Brainspotting Therapy

Virtual Therapy in California

What is Brainspotting?

Brainspotting is a powerful and effective therapeutic technique that can help you access and process deep-rooted trauma memories, bodily distress, and psychological overwhelm. We will work together to find your specific eye gaze positions to identify and process neurophysiological sources of emotional and trauma pains, often held in the body. You may process emotional overwhelm, internally and outwardly, in our grounded therapeutic space, where you can gently notice what comes up without having to force yourself to talk through every detail of an experience. Brainspotting is another way of restoring wisdom that was inherently yours, reclaiming power that was taken from you, and helping you feel empowered with your body's capacity for processing and resilience.

How do we start?

You don't have to know exactly what you need before reaching out. We can begin there together. My work using Brainspotting trusts your body's innate wisdom and invites your whole self into the therapy session. Rather than only talking about an experience, we pay attention to what is happening internally and physiologically so YOU can connect with it.

Brainspotting FAQ

Who is Brainspotting for?

Brainspotting can be helpful for folks who feel stuck in patterns of anxiety, overwhelm, emotional triggers, or trauma responses. You understand what happened to you intellectually, but still feel like your body is holding onto the experiences.

This is common for folks who have experienced internalized racism, internalized homophobia and transphobia, and intergenerational traumas.

You don’t need to have a specific trauma or memory that you want to work on. Sometimes we simply notice that something continues to affect you, even when you can’t quite explain why.

Many clients report feeling notable relief after each Brainspotting session with me.

Brainspotting vs talk therapy?

Talk therapy can be incredibly meaningful and healing. At the same time, talking about and intellectually understanding experiences can be inadequate for creating the shift survivors seek.

My work using Brainspotting trusts the body’s wisdom and invites your wholeself into the therapy session. Rather than only talking about an experience, we pay attention to what is happening internally and physiologically so YOU can connect with it.

For me, Brainspotting isn’t about replacing talk therapy. It’s another way of restoring wisdom that was inherently yours, reclaiming power that was taken from you, and helping you connect with your body’s capacity for processing and resilience.

What does a Brainspotting session look like?

Our Brainspotting sessions will begin by slowing down and getting grounded. I may invite you to notice a feeling, thought, memory, or sensation in your body and gently explore what happens as you focus your gaze at different areas of your visual field.

You remain in control throughout the process. There is no need to force anything to happen or share more than feels right for you.

Brainspotting can look different for everyone. Sometimes there is a lot of emotional processing, and sometimes the experience is much quieter and more subtle. We will go at YOUR pace.

How does virtual Brainspotting work?

Brainspotting can be incorporated into virtual psychotherapy sessions. I will guide you through the process using your computer screen and help you notice your internal and physical responses as we work together.

Your comfort and sense of control are important to me. We can slow down, pause, or adjust the process whenever you need.

You don’t have to know exactly what you need before reaching out. We can begin there together.

Can Brainspotting help with trauma?

Brainspotting can be a helpful trauma-processing technique for folks who have experienced Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute trauma, anxiety and panic symptoms, stress, depression and mood issues, chronic physical pain, and more.

A traumatized body is holding onto the memories of the trauma, especially for those who have experienced internalized racism, internalized homophobia and transphobia, and intergenerational traumas.

Trauma isn’t only something we remember with our minds. It can also show up through our bodies, emotions, relationships, and nervous systems. Brainspotting gives us another way to work with these experiences beyond talking about what happened

Is Brainspotting right for me?

There is no one therapy approach that works for everyone.

In our sessions together, we may explore using Brainspotting if you feel like you’ve talked about something many times but still feel stuck, if you notice that certain experiences or memories ruminate, or if you’re looking for a deeper, more experiential way of working through trauma and emotional overwhelm.

During our consultation, we can talk about what you’re experiencing and whether Brainspotting feels like a good fit for your needs.

Brainspotting for Sexual Abuse Trauma

Sexual abuse can leave experiences in your body and nervous system long after the abuse has ended. You may carry fear, shame, numbness, tension, or a sense of disconnection that can be difficult to explain with words alone.

Brainspotting offers another way to work with trauma by bringing gentle attention to your body and internal experience. It can create space to process what you’re carrying without needing to tell every detail of your story.

We don’t have to force anything open or rush toward healing.

Your body has its own pace. Your boundaries matter. You remain in control of the process.

Brainspotting & Self-Worth

When you’ve spent years proving, pleasing, achieving, or taking care of everyone else, it can become difficult to know your own worth outside of what you do for others.

Brainspotting can help create space to explore the experiences and patterns underneath that way of living.

We can gently reconnect with your needs, emotions, body, and sense of self—without turning healing into another thing you have to accomplish.

You don’t have to earn your worth. You don’t have to be productive to deserve a break. You can begin creating a relationship with yourself that feels more compassionate, trusting, and free.

"Brainspotting works with the deep brain and the body through its direct access to the autonomic and limbic systems within the body’s central nervous system."

David Grand, PhD

Developer and trainer of Brainspotting

How I can help you...

My approach integrates Brainspotting and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), along with Liberation Psychology, Critical Race Theory, identity and belonging work, and exploration of the intersections of culture, race, gender, and sexuality. I incorporate somatic awareness, mindfulness, and self-compassion to help you notice how stress and trauma can be held in the body, while creating space to process traumatic experiences and develop greater awareness of the patterns you learned or inherited.

You and I will explore how trauma, racism, oppression, family patterns, cultural experiences, and identities may shape the way you see yourself, relate to others, and experience your body and emotions.

Our sessions together help to put language to your experiences, understand intergenerational and learned patterns, challenge internalized oppressive beliefs, and reconnect with your identity and sense of belonging. I support you in developing greater self-compassion, resilience, agency, and liberating yourself to live more authentically—while reclaiming the parts of yourself, your culture, and your story that may have been silenced

Healing isn’t about becoming someone else. It’s about creating more space to be fully yourself.

Call to schedule a free 15 minutes phone consultation with Angel Tang, LMFT

619-719-5567

angel@crescentshorespsychotherapy.com

I live and work on unceded land of Kumeyaay Nation.
To learn more and join me in supporting Indigenous communities,
visit Native Governance Center, Museum of Us, and Native Lands.