Brainspotting Therapy in Ontario with Ashira Lapin, MCC., Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)

Hello! My name is Ashira, and I am a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) offering trauma-informed psychotherapy under the clinical supervision of Christina Janiga.

My passion is helping individuals navigate life’s challenges, heal from past experiences, and unlock their full potential in a warm, supportive space.

What is Brainspotting?

Brainspotting is a brain-body psychotherapy developed by Dr. David Grand in 2003. It works from a simple observation: where you look affects how you feel. During a session, your therapist helps you find a “brainspot” — a fixed eye position that holds a felt connection to a distressing memory, emotion or body sensation. You hold that gaze while your attention stays with the sensation, and the brain does the processing largely on its own, with far less talking than most therapies require.

Brainspotting is often chosen when a client knows something is stuck but cannot put it into words, or when talking about an experience has stopped producing change. It grew out of EMDR therapy and shares its focus on the body’s role in holding trauma, but it moves at the client’s own pace rather than through a fixed protocol.

On the evidence: Brainspotting’s research base is still early. A 2017 pilot study by Hildebrand, Grand and Stemmler in the Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology found symptom reductions comparable to EMDR at follow-up, and case literature has grown steadily since. Large randomised controlled trials have not yet been published. Ashira will tell you this directly and help you weigh Brainspotting against better-established options such as EMDR before you commit.

Who Ashira Works With

With a background in human behaviour, leadership coaching, and trauma-focused therapy, Ashira is passionate about supporting individuals who feel stuck—whether due to:

✔ Individuals experiencing anxiety symptoms, self-doubt, and perfectionism
✔ Those struggling with trauma, PTSD symptoms, or difficult life transitions
✔ First responders and military personnel seeking mental health support
✔ Perinatal mental health concerns, including symptoms of postpartum anxiety and depression, and birth trauma.

Ashira’s approach is informed by brainspotting, a somatic based modality for processing trauma, as well as mindfulness, attachment-based work, and somatic techniques that help clients reconnect with their inner resilience.

Ashira believes that while our past influences us, it does not have to define us.

Ashira’s goal is to create a space where clients feel supported in reclaiming their sense of self and moving forward with clarity and confidence.

A Little Bit About Ashira

Ashira was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, and moved to Canada 27 years ago. Her journey to becoming a therapist was shaped by years of working in executive leadership and coaching, where she witnessed firsthand how unresolved emotional pain and limiting beliefs can hold people back. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ashira recognized the urgent need for accessible, affordable therapy for trauma and PTSD symptoms and felt called to deepen her ability to help others in a direct and meaningful way.

Personally, she’s experienced the transformative power of therapy, including brainspotting, which has been life-changing for both herself and her clients. Ashira brings both professional expertise and deep personal insight to her work.

Ashira’s Approach to Therapy

Ashira offers a collaborative, trauma-informed approach to Brainspotting therapy for trauma and anxiety by combining:

✔ Brainspotting therapy for deep emotional processing
✔ Attachment-based therapy to support relational healing
✔ Mindfulness and somatic techniques to reconnect with the body
✔ Cognitive strategies to develop practical coping skills

Ashira’s approach is collaborative, compassionate, and tailored to each individual’s unique needs and experiences.

What a Brainspotting session with Ashira looks like

Sessions run 50 minutes, virtually, across Ontario. A typical first course of work is 8 to 12 sessions, though single-incident trauma sometimes resolves in fewer.

1. We start with a free 15-minute consultation. No processing, no history-taking under pressure — just whether this is the right fit, and whether Brainspotting is the right method for what you are carrying.
2. We build resource before we build activation. In the first sessions Ashira helps you establish a felt sense of steadiness you can return to, so that processing never outruns your capacity to settle.
3. We locate the brainspot