Brainspotting:
A Brain-Based Therapeutic Approach
Eliminate Mental Blocks & Improve Physical Performance
Welcome
Everyone has to perform in some way, every day, as an individual or part of a team. Unfortunately, public performing increases performance anxiety, and the stress can cause some to end their career or at least undermine it. The mental-emotional aspects of performing are now openly acknowledged. Yet, when traditional approaches fail, athletes and coaches don’t know that effective help is available; this is even true for the most extreme cases.
- Are you performing below the level of your potential? Yes?
- Do you want to be performing better than you ever thought possible? Yes?
- Is it unacceptable to you to never become your best? Yes?
If your answers are yes and you are ready, reach out, Now!
This is very true for the:
- Actor
- Athlete
- Musician
- Public Presenter
Our Center
Our focus is on improving your ability to perform effectively so you can accomplish your goals and live the life that you want. We not only work with high level athletes and other public performers, but with regular people who want to improve their ability to perform in their personal, social or professional life.
Our goal is for you to quickly remove your blocks so that you can achieve your highest level of performing. Your personal goal might be to reduce your anxiety and fear so you can commit to your romantic partner or your professional goal might be to neutralize a performance trauma and become a high performer on your team.
We focus on Brainspotting (BSP) as our core approach due to its effectiveness, especially with trauma. We also use valuable tools such as Cognitive-Behavioral Psychology, Neuro Linguistic Programming, Mindful Creativity, Positive Psychology, Structural Thinking, and other approaches.
Our Focuses
We have three focuses:
1. Reduce the intensity of a past painful experience, removing blocks that undermine your ability to perform. This includes, eliminating the “Yips.”
2. Connect with your personal inner resources and increase your ability to utilize them. Resources such as:
- Calmness
- Curiosity
- Courage
- Confidence
- Optimism
- and of course, Motivation
3. Expand your ability to perform and tap into the state of Flow, commonly called “The Zone” and “The Groove.”
Performance
Performance Traumas
Traumas: Most adults have had an event that still feels traumatic. Not necessarily a PTSD trauma, but an accident, failure, humiliation, illness, injury, loss, etc., that when re-experienced, is upsetting.
These painful memories become stuck in the mid-brain, commonly known as the unconscious. In neuroscience this is known as a Freeze (Fight, Flight, Freeze). This causes the person’s mind to become blocked, resulting in both emotional and physical pain. Left untreated, this unprocessed memory can cause major performance issues.
Performance Traumas: Most performers have experienced personal and professional traumas that can undermine their future performances. They have missed their mark, interacted poorly with a fellow performer, or gotten into their head. They are physically and emotionally traumatized and build over time.
Sports traumas often come from accidents, failures, humiliations, and injuries. Traditional approaches seldom help and traditional sports psychology has not accepted this reality.
Performance Problems
Repetitive Sports Performance Problems, especially the yips, are caused by traumas. Brainspotting can effectively neutralize these problems, even the yips.
One sad example is that of Mackey Sasser, a starting catcher with the New York Mets. During his all-pro level 1990 season he was aggressively run over at home plate. This was the end stage of a lifetime of trauma. His yips became obvious and he was mocked by the fans and the media. He would often have to pump his arm several times and sometimes even then he couldn’t release the ball without walking towards the pitcher. This was the beginning of the end to his baseball career.
Dr. David Grand worked with Mackey and in only three sessions, in one day, they got his yips under control. Watch the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, “Fields of Fear.”
Brainspotting
Brainspotting is a highly effective, brain-based, and client-centered approach. It is so organic, natural, and simple that it is sometimes referred to as magical. It mimics the way your brain and body normally process and resolve negative experiences. During the actual processing of a specific issue, you don’t have to share what that specific topic or event is or any details. This is the opposite approach of traditional talk therapy that is still used to attempt to process deep issues and traumas.
The Process
With help you will identify and focus on the issue that you want to resolve or the activity that you want to improve or enhance. You will find your “brain spot,” which is a point of focus in the visual field in front of you, and which is connected to the issue that you are processing. Every brainspot is unique to you and your specific issue. You will softly focus on your bsp while you feel your emotions and body sensations. This allows your brain and body to organically process your chosen issue to completion and with the best outcome for you. That outcome could be the:
- Neutralizing a past traumatic experience
- Connecting with useful internal resources
- Expansion of a future performance
Bi-Lateral music or nature sounds is used to activate your brain and to relax you. Many advanced Brainspotting approaches may be used.
The Experience!
My clients often share that they start with hope and apprehension, yet as soon as they experience the immediate effectiveness of brainspotting, their apprehension shifts to relief and appreciation. As they resolve each issue or trauma, their expectations for peace, closure and higher performance increase.
Quotes That Inspire & Educate!
“Within our dreams and aspirations we find our opportunities.”
