Performance Neuro Training-Brainspotting for Peak Sports Performance

Traditional sports psychology struggles to help athletes suffering from slumps, mental blocks, the yips or freezing, etc. It also often fails to help athletes who have completely recovered from a physical injury but can’t regain their previously achieved sports performance level, or who have seemed unable to perform as they used to. Traditional sports psychology fails because it only addresses the surface (conscious) symptoms and fails to clear out the unconscious material holding an athlete back. (Grand, D., Phd, & Goldberg, A., Ed.D., This is Your Brain on Sports). Dr. David Grand PhD began to realize to properly treat sports traumas-failuires athletes must participate in brain-body trauma reprocessing therapies. This is how Dr. Grand came up with neurophysiologic therapy called Brainspotting. He combined aspects of somatic experience, hypnotherapy, focused mindfulness and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing to fully assist an athlete in optimizing the brain’s communication with the body. Brainspotting does this by clearing out-detraining maladaptations in the mind-body neuro pathways. (Grand, D., Phd., 2013).

Dr Grand among other great neuro scientists have found a fundamental part of our survival drive, the primitive part of the brain is constantly unconsciously scanning the environment for threats. For example, if a soccer ball came at your head from the side and your peripheral vision catches a glimpse, you would instantly and involuntarily duck. Your unconscious brain processes the information received from your sight without your awareness and before you can think about it. This reaction-action is stimulated by the amygdala within the deep subcortical brain and has been observed at reacting to these perceived threats within 1 second of the feedback from one of our senses indicating a threat. (Carter, R. (2014) Frances, P. Hiriani, S., John, K., Warren, (Eds)R., The Human Brain Book). This can be very helpful, but it can also unconsciously and out of an athlete's control inhibit performance.

For example, if a pitcher whom had gotten hit in the face with a line drive previously may find herself reflexively ducking any time the ball comes her way, no matter the speed of the ball. (Grand, D., Phd, & Goldberg, A., Ed.D., This is Your Brain on Sports.) She cannot help her body’s reaction. Her deep subcortical brain needs to de-train the maladaptive survival reaction because to play her sport she cannot avoid softballs being thrown her way. That's why Brainspotting allows an athlete to de-conditions those maladaptive neuro pathways causing uncontrollable reaction so she can access her fined tuned sports performance neuro pathways (Grand, D., Phd, & Goldberg, A., Ed.D., This is Your Brain on Sports).

Over time mental blocks will develop within an athlete's performance as a result of numerous bad experiences or upsetting incidents which alter the athlete’s unconscious brain and nervous system, creating maladaptations in the neuro pathways which impede performance without the athlete consciously being aware of it. (Grand, D., Phd, & Goldberg, A., Ed.D., This is Your Brain on Sports; Grand, D., Phd, 2013). In addition to blocks in performance an athlete will begin to on an unconscious level divert energy to a self-protective or take a muscle guarding stance, inhibiting free movement. (Grand, D., Phd, & Goldberg, A., Ed.D., This is Your Brain on Sports).

Examples of Sports Traumas-Failures which could be holding an athlete back from reaching their full potential include and keep in mind it can be both mental and physical and the brain-body cannot distinguish between them and reacts the same way (Scaer, R., MD);

• Perceived Failures/Disappointments
• Embarrassment/Humiliation/Shame
• Criticism from self, coaches, parents, teammates, internet trolls, fans, etc., or
• Physical Injuries (even small ones)
• Witnessing another athlete’s failure or injury or being humiliated (secondary trauma)
• A relationship breakup/big fight 
• Parents divorcing 
• Death of family, friend or pet
• Being bullied, abused or harassed 
• Being embarrassed in front of the class
• Family problems or conflicts
• Work or school problems or conflicts
• Life transitions
• Losing friendships
• Loss of a job
• Failing/Doing Poorly on an exam
• Minor car or bike accident
• Medical Procedures
• Surgery as even though we are unconscious the brain-body still experiences it.
• Physical injury or getting “shaken up”
• Seeing someone else injured
• Having a bad practice or competition
• Being benched or cut from the team
• Losing a race or doing worse than expected 
• Making a mistake in competition 
• Self-criticism, or criticism from others (coaches, parents, teammates, internet trolls, fans, etc.)
• Being yelled at, or being yelled at in front of teammates
• Seeing a teammate being yelled at or criticized
• Being disqualified
• A hard tackle in football
• Falls on the ice or court, etc.
• A “near-miss” collision/hit/fall/mistake
• Feeling “off” as executing a skill
• An equipment failure 
• Collision at home plate

Brainspotting works to de-condition the specific maladaptations in the neuro pathways that are interfering with performance which unconsciously stimulate the muscle guarding instincts. This is done by having the athlete recall the memory with great detail (focused mindfulness) while in an altered state (listening to biolateral sounds ((hypnotherapy)), locating a Brainspot through an eye position-reflexive cue from the deep subcortical brain and vagal nerve (EMDR) and then accessing within the body where they feel the tarumatic experience (somatic experience).

Brainspotting allows for the athlete to fully de-condition the specific neuro pathways related to automatic self-protective response and the performance blocks (Grand, D., Phd, 2013). This process allowes the coaches and trainers to train and condition the athlete to his/her prime without any past unconscious experiences getting in the way.

Once the maladaptive neuro pathways have been de-conditioned, the brain no longer gets hijacked by them and the athlete is able to utilize the neuro pathways conditioned through training and practice (Grand, D., Phd, 2013). The de-conditioning releases the instinctive guarding mechanism, enabling the athlete to have free movement, which is crucial to optimal sports performance (Grand, D., Phd, 2013). This change could be the difference between 4th and first place.

Brainspotting “de-conditions” the maladaptive neuro pathways, clearing out neuro pathways so they can be useful to the athlete in their performance. De-conditioning allows the brain and nervous system to function at a higher level. This improves the athlete’s performance because the energy is no longer being diverted for self-protection (Grand, D., Phd, 2013), As a result, the athlete has more neuro-physiological and mental resources available.

 How is Performance Neuro Training is Different than just Brainspotting?

Performance Neuro Training with Brainspotting is different from Brainspotting in regular clinical work, though the basics are the same. The performance neuro training for sports with Brainspotting is a more vigorous, assertive and proactive methodology with a more set structure.

Starts with the Brainspot

The brain is the most complex organ in the body and the eyes are the second most complex organ in the body. Visual processing in the brain is linked to at least 60% of the brain. Ninety percent (90%) of the information transmitted to the brain is from sight, which takes in information both consciously and unconsciously. (BrainFacts.org). Brainspotting utilizes the connection between the brain’s processing mechanism and sight to identify a “Brainspot.”

A Brainspot is not a single spot in the brain. It is the eye position that connects to the neural network of activity in the brain that holds the “trauma capsule” with all the unprocessed trauma.  (Grand, D., Phd, Brainspotting; Levine, P. Phd). A Brainspot is actually a physiological subsystem in the brain and nervous system holding emotional experience in memory form. (Grand, D. Phd.)

The athlete and sports psych locate a Brainspot and to activate the trauma memory network where the bad experiences are held in the unconscious brain. This is done by activating the athlete around the issue and finding reflexive cues from athlete’s body indicating where a Brainspot is located as the athlete moves their eyes across the visual field or through an identified gaze spot associated with the memory. (Grand, D. Phd).

By gazing at the Brainspot, the athlete helps his/her brain to maintain its focus on the neural problem areas and begin to process the stored information about the negative experience. (Grand, D., Phd., & Goldberg, A., Ed.D, This is Your Brain on Sports).

The athlete is guided to uncritically observe, step by step, what they experience, including memories, thoughts, emotions, or sensations in their body. (Grand, D., Phd., & Goldberg, A., Ed.D, This is Your Brain on Sports).

• Because of the Brainspot, the mindfulness is very precisely targeted on the maladaptations that need to be de-conditioned. (Grand, D., Phd., & Goldberg, A., Ed.D, This is Your Brain on Sports; Grand, D., Phd, 2013)
• The deep subcortical brain de-conditioning doesn’t happen in a cognitive, linear fashion. “[I]ts complexity is way beyond the reach and comprehension of our conscious awareness.” (David Grand, Phd).
• The athlete frequently does not understand the connections the deep brain is making during processing because it is not happening in the rational part of the brain. But it’s not necessary to understand it for it to work. (Grand, D., Phd., & Goldberg, A., Ed.D, This is Your Brain on Sports).

Reprocessing Occurs

As you maintain the Brainspot eye position and follow your drifting mind, you will enter into an altered state or trance and in that state, “your brain processes and releases deeply and thoroughly whatever is blocking or bothering you.” (Grand, D., Phd., & Goldberg, A., Ed.D, This is Your Brain on Sports).

Every athlete processing in their own unique way. Memories or emotions may come up, or muscles may twitch or move. It can be intense at times. 

Performance Neuro Training with Brainspotting Results

PNT is a state-of-the-art neuroscientific method of “de-conditioning” the maladaptive neuro pathways deep in the subcortical brain and nervous system of athletes so that they can perform optimally. (Grand, D., Phd., 2013)

• Detrains the maladaptations in the neuro pathways that hijack the brain and impede performance. (Grand, D., Phd, 2013; Grand, D., Phd., & Goldberg, A., Ed.D, This is Your Brain on Sports.)In order to perform at their highest level, athletes need as many neuro pathways as possible. It makes them more resourceful and better able to react and adapt.
• Resets the body’s homeostasis to a calmer state of functioning. (Robert Scaer, M.D.; David Grand, Phd). In this calmer physical and mental state, the athlete can recover/detox better and can perform better.
• Clears out the past sports trauma memory network which holds all the negative experiences in a connected neural network in the unconscious. (David Grand, Phd, 2010). Once cleared out the athlete is never held back by them again!
• Creates a mentally tougher and more resilient athlete since the past negative events no longer unconsciously influence reaction to current events.
• Upcoming Events (Competitions or Games) no longer create such an intense response for the athlete. (Grand, 2013).
• Eliminates the tension, negative thinking, performance anxiety, tentativeness and other issues the athlete experiences when having difficulty with performance, which are symptoms of the unconsciously held negative experiences. (Grand, D., Phd., & Goldberg, A., Ed.D, This is Your Brain on Sports).
• Most athletes also notice it has the effect of creating better quality sleep and an improved, positive mindset.
• Results in the athlete’s ability to be relaxed, calm and focused before and during the performance, which is crucial to success in any sport. (Grand, D., Phd., & Goldberg, A., Ed.D, This is Your Brain on Sports).

“Brain-based principles of body-based memory, the neurosensitization and cue-related anxiety from the trauma literature clearly prove that the yips come from post-traumatic stress syndrome. And Brainspotting has shown to be dramatically effective in mitigating, and even healing, this vexing syndrome.”

- Robert Scaer, MD, author of “The Body Bears the Burden,” “The Trauma Spectrum,” and co-author of “8 Keys to Brain- Body Balance.”

Stay tuned for more on ALL of the benefits of Brainspotting and on the 4 other therapies The Performance Neuro Training system includes....

Paige E. Roberts LICSW LCSW CLT