fog has started to lift.
Over time, these smaller shifts can grow into deeper, long-term changes:
Greater emotional regulation, where you can feel your feelings without being swept away by them.
Reduced chronic pain or fatigue as your body learns it doesn’t have to stay on high alert.
More ease and openness in relationships.
A stronger sense of trust in yourself and your inner resilience
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Brainspotting can sometimes bring quick relief, but the most profound transformations tend to come from steady, consistent work and integration. These lasting changes often unfold quietly at first, then become more obvious as you realize old triggers no longer hold the same weight. Over time, you may notice you’re moving through life with more ease, clarity, and a sense of being grounded in yourself.
How Long Does It Usually Take?
Some clients feel a noticeable difference in just a few sessions, especially when the work is focused on a specific, recent event. For deeper, long‑standing issues that have been layered over years, the process may take months or longer. Compared to traditional talk therapy, many find Brainspotting accelerates healing because it bypasses the thinking brain and works directly with the nervous system’s patterns of protection.
The Role of Consistency in Results in Brainspotting Therapy
Momentum matters. Weekly or biweekly sessions often help maintain progress, especially in the beginning, because they keep your nervous system engaged and supported. Taking long breaks can slow the pace; not because you’ve lost the work you’ve done, but because the nervous system thrives on repeated safety cues and consistent reinforcement.
Think of it like learning a new language or strengthening a muscle: the more often you practice, the more natural the change becomes. With Brainspotting, each session builds on the last, training your brain and body to respond in new, healthier ways. Repetition is what helps those new patterns take root and become your default.
What to Do Between Brainspotting Sessions
Healing doesn’t just happen in the therapy room, it continues quietly in the hours and days that follow. What you do between sessions can help your nervous system integrate and anchor the work we’ve started.
Here are some gentle, intentional ways you can support your healing between sessions:
Journal any sensations, emotions, or dreams that stand out.
Practice gentle movement like stretching or walking.
Use grounding exercises to bring awareness back to the present.
Prioritize rest and hydration.
Integration is where the nervous system starts weaving in the changes. These moments of care between sessions are as important as the work we do together. They allow your system to slowly test and trust new ways of being. Even the smallest daily choices—pausing to breathe, moving your body gently, noticing sensations—help reinforce the shifts made in session.
How Brainspotting Fits Into the Bigger Picture of Somatic Healing
Brainspotting is a powerful modality on its own, but it also works beautifully when woven together with other supportive approaches. Pairing it with methods that nurture your nervous system’s capacity to feel safe and express itself fully can make the work even more effective and lasting. In my practice, I often blend Brainspotting with creative and body-based approaches so each session is shaped for the person sitting across from me.
Play Therapy or Expressive Arts for children and teens who process best through creativity.
Polyvagal-informed strategies to help the nervous system find safety and stability.
Mindfulness or CBT when a little structure and reframing can bring clarity.
When you work with me as a somatic therapist who specializes in Brainspotting, your healing is never a template, it’s created for you. I honor both your emotional and physical experience, meeting you exactly where you are in your body and in your story. My approach combines deep nervous system knowledge with a warm, attuned presence, so you feel safe, supported, and understood. I bring together body-based and creative methods that help your system release what it’s ready to let go of, while also building the resilience and steadiness you’ll carry forward.
When Might It Be Time to Adjust Your Approach?
Sometimes the pace of change slows or even stalls, and that can feel discouraging if you were hoping for steady momentum. This isn’t a sign that the work isn’t helping, it’s your nervous system signaling that something might need to shift. In Brainspotting, we use these pauses as information, adjusting the process so your body feels supported enough to keep moving forward.
That could mean:
Increasing the frequency of sessions to maintain connection and momentum.
Exploring different Brainspotting targets that may get closer to the root of what you’re carrying.
Integrating other therapeutic modalities—like somatic work, mindfulness, or expressive arts—to support regulation and expression in new ways.
These adjustments aren’t about pushing harder, they’re about meeting your system exactly where it is in this moment. Your body’s cues will always guide the process, and honoring them is part of what makes Brainspotting such a deeply attuned and effective approach. Sometimes the most powerful shifts happen when we slow down and listen more closely.
Your Healing Pace Matters in Ways You Might Not Expect
There’s no universal answer to how long it takes for Brainspotting to work. Your nervous system sets the pace, and that pace is wise. Whether you notice changes right away or slowly over time, each step forward is a step toward more freedom, safety, and connection. And every shift—no matter how small—can be a sign that your system is reorganizing in ways that support lasting change.
Could Brainspotting in Phoenix Be the Somatic Therapy Support You’ve Been Looking For?
If you’ve been holding your breath for too long, trying to stay strong, trying to keep going, you’re not alone. At some point, it’s worth asking: what would it be like to finally let your body be part of the conversation? At Through It All Counseling, Brainspotting in Phoenix offers a gentle path back to yourself, one that doesn’t require you to explain every detail or push through the pain, but instead invites you to notice, breathe, and allow change to happen at your nervous system’s pace. Whether you’re navigating trauma, medical challenges, anxiety, or a heaviness you can’t quite name, I would be honored to walk beside you. Healing isn’t about pushing harder, it’s about softening into safety, reconnecting with your body, and remembering that you are allowed to feel better. If you’re ready to begin, I’m here to take that step with you.
Reach out to schedule your Brainspotting session
Begin your journey toward feeling grounded, connected, and fully present in your own body.
Other Therapy Services Offered at Through It All Counseling in Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona
Somatic therapy isn’t just one technique—it’s an approach that respects and works with the body’s role in healing. In my work, that means offering a variety of integrative, creative, and evidence‑informed therapies that care for the whole person: mind, body, and nervous system. Whether you’re a parent supporting a child through big feelings, navigating a major life transition, or working through your own experiences of trauma, medical illness, or anxiety, you deserve approaches that meet you where you are and honor your unique process.
Alongside Brainspotting, I offer Play Therapy, Expressive Arts, Bibliotherapy, and Creative Art Therapy to help younger clients and expressive learners process emotions through movement, metaphor, and imagination. For adults and families, my services include Polyvagal Therapy, Mindfulness‑Based Interventions, Parent Work, Family Systems Therapy, and Co‑Parenting Support—each grounded in safety, curiosity, and compassion. I also integrate Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution‑Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), and Motivational Interviewing when structure, focus, and clarity will best support your goals.
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 over three decades supporting families through illness, grief, and overwhelm, she brings both deep expertise and empathy to her work.
Cristina discovered somatic therapy through her own healing journey and now specializes in Brainspotting Therapy in Phoenix to help clients gently process trauma, anxiety, and medical stress. At her private practice, Through It All Counseling, she supports children, teens, and adults using Brainspotting, Play Therapy, Expressive Arts, and Polyvagal-informed care.
Cristina’s approach is integrative, compassionate, and rooted in the belief that healing happens at the nervous system’s pace—not on a timeline. If you’re ready to reconnect with yourself and feel more grounded, she’s here to walk beside you.