Trauma Therapy and Brainspotting in Nashville: Healing What Words Alone Can't Reach
Some experiences stay with us long after they're over.
Not just as memories, but as reactions.
A tightness in your chest when your partner raises their voice.
A surge of panic you can't explain.
Irritability that seems to come out of nowhere.
Numbness when you want to feel something.
Or a quiet sense that you're still bracing for something that already happened.
You may have told yourself it's in the past. That you should be over it by now. That other people have had it worse.
Hear this: what you're carrying makes sense. It isn't weakness, and it isn't a character flaw. It's your nervous system doing exactly what it learned to do to keep you safe.
What do we mean by trauma?
Trauma isn't defined only by what happened to you. It's also about what happened inside you: how overwhelmed, alone, or powerless you felt, and what your mind and body had to do to get through it.
For some people, trauma comes from a single event, like an accident, a loss, an assault, a medical crisis, or the discovery of infidelity. For others, it builds slowly. Growing up around criticism, unpredictability, or emotional absence. Learning early that your needs were too much, or that feelings were something to hide.
Many of the men and women I work with have never called any of it trauma. They learned to push through. To stay useful. To keep everyone else steady. And it worked, for a while.
Trauma can show up as:
Anxiety, panic, or hypervigilance
Anger, irritability, or rage
Emotional numbness or feeling disconnected from yourself
Overworking, overfunctioning, or never being able to rest
Drinking, pornography, or other ways of escaping
Withdrawing or shutting down in your marriage
Intrusive memories, nightmares, or trouble sleeping
Feeling stuck in the same patterns, even when you understand them
Why all of my work is trauma-informed
Being trauma-informed means I don't start with "What's wrong with you?" I start with "What happened to you, and what did you need to do to survive it?"
It shapes everything about how we work together:
Safety comes first. We move at a pace that feels manageable to you, not one dictated by a protocol.
You stay in control. You choose what we explore and when. You never have to relive or retell your story in detail to heal from it.
Your reactions are understood, not judged. Anger, avoidance, perfectionism, and shutting down often began as protection. We treat them with curiosity instead of criticism.
We work with the body, not just the mind. Insight matters, but trauma lives in the nervous system too.
This lens runs through my work with individual men and women, and through my work with couples. In relationships, trauma often drives the cycle: one partner's triggers set off the other's response, and suddenly you're in the same fight again. When we understand what's underneath, couples can stop fighting each other and start working on the pattern together.
Brainspotting: a brain-body approach to trauma
Some things stay stuck even after years of understanding them. You can explain exactly where they came from and still feel them in your body. That's often where Brainspotting can help.
Brainspotting is a brain-body therapy developed by Dr. David Grand. It's built on a simple observation: where you look affects how you feel.
Using your field of vision, we look for eye positions, called "brainspots," that connect to where your nervous system is holding unresolved distress. Once we find one, I invite you to hold your gaze there while you notice what comes up: a sensation, an emotion, an image, a memory, or sometimes nothing you can put into words at all. Some sessions may include bilateral music to support the process.
Then we simply stay with it.
My role isn't to interpret or direct. It's to remain steady and present while your brain does what it's already designed to do: process and heal. This is sometimes called "dual attunement," where I stay attuned to you as you stay attuned to your own internal experience.
Why people find it different from talk therapy:
It doesn't require you to tell the whole story. You can work with a feeling or sensation without detailing what happened.
It reaches below words, where much trauma is stored.
It can help when insight alone hasn't been enough.
It's unhurried. Your system sets the pace.
What a Brainspotting session looks like
Brainspotting is always woven into our broader work together, not a standalone technique.
We start by talking. We clarify what you want to work on, how it shows up in your life, and what you need to feel safe.
We choose a focus. This might be a memory, a recurring reaction, a body sensation, or a pattern in your relationship.
We find your brainspot. I guide you to notice where in your visual field the focus feels most activated.
We process. You hold your gaze there, in silence or with music, and notice what unfolds. I stay with you.
We close and integrate. We spend time grounding, making sense of what surfaced, and connecting it to your life outside the office.
What Brainspotting can help with
Brainspotting can be a good fit for individuals and couples working through:
Trauma and post-traumatic stress, including single-incident and long-term relational trauma
Anxiety, panic, and a nervous system that won't settle
Anger and emotional reactivity
Grief and loss
Childhood experiences that still shape adult relationships
Trauma in a marriage, including betrayal and infidelity
Medical or accident-related trauma
Feeling numb, shut down, or disconnected
Stuck patterns that insight and coping skills haven't shifted
Is Brainspotting right for me?
It depends, and that's something we figure out together. Some people are ready to begin Brainspotting right away. Others benefit from first building stability, skills, or a stronger sense of trust in the work. We'll talk through your history, your goals, and what you need before deciding how to proceed.
Brainspotting isn't a magic fix, and I won't promise you one. What I can promise is a collaborative process, at a pace that respects where you are.
An honest word about the evidence
Brainspotting was developed in 2003, and while research on it continues to grow, it is more limited compared with longer-established trauma treatments like EMDR. That said, there are many studies over it’s more than 20 year history, that support Brainspotting’s effectiveness. In my practice, Brainspotting is integrated with other evidence-based approaches, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and we'll regularly check in about whether the work is helping you.
Brainspotting for both individuals and couples
Individual Brainspotting for men and women
People are often taught to handle pain by powering through it, staying quiet, or staying busy. Brainspotting offers a different path, one that doesn't require you to find the perfect words for what you feel. For many, that alone makes it easier to begin.
Brainspotting and couples work
When trauma is part of what's fueling conflict or disconnection, individual Brainspotting can complement our couples work. As old reactions soften, many couples find they can respond to each other from a calmer, more connected place. When working relationally with couples, this can look like an individual Brainspotting session as part of our couples work, individually within our couples session, or together with both partners within a couples session.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to talk about what happened to me?
No. Many people find Brainspotting helpful precisely because it doesn't require a detailed retelling. We can work with what you feel and notice, even if you can't fully explain it.
How is Brainspotting different from EMDR?
Both are brain-body therapies used for trauma, and Brainspotting grew out of related ideas. EMDR follows a more structured protocol and typically uses back-and-forth eye movements. Brainspotting uses a fixed gaze point and tends to be less structured, following your internal process.
Is Brainspotting hypnosis?
No. You're awake, aware, and in control throughout the session.
How long are Brainspotting sessions?
Typical Brainspotting sessions are the same 50 minute clinical hour as more traditional talk therapy sessions. If you would be interested in an extended session, or if your therapist feels it would be helpful, planning for a longer session can be discussed.
How many sessions will I need?
That varies widely depending on what you're working on and your history. We'll check in regularly about progress and adjust as we go.
Is Brainspotting available online?
Yes, Brainspotting sessions can be done over telehealth. I provide access to telehealth for anyone living within the state of Tennessee.
Do you accept insurance?
No. Stillwood Therapy is a private pay practice. If you would like to seek reimbursement on your own through your insurance company, a superbill of services can be provided for you.
Is Brainspotting a replacement for medication or other care?
Not necessarily. Brainspotting can be part of a broader plan, and I'm glad to coordinate with your physician or psychiatrist when helpful.