Preparing for Specialty Trauma Therapy: Key Insights from Anchored and Brainspotting
Brittany of Hautz Counseling, Certified Brainspotting Therapist
Why Prepare for Specialty Trauma Therapy?
Specialty trauma therapies differ from traditional talk therapy in significant ways. While talk therapy often focuses on processing thoughts and emotions, trauma therapy targets the somatic, body-based responses to trauma, which can manifest as physical tension, emotional overwhelm, or dissociation. Preparing yourself for this work requires an understanding of how trauma is stored in the body and how therapeutic modalities like Brainspotting work to release it.
Gathering resources before starting trauma therapy can be incredibly empowering. Educational tools, self-help techniques, and trauma-focused reading materials will help you better understand your body’s response to trauma and give you practical strategies to regulate emotions before, during, and after therapy sessions.
Gathering Resources
Before diving into therapy, consider gathering resources that can enhance your understanding of trauma and healing. These resources can take various forms:
Educational Materials: Watch videos, listen to podcasts, or read articles that explain trauma and nervous system regulation.
Support Systems: Join trauma-informed support groups or online communities that can provide insight, shared experiences, and encouragement.
Journaling Tools: Reflecting on your self through journaling can help you process emotions and track your progress over time.
However, two of the most impactful resources you can engage with are books specifically designed to explain the nervous system’s role in trauma and introduce the techniques you will encounter in therapy. Anchored by Deb Dana and Brainspotting by David Grand are highly recommended for this purpose.
Book #1: Anchored by Deb Dana
Summary of Anchored
Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory is a foundational text for anyone preparing for trauma therapy. Deb Dana, a leading expert in Polyvagal Theory, breaks down how the nervous system reacts to stress, trauma, and everyday challenges. She explains how trauma disrupts our ability to shift between different states of arousal (fight/flight, freeze/fawn, and connection/safety) and offers practical exercises to help regain nervous system balance.
Dana simplifies the complex world of the nervous system into three key states:
Ventral Vagal (Safety and Connection): A state of calmness, connection, and engagement.
Sympathetic (Fight or Flight): The response to perceived danger, leading to anxiety, stress, and hypervigilance.
Dorsal Vagal (Shutdown or Freeze): A protective mechanism in which the body shuts down in response to overwhelming danger, leading to feelings of numbness or disconnection.
Dana’s book emphasizes building self-awareness of these states and learning how to move toward a more regulated, ventral vagal state. By practicing her suggested exercises, readers learn to recognize when they’re dysregulated and apply tools to bring themselves back to a sense of safety.
Why It’s Essential for Trauma Therapy Preparation
Anchored is essential reading for trauma therapy because it provides the tools to regulate your nervous system, which is often over-activated by trauma. Understanding how trauma affects your nervous system also empowers you to recognize your triggers and triggering, and begin practicing self-regulation before therapy even begins.
The practical exercises and techniques Dana outlines can be applied in everyday life, helping you build resilience and a deeper sense of safety before delving into trauma work. This preparation makes it easier to engage with somatic therapies like Brainspotting, where your body’s responses are crucial to the therapeutic process.
Book #2: Brainspotting by David Grand
Summary of Brainspotting
Brainspotting: The Revolutionary New Therapy for Rapid and Effective Change by David Grand explains the Brainspotting technique, a powerful approach to trauma therapy that helps individuals access and release stored trauma by focusing on specific “brainspots” in the visual field. A brainspot is a position in a person’s field of vision that correlates with areas of emotional significance in the brain.
Grand explains how trauma gets stored in the subcortical areas of the brain, where traditional talk therapy may not reach. Brainspotting accesses stuck pain points and emotions by focusing on certain eye positions, which helps to unlock and process unresolved trauma. The technique combines the power of the brain’s natural self-healing mechanisms with the guidance of a trained therapist, making it a highly effective modality for trauma recovery.
The book highlights the concept of dual attunement, which refers to the client’s attunement to their internal experience and the therapist’s attunement to the client’s process. This framework ensures that the client feels supported and safe while processing deep emotions and trauma.
Why It’s Essential for Trauma Therapy Preparation
Reading Brainspotting before starting therapy gives you a solid understanding of what to expect from the technique and how it works. Knowing the science behind Brainspotting can reduce any fear or anxiety you may have about trying a new therapy. The book explains how and why Brainspotting accesses data stored in the brain’s deeper regions, helping you feel more confident and prepared to engage with the process.
Brainspotting also encourages you to pay attention to the bodily sensations that arise during therapy, which aligns with other somatic-based therapies like EMDR or Somatic Experiencing. This practice will help you better understand how trauma manifests physically and how to release it in therapy. By familiarizing yourself with the method, you’ll enter sessions with a clearer sense of how to collaborate with your therapist and make the most of your therapy experience.
So why prepare for Brainspotting?
Preparing for specialty trauma therapy is a crucial step in your healing journey. By gathering resources, building self-awareness, and engaging with preparatory reading like Anchored by Deb Dana and Brainspotting by David Grand, you can enter therapy with the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to make the most of the process. Both books provide valuable insights into how trauma affects the nervous system and offer practical tools to help you regulate your body’s response to stress and trauma.
With the right preparation, you can feel more empowered and ready to engage deeply in trauma therapy, setting yourself up for a transformative healing experience.
To learn more about our specialty trauma services available across the state of Pennsylvania, please explore our website!
