🧠 Blog 4: Brainspotting and EMDR — Turning Points in My Healing Journey

Sometimes healing requires going beyond words. For me, EMDR and Brainspotting became the missing pieces that helped me release what my body had been holding for years.

I spent years doing “the work” — talk therapy, journaling, mindfulness. I understood my story intellectually, but my body still carried the weight. My jaw would clench, my chest would tighten, and my mood would shift without warning. No matter how much I knew, I still felt stuck.

That’s when I discovered EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and Brainspotting — two trauma-focused approaches that completely changed how I experience healing.

🌊 EMDR — Reprocessing the Past to Be Present

EMDR helped me revisit painful memories in a safe, structured way. By pairing gentle eye movements with guided recall, my brain could finally reprocess old experiences that had become stuck in a state of survival. The memories didn’t disappear — they lost their emotional charge. For the first time, I could remember without reliving.

👁️ Brainspotting — Listening to the Body’s Wisdom

If EMDR helped me understand my past, Brainspotting helped me feel it. BSP utilizes eye positions to access deep, subcortical areas of the brain — the regions that store unprocessed emotions. With BSP, I learned to slow down, notice where pain lived in my body, and let it move through me. It wasn’t about analyzing; it was about allowing.

Over time, both modalities helped me find peace not by erasing pain, but by integrating it into my life. They bridged the gap between my mind and my body — the place where actual healing lives. Healing isn’t about fixing what’s broken; it’s about coming home to yourself.

Written by Cindy Machado, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) at Ingersoll Wellness Hub. Cindy offers a compassionate space for women healing from trauma and hormonal mood disorders, and for those navigating neurodivergence. Her trauma-informed, neuroaffirming, and holistic approach, which empowers women to reconnect with themselves and their resilience, blends evidence-based practice with lived experience.

Get in touch today for a free consultation, and chat about how Cindy can help! https://www.ingersollwellness.ca/cindy