Our Young Adult Transitions program is designed for individuals ages 17 to 29.
“Our young adults appreciate having a therapy like Brainspotting to tackle deeply-ingrained beliefs or behavior patterns that have been getting in their way”.
“We don’t use Brainspotting in every session or with every young adult. It works well with trauma but also with long-held beliefs, fears, and sometimes even things like nightmares”.
—Lacey Henzelman, Clinical Director, Engage Young Adult Transitions
“We don’t use Brainspotting in every session or with every young adult. It works well with trauma but also with long-held beliefs, fears, and sometimes even things like nightmares”.
—Lacey Henzelman, Clinical Director, Engage Young Adult Transitions
A relatively recent therapy approach, and developed based on and after EMDR, Brainspotting was initially designed to treat trauma. Through subsequent experience, it has also been shown effective for anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and sleep disorders.
Holding the attention on that Brainspot allows processing of the traumatic event to flow until the body activation has cleared. A therapist focuses on the client and monitors with attunement.
Brainspotting helps young adults identify and release emotional blocks that contribute to anxiety and depression. It can bring about significant changes in mood and emotional well-being, often more quickly than traditional talk therapies, by accessing deeper layers of the brain, especially in the mid-brain.
Many young adults struggle with unresolved trauma from childhood or adolescence. Without needing to verbally recount the traumatic events, Brainspotting allows young adults to process these experiences in a safe, non-invasive way. This can bring relief from symptoms of trauma and PTSD.
Emotional upheaval and transition mark young adulthood. Brainspotting helps young adults develop better emotional regulation by addressing the root causes of overwhelming feelings. This allows for healthier responses to stress and triggers.
Brainspotting helps young adults understand their emotional responses and triggers. It does so by encouraging a deep connection between mind and body, increasing self-awareness. With this self-knowledge, resilience is developed, empowering young adults to handle future challenges more effectively, much like our outdoor adventure experiences that build confidence and independence.
Brainspotting offers a gentle, non-verbal approach for young adults who may be reluctant to engage in traditional talk therapy or who have difficulty expressing their feelings. As such, it is especially appealing for those who feel stuck or overwhelmed by their emotions.
With the ability to be used alongside other therapeutic approaches, including medication management, overall treatment effectiveness can be enhanced. Brainspotting provides a holistic pathway to healing by addressing both emotional and physiological aspects of mental health.
Trauma is stored in the midbrain and brainstem regions which control parts of the central nervous system responsible for processes such as vision, hearing, sleep, and motor control. Brainspotting accesses trauma trapped in the subcortical brain, the area of the brain responsible for motion, consciousness, emotions, and learning.
In some cases these distressing memories, traumas, thoughts, and feelings become stuck there. Through guided eye movements, the body can reprocess these traumas or distressing emotions.
The therapist helps the client locate a “brainspot” by guiding their gaze and observing physical or emotional reactions.
The client focuses on this spot while also tuning into their feelings. This allows the brain and body to process and release the stored trauma or emotion.
EMDR is a structured evidence-based therapy that focuses on processing memories. It encourages the patient to focus briefly on the trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (typically eye movements or tones). This is associated with a reduction in the vividness and emotion associated with the trauma memories.
Unlike many types of therapy, EMDR does not require talking in detail about the distressing issue or completing homework between sessions. Rather than focusing on changing the emotions, thoughts, or behaviors resulting from the distressing issue, EMDR allows the brain to resume its natural healing process.
EMDR therapy helps children and adults of all ages. Therapists use EMDR therapy to address a wide range of challenges. Initially focused on treating trauma and PTSD, EMDR has been shown to be effective for many mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and substance use disorders. As well, it can help with sexual assault and chronic pain.
EMDR therapy is designed to resolve unprocessed traumatic memories in the brain. When distress from a disturbing event remains, the upsetting images, thoughts, and emotions may create an overwhelming feeling of being back in that moment, or of being “frozen in time.”
EMDR therapy helps the brain process these memories, and allows normal healing to resume. The experience is still remembered, but the fight, flight, or freeze response from the original event is resolved.
EMDR uses a more structured process to the treatment than Brainspotting, employing an eight-phase protocol consisting of:
Underlying stressors or trauma are often the cause of anxiety, depression, and associated overwhelming emotions. Young adults can process and release these emotions through Brainspotting and EMDR. By focusing on and resolving these root issues, they can gain better control over their emotional responses and more easily manage feelings in challenging situations.
By learning to recognize and process their stress responses, young adults can achieve a sense of calm and healing and better identify emotional triggers. This growth in self-awareness can help them learn effective coping strategies.
Through the process of releasing stored trauma, young adults often report feeling lighter, more grounded, and more connected to themselves, strengthening their overall psychological resilience.
Engage Young Adult Transitions is a transitional living program and therapeutic community that assists young adults on their path to independence. Using attachment theory, we provide a foundation for forming connections, getting involved with the community, managing mental health, and building life skills for long-term success.
Engage offers structured autonomy—high support without creating dependence. Our therapists and life coaches are here to honor the young adults’ need to gain independence and freely move to a more secure sense of self and their relationships..
Our community offers high levels of therapeutic support that honors autonomy and independence while guiding young adults to a life of freedom, emotional wellness, and success.
Yes! They can each be even more effective when combined with other mental health treatments and with Individual or Group therapy.
