Using Brainspotting to Work Through Business-Related Fears

Being a small business owner can be scary.  It means putting yourself out there, taking risks, facing uncertainty, and dealing with a whole slew of other new challenges.  We can let these fears get the best of us, stopping us from pursuing our dreams, or we can get curious about them and do the work to move forward. 

Brainspotting is one great way that small business owners can work through the fears and insecurities that show up as they embark on new business ventures.  To keep it simple, Brainspotting is a brain and body-based treatment modality that uses a location in one’s visual field to help them process information that is stored deeply in the brain. While Brainspotting, one is invited to notice the thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations that show up. This approach can be incorporated within the context of therapy, and it can also be used in professional coaching. 

Brainspotting can be used to help private practice / group practice owners explore:

• Imposter syndrome
• Business-related stress
• Fears and insecurities 
• Uncomfortable emotions that are creeping in

With Brainspotting, private practice and group practice owners can gain insight about the feelings they’re experiencing. It can make us aware of the connections that exist between our current feelings in our business and our past experiences.  For example, wouldn’t it be helpful if you were able to recognize that your current insecurities weren’t really about your abilities but about that experience you had as a child?  This is just one example of the type of connections that are made while Brainspotting. After Brainspotting, it’s not uncommon to find that situations that were previously charged, no longer hold the same level of emotion. 

As small business owners, there are endless opportunities for us to learn, grow, and level up, and Brainspotting is one of them.  While Brainspotting can certainly help us work through the uncomfortable feelings and experiences we may be having as a business owner, it can also be used to help us access and enhance our creativity and ability to dream. In the Brainspotting world, we call this expansion work.  If you are looking for an opportunity to really enhance and access your vision, expansion work might be for you! 

Brainspotting is a very unique approach, one that doesn’t even require talking. It’s very different than a lot of other approaches we’re used to which can make it a little difficult to understand at first. The good news is that if you decide to work with a trained Brainspotter to help you explore your practice-related fears, they will walk you through this process, and you’ll get to see first-hand how it works. 

As an avid Brainspotting fan, I hope you’ll give it a try!  Because Brainspotting can be done online, you’ll be able to find Brainspotting services, regardless of your physical location. 

Written by: Melissa Wesner, LCPC

Melissa Wesner, LCPC is a Certified Brainspotter and Brainspotting Consultant.  She is the Founder of LifeSpring Counseling Services and Intentional Practice, both based in Maryland.  She is also the co-host of the Protecting Your Practice podcast.