Does Brainspotting Actually Work? The Evidence | ScienceWorks

Last reviewed: 07/01/2026

Reviewed by: Dr. Kiesa Kelly

If you are asking whether Brainspotting actually works, you have probably found two kinds of pages: enthusiastic testimonials that call it life-changing, and skeptics who dismiss it entirely. Neither extreme is quite right, and you deserve the version that most clinics skip: a clear-eyed look at what the research does and does not show.

Here is the short version, and the rest of this article backs it up. Brainspotting is promising but early. A small body of research suggests it may help with trauma symptoms, but it has not been tested in large trials and is not yet a guideline-recommended treatment. That honest picture is more useful for your decision than either hype or dismissal.

In this article, you'll learn:

• What the research base for Brainspotting actually looks like today

• How it compares to better-studied therapies like EMDR

• Why it is not yet on the APA or VA/DoD recommended-treatment lists

• A practical way to weigh an emerging therapy for your own care

• The specific questions to ask any Brainspotting provider

The honest short answer

Brainspotting appears to help some people, and the early studies are encouraging, but the evidence is limited and preliminary. It is not proven, not a cure, and not currently recommended in the major clinical guidelines. If you value being able to trust the evidence behind your care, a better-researched, guideline-backed trauma therapy is usually the more responsible starting point, with Brainspotting considered as one option within a plan.

What "emerging" actually means here

It is worth being precise about the word emerging, because it is doing a lot of work. It does not mean unsafe, and it does not mean fringe. It means a treatment that has some early, encouraging research but has not yet been through the large, repeated, independent testing that turns a promising idea into an established standard of care. Plenty of treatments that are now first-line began as emerging approaches. Some emerging approaches, on the other hand, never accumulate the evidence and quietly fade. At this stage, no one honestly knows which path Brainspotting will take, and a responsible clinician will tell you that rather than filling the uncertainty with confidence it has not earned.

What the research base looks like today

The small studies and pilots

The Brainspotting research base is small and early. A non-randomized study of 76 help-seeking adults found significant reductions in PTSD symptoms after both Brainspotting and EMDR, which is encouraging but limited by its design [1]. A controlled study of 40 participants found that a single session of Brainspotting reduced the distress of upsetting memories about as much as a single session of EMDR, and more than a comparison condition, though this was an analog study of memory distress rather than a treatment trial for diagnosed PTSD [2]. A small randomized study comparing Brainspotting to usual care found both groups improved, with Brainspotting showing somewhat stronger benefits at the follow-up stage, but it had a small sample and high dropout [3]. The most cited account of how Brainspotting might work is a theoretical hypothesis paper, not a brain-imaging confirmation [4].

Comparisons with EMDR

Across these studies, the recurring finding is that Brainspotting and EMDR produce similar short-term relief. That is genuinely interesting. But it comes with a caveat that is easy to miss: EMDR has been validated in many independent trials, while Brainspotting has only these few small studies. Showing a similar result in a small study is not the same as matching EMDR's overall evidence. Our comparison of two evidence-based trauma therapies shows what a fuller evidence base looks like by contrast.

What's missing

The gaps are the important part. There are no large randomized trials of Brainspotting. There are few active-control comparisons, meaning studies that test it head-to-head against an established treatment with adequate sample sizes. Long-term follow-up is thin, and several studies involve the method's own developer, which is a recognized source of bias. Until those gaps are filled, confident claims about effectiveness are premature.

Why Brainspotting isn't on the recommended lists

Clinical guidelines are how the field signals which treatments the evidence supports. The American Psychological Association's 2017 guideline strongly recommends cognitive behavioral therapy, cognitive processing therapy, cognitive therapy, and prolonged exposure for PTSD, with a weaker recommendation for EMDR [5]. The 2023 VA/DoD guideline recommends cognitive processing therapy, prolonged exposure, and EMDR as trauma-focused psychotherapies [6][7]. Brainspotting appears on neither list.

That absence does not mean Brainspotting has failed or been rejected. It means it has not yet been studied enough to be evaluated at that level. Guidelines follow large, replicated evidence, and Brainspotting simply does not have that yet. For you, the practical meaning is this: choosing Brainspotting means choosing an approach that is still being established, which is a reasonable choice in some situations but should be made with eyes open.

How to weigh an emerging therapy for your own care

Emerging does not mean useless, and established does not mean guaranteed. Here is a decision heuristic you can apply:

• If you have not yet tried a first-line, guideline-recommended therapy, that is usually the more responsible place to start, because the evidence behind it is strongest.

• If you have tried well-supported approaches and they did not fit, stalled, or felt intolerable, it becomes more reasonable to try an emerging option like Brainspotting, ideally within a plan rather than as a standalone bet.

• If detailed retelling is a barrier for you, a body-based approach may be worth trying sooner, while still keeping realistic expectations about the evidence.

• In all cases, an emerging therapy is safest when it is one considered option, chosen with a clinician, rather than a replacement for approaches with stronger support.

Take someone who has done two rounds of talk therapy for childhood trauma. They function well at work and can discuss their history without falling apart, yet they still carry a low, chronic dread and flinch at raised voices. They have read about Brainspotting and feel drawn to it. A reasonable path is not "Brainspotting instead of everything else." It is a conversation: has a first-line trauma therapy such as cognitive processing therapy or EMDR actually been tried in a real course of treatment? If not, that may be the stronger opening move. If those have genuinely been tried and stalled, Brainspotting becomes a more reasonable option to add to the plan. The decision gets made deliberately, weighing evidence against personal fit, rather than driven by whichever page was most persuasive.

The distinguishing idea: weigh how much you value proven evidence against how much a different entry point might help you personally, and make that trade-off deliberately rather than by accident. Understanding how trauma affects the brain can also help you have a more informed conversation about which mechanism-of-action makes sense for you.

