- Online Therapy For Toronto And Throughout Ontario
- 865 York Mills Rd #20, Toronto, ON M3B 1Y6
- Online Therapy For Toronto And Throughout Ontario
- 865 York Mills Rd #20, Toronto, ON M3B 1Y6
Save Time on Commute
No Waitlist
Evenings and Weekends Availability
Affordable Therapy Available
Therapists are also available in BC, Edmonton, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba
Some things stay stuck no matter how well you understand them. Brainspotting works below that level, letting the brain find its own way through.
Book a Free 20-Minute Consultation
No forms, no intake, no obligation.
Secure online sessions across Ontario, from Toronto and the GTA to rural communities. Registered psychotherapy, trauma-informed throughout.
What is Brainspotting?
01 / The foundationBrainspotting is a body-based trauma therapy that uses a fixed eye position to access distress held in the deeper, non-verbal parts of the brain. It was developed by Dr David Grand in 2003, out of his work with EMDR, and rests on a simple observation: where you look affects how you feel.
Why the eye position matters
Certain gaze positions seem to connect to where an experience is held. Holding one of those positions, a brainspot, keeps your attention on the material long enough for the deeper brain to work on it. You are not being asked to analyse anything. Your own system leads.
What makes it different
Brainspotting is non-directive and needs very little talking. If describing what happened feels impossible, or if you have already talked it through many times without relief, this is often the approach that reaches further. It sits naturally alongside EMDR and somatic work within broader trauma therapy.
01
Body-centred
Trauma is held in the body as much as in memory. Brainspotting works with physical sensation rather than around it.
02
Below conscious thought
It reaches the deeper, non-verbal brain, which is where insight alone tends to run out of road.
03
Led by you
The process is non-directive. Your brain sets the pace and the direction, and your therapist follows it.
04
Little talking needed
You do not have to retell the event in detail for the work to happen.
How Brainspotting works
THE SESSION, STEP BY STEPA Brainspotting session follows the same shape each time. Nothing is rushed, and you can stop at any point. Sessions run over secure video anywhere in Ontario.
01 / Setting the focus
We agree what the session is for, in as much or as little detail as you want to give.
It might be a specific memory, a stuck feeling, a physical sensation, or a pattern you keep running into. You do not need the words for it. Naming the felt sense is enough to begin.
02 / Finding the brainspot
Your therapist guides your gaze slowly across your field of vision until something shifts.
Using a pointer or by following your natural eye movements, we look for the position where the activation is strongest or where your body responds. That change might be tension, warmth, a catch in the breath, or an unexpected sense of relief. That position is the brainspot.
03 / Processing
You hold the gaze and let whatever comes, come.
Thoughts, images, emotions and sensations surface in their own order. Your therapist stays with you and says very little, because the work is happening below conversation. This is the part that most distinguishes Brainspotting from talk therapy.
04 / Bilateral sound
Optional audio through headphones, alternating gently between the ears.
Some people find bilateral sound deepens the process and helps them stay settled while it happens. It is entirely optional, and plenty of sessions run without it.
05 / Grounding and integration
Every session ends with time to come back to the room.
We slow down, orient, and make sure you leave settled rather than opened up. Emotions or memories can surface over the following days. That is expected, and we plan for it rather than being surprised by it.
Evidence
What the research says, honestly
Promising
In the main comparative study, a single session of Brainspotting reduced distress about as much as a single session of EMDR, and both outperformed meditation and a control condition at follow-up. It was a small study in healthy volunteers rather than a clinical population. D’Antoni et al., 2022
Still young
Brainspotting has a far smaller research base than EMDR or trauma-focused CBT, and no large randomized trials yet. We say so plainly. It is offered here alongside better-established approaches, not instead of them, and we will tell you when another method has stronger evidence for what you are dealing with.
Group findings, not a promise about any one person. No therapy works for everyone.
Who Brainspotting helps
02 / Who we supportBrainspotting is used for trauma, but not only for trauma. These are the situations clients most often bring to it.
01
Trauma and PTSD
Single-incident and repeated trauma, including events you have never been able to describe out loud. PTSD therapy
02
Anxiety and panic
Anxiety that has a body-level charge to it and does not respond to reasoning. Anxiety therapy
03
Chronic pain and body symptoms
Pain, migraines or tension that has been medically investigated without a clear cause. Chronic pain therapy
04
Feeling stuck after talk therapy
You understand your history and can explain it clearly, and nothing has shifted. This is the most common reason people try Brainspotting.
05
Performance blocks
Sport, music, public speaking and professional performance, where the block sits somewhere other than in your thinking.
06
When talking about it is too much
If describing what happened feels unbearable, Brainspotting gives you a way to work without a detailed retelling.
02b / Before you decide
You do not have to be in crisis to start.
Many people come to Brainspotting after years of coping well enough on the outside. If something has stayed stuck despite everything you have already tried, that is reason enough to have a conversation about it.
The first call is twenty minutes, there is no intake form, and nothing is decided on it. You can ask whatever you need to and stop there.
What to expect in a Brainspotting session
03 / Your journeyTrying a new therapy can feel daunting. Here is the whole arc, so nothing about it is a surprise.
Consultation call
A short phone call to hear what is going on and answer questions about how Brainspotting works. No history-taking, no obligation.
Setting your goals
We talk through what you are hoping for. You do not need to have it worked out. Part of our job is helping you find the shape of it.
You stay in control
You sit somewhere quiet and comfortable in your own home. If anything feels too intense we pause, adjust, or stop. That choice is always yours.
What follows
Many people describe relief, clarity, or a kind of lightness. It is also normal for emotions to keep surfacing for a few days. We prepare you for that.
Why clients choose Sky Therapies
Healing needs safety before anything else, and our trauma-informed practice is built around that. Our team includes Registered Psychotherapists and a Registered Social Worker (RSW), so we can match you to a clinician your benefits plan actually covers. Our founder’s dual training in psychotherapy and dietetics brings particular insight when distress is showing up physically.
Sessions are online across Ontario. We work with clients in Toronto and the GTA, Ottawa, Hamilton, and rural communities, so a Brainspotting therapist in Toronto is available to you wherever in the province you live.
Brainspotting questions
04 / Questions people ask firstWhat is the difference between Brainspotting and EMDR?+
Both work with eye position to reach material held below language, and Brainspotting grew out of EMDR. EMDR follows a structured eight-phase protocol with guided bilateral movement. Brainspotting holds one fixed gaze position and is deliberately non-directive, letting your brain set the course. EMDR has far more research behind it. Brainspotting is often chosen when structure feels like too much, or when talking through the memory is not possible. More on EMDR
How does Brainspotting actually work?+
The working theory is that particular gaze positions correspond to where an experience is held in the deeper brain, and that holding that position gives the brain sustained access to process it. The mechanism is not settled science. What is observable in the room is that the fixed gaze keeps attention on the material without you having to hold it in words.
Is Brainspotting evidence-based?+
Partly. The early findings are encouraging, and one comparative study found a single session reduced distress about as much as a single EMDR session. But the research base is small and there are no large randomized trials yet. We would rather say that clearly than overstate it. If the evidence matters most to you, EMDR is the better-supported option and we offer it.
Will I have to talk about what happened?+
No. Minimal talking is one of the defining features of Brainspotting. You need to identify what you want to work on, but you do not need to narrate the event or explain it. For many people that is exactly why this approach works when others have not.
Does Brainspotting work online?+
Yes. Your therapist guides your gaze over video, and bilateral sound can run through your own headphones. Many clients find their own home a steadier place for this work than an unfamiliar office. All our Brainspotting sessions across Ontario are delivered by secure video.
How many sessions will I need?+
It depends on whether we are working with a single event or something long-standing. Some people notice a shift within a few sessions. Complex or repeated trauma usually needs a longer arc, because safety and stabilization come before processing. We review progress with you openly rather than committing you to a number upfront.
How much does Brainspotting therapy cost in Ontario?+
Fees vary by clinician. Sky Therapies also runs a reduced-rate stream at $120 per session, delivered by a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) working under clinical supervision. Current rates are confirmed on your free consultation call.
Is Brainspotting covered by insurance?+
Psychotherapy delivered by a Registered Psychotherapist or Registered Social Worker is covered by most extended health plans in Ontario. OHIP does not cover psychotherapy in private practice. Check whether your plan lists either designation, and we can provide receipts for reimbursement.
Can Brainspotting help with chronic pain?+
It can be part of the picture when pain is stress-sensitive and medical investigation has not found a clear cause. We often pair it with Pain Reprocessing Therapy. We do not diagnose medical conditions, and we recommend keeping your medical team involved alongside psychotherapy.
What if a session feels like too much?+
We slow down or stop. Every session ends with grounding, and pausing is always available to you. Building capacity comes before processing, and that order is not negotiable.
How do I start Brainspotting at Sky Therapies?+
Book a free 20-minute consultation. It is a short call to hear what you are dealing with and work out whether we are the right fit. There is no obligation, and if another approach would serve you better we will say so.
Related therapy services
Brainspotting is one of several approaches we draw on. These pages cover the methods and conditions most often worked on alongside it.
05 / Begin
Healing begins with a single step
If you have been stuck for a long time, or if talking about it has never quite reached the thing, Brainspotting may be worth a conversation. A free 20-minute call is the easiest place to start.
Sky Therapies provides virtual psychotherapy across Ontario. We do not diagnose medical conditions or prescribe medication, and psychotherapy is not a crisis service. If you are in immediate distress, contact 9-8-8 (Suicide Crisis Helpline, available 24/7 in Canada) or go to your nearest emergency department.
CLINICALLY REVIEWED
Written and clinically reviewed by Anna Skomorovskaia, Registered Social Worker (RSW) and Registered Dietitian, founder of Sky Therapies. Registration verifiable on the OCSWSSW online register.
LAST UPDATED
10 August 2026. Reviewed at least twice a year and whenever our clinical approaches or fees change.
SCOPE OF PRACTICE
Psychotherapy is a controlled act in Ontario. We provide psychotherapy only. We do not diagnose medical conditions or prescribe medication.
Serving the following areas: Toronto, Ontario, North York, Ontario, Markham, Ontario, Ottawa, Ontario, Vaughan, Ontario, Guelph, Ontario, Brampton, Ontario, Windsor, Ontario, St. Catharines, Ontario, Oshawa, Ontario, Kingston, Ontario, Timmins, Ontario, Scarborough, Ontario, Oakville, Ontario, Peterborough, Ontario, RIchmond Hill, Ontario, Whitby, Ontario, and all of Ontario online