“Sports doesn’t build character, it reveals it.”
“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”
“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.”
“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.”
“The only time we fail is when we stop trying.”
“Turn your wounds into wisdom.”
“Comedy is acting out optimism.”
“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”
“I have a dream…”
“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players.”
“If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves.”
“To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.”
“Doubt is a killer. You just have to know who you are and what you stand for.”
“Age is no barrier. It’s a limitation you put on your mind.”
“Success comes after you conquer your biggest obstacles and hurdles.”
“Talent without working hard is nothing.”
“Mentally, the only players who survive in the pros are the ones able to manage all their responsibilities.”
“Somewhere behind the athlete… is a little girl who fell in love with the game… play for her.”
“There are goals that I have, and then I dream of it, and then I make it a reality.”
“The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer.”
“It Ain’t How Hard You Hit… It’s How Hard You Can Get Hit and Keep Moving Forward.”
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
“I think the No. 1 thing… is the support of my friends and my family.”
“No matter what happens in life, be good to people.”
“What inspires you, what excites you when you wake up in the morning?”
“If you want to be the best, you have to do things that other people aren’t willing to do.”
“Just writing and being in the studio was like therapy for me.”
“Procrastination is… common … and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.”
“There are creative benefits to getting older.”
“I remember there was a time when people were saying I could never win again.”
“We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance.”
“I remind myself every morning… if I’m going to learn, I must do it by listening.”
“Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both… that’s real power.”
“You have to create your life. You have to carve it, like a sculpture.”
“Apologizes are pointless, regrets come too late. What matters is you can move on, you can grow.”
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
“If you can’t dream big, ridiculous dreams, what’s the point in dreaming at all?”
“I’ve grown most not from victories, but setbacks.”
“Even if the whole world turns their back on you, you’ll always have yourself.”
“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths.”
“You won’t know how good you can feel every day until you try.”
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”
“I want to be in the arena. I want to be brave with my life.”
“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive …”
“I believe that opportunity looks a lot like hard work.”
“In my opinion, true success should be measured by how happy you are.”
“Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.”
“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”
“Success is no accident. It is hard work … love of what you are doing …”
“I had so many doubts …” “Follow your dreams, really, follow your dreams.”
“I had that hunger, that desire, to be successful and I wasn’t going to let anything stand in my way.”
“If you get up in the morning and think the future is going to be better, it is a bright day. Otherwise, it’s not.”
“You might not make it to the top, but if you are doing what you love, there is much more happiness there than being rich or famous.”
“Faith has a role to play in life. … Success is related to faith. Faith comes first.”
“Learning is the only thing that never disappoints us.”
“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”
“Athletes know kids look up to them, and it’s important for athletes to be responsible.”
“You can be passionate about anything.”
“I’ve always been asked, ‘What is my favorite car?’ and I’ve always said ‘The next one.”
“What makes a great song – you don’t put it into words. … It makes you feel something.”
“You win with heart.”
“Losses are good … if you learn something.”
“Bones heal, chicks dig scars, pain is temporary, glory is forever.”
“I’m a very positive thinker, and I think that is what helps me the most in difficult moments.”
“In sports, people reach their peak very early. You have to move on.”
“Having the will to keep driving no matter what and knowing that God and my family are behind me supporting me …”
“The finest compliment you can pay a man is that his word was as good as gold.”
“Why would I retire? Sit at home and watch TV? No thanks. I’d rather be out playing.”
“I’m going to use all my tools, my God-given ability, and make the best life I can with it.”
“We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already.”
“It is how people respond to stress that determines whether they will profit from misfortune or be miserable.”
“If you want a new outcome, you will have to break the habit of being yourself, and reinvent a new self.”
“Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.”
“… optimistic athletes, managers and teams do better. … in coming back from defeat and acting in the clutch.”
“I never was content unless I was trying my skill … or testing my endurance.”
“Before I was in my teens, I knew exactly what I wanted to be … the best athlete who ever lived.”
“I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me… All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.”
“When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let go.”
“I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.”
“We all have dreams, but in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
“If I have a thousand ideas and only one turns out to be good, I am satisfied.”
“Positive emotions are not trivial luxuries, but instead might be critical necessities for optimal functioning.”
“I knew that you put yourself under a microscope the more famous you become.”
“I take risks – that’s my life on the slopes and off.”
“I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.”
“Sometimes people complicate things by thinking too much…”
“The moment of victory is much too short to live for that and nothing else.”
Resources
Contact Information
- Center's Phone:
(719) 494-4208 - Dr. Rohrer Phone:
(925) 595-6433 - Dr. Schiebert's Phone:
(510) 917-4001
Public Presentations
Dr. Rohrer is available to speak at conferences, and to local businesses or community groups on topics such as living your strengths, increasing happiness, and optimal performing.