How we use Brainspotting responsibly at ScienceWorks

We treat Brainspotting as one option within an evidence-informed plan, not a default. That means we talk honestly about where the evidence stands, we usually consider better-researched, guideline-recommended trauma-focused therapies first, and we use Brainspotting when it genuinely fits the person in front of us. We also track progress with validated measures like the PCL-5 rather than assuming an approach is working, and we adjust when it is not.

Questions to ask any Brainspotting provider

Whether you see us or someone else, these questions help you find a responsible provider:

• What training or certification do you have in Brainspotting, and how long have you practiced it?

• Given my history, is Brainspotting the right first step, or would a more established, guideline-recommended therapy make more sense to start?

• How will we track whether it is actually helping, and over what timeframe?

• What is the plan if it is not helping after a reasonable trial?

A provider who welcomes these questions, gives straight answers, and avoids promising guaranteed or rapid cures is showing you the honesty that emerging-therapy work requires.

Carrying something that still feels close?

Trauma-focused care - including approaches like EMDR - can help you process what happened at a pace that feels safe, with a clinician who understands trauma responses. If you would like help deciding whether Brainspotting or a better-established approach fits your situation, we are glad to talk it through.

Schedule a trauma consultation →

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Brainspotting evidence-based?

Not in the strong sense. Brainspotting has some supporting research, but it is limited to a few small studies rather than the large, replicated trials that define a firmly evidence-based treatment. It is better described as an emerging or promising approach. Well-established trauma therapies like cognitive processing therapy, prolonged exposure, and EMDR have far more evidence behind them.

Is Brainspotting a scam or is it legitimate?

Brainspotting is a legitimate approach used by trained, licensed clinicians, not a scam. The fair criticism is not that it is fraudulent but that its evidence base is still thin and its proposed mechanism is unproven. Legitimate but emerging is the accurate description. Be cautious of any provider who promises guaranteed or rapid cures, which the research does not support.

How does Brainspotting's evidence compare to EMDR's?

EMDR has substantially more evidence. It is recommended for PTSD in major clinical guidelines and has been studied for decades. Brainspotting has only a handful of small studies, some not randomized. Early research suggests their short-term effects may be similar, but similar preliminary signals are not the same as the robust, independent evidence EMDR has accumulated.

Should I try Brainspotting or a first-line PTSD therapy first?

For most people, starting with a first-line, guideline-recommended therapy is the more responsible choice, because the evidence behind it is stronger. Brainspotting is reasonable to consider when those approaches have not fit or have stalled, or as one part of a broader plan. A clinician can help you weigh your history, preferences, and what has already been tried.

Is Brainspotting right if talk therapy hasn't worked?

It may be worth considering. Brainspotting is body-based and does not rely on detailed retelling, so some people turn to it when talk therapy has helped intellectually but not shifted the physical charge of trauma. That said, it is not the only option in that situation, and the evidence is limited, so it is best explored with a clinician rather than assumed to be the answer.

About the Author

Dr. Kiesa Kelly is a licensed clinical psychologist and the founder of ScienceWorks Behavioral Healthcare, with more than 20 years of experience in psychological assessment and evidence-based treatment. Her clinical background includes advanced training in trauma care, and she leads the practice's commitment to matching each person to approaches supported by the current evidence.

Dr. Kelly reviews the practice's clinical content for accuracy, with particular attention to how emerging approaches like Brainspotting are represented, so that readers get an honest account of what the research does and does not yet support.

References

1. Hildebrand A, Grand D, Stemmler M. Brainspotting - the efficacy of a new therapy approach for the treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in comparison to Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Mediterr J Clin Psychol. 2017;5(1). https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Brainspotting-%E2%80%93-the-efficacy-of-a-new-therapy-for-Hildebrand-Grand/34593072b2769274a0e1117403004f72c5cc6887

2. D'Antoni F, Matiz A, Fabbro F, Crescentini C. Psychotherapeutic Techniques for Distressing Memories: A Comparative Study between EMDR, Brainspotting, and Body Scan Meditation. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(3):1142. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8835026/

3. Horton LM, Schwartzberg A, Goldberg P, Grieve K, Brdecka L. Brainspotting: Introducing Brainspotting as a treatment for PTSD. Int Body Psychother J. 2023-2024;22(2):57-72. https://ibpj.org/issues/articles/Horton,%20Schwartzberg,%20Goldberg,%20Grieve,%20Brdecka%20-%20Brainspotting.pdf

4. Corrigan FM, Grand D. Brainspotting: Recruiting the midbrain for accessing and healing sensorimotor memories of traumatic activation. Med Hypotheses. 2013;80(6):759-766. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23570648/

5. American Psychological Association. Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Adults. 2017. https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline

6. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense. VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder. 2023. https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/txessentials/cpg_ptsd_management.asp

7. Lang AJ, Hamblen JL, Holtzheimer P, et al. The Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder: Synopsis of the 2023 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline. Ann Intern Med. 2023. https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M23-2757

8. Grand D. Brainspotting: The Revolutionary New Therapy for Rapid and Effective Change. Sounds True; 2013. https://www.amazon.com/Brainspotting-Revolutionary-Therapy-Effective-Change/dp/1604078901

9. National Center for PTSD. How Common Is PTSD in Adults? U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/common/common_adults.asp

10. National Institute of Mental Health. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd

Disclaimer

This article is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional diagnosis, treatment, or advice. Brainspotting is an emerging approach whose evidence base is still developing; this article does not claim it is a proven or recommended treatment. Reading this content does not create a clinician-patient relationship. If you are in crisis or may harm yourself, call or text 988 (the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) or seek emergency care. For guidance about your own situation, please consult a qualified clinician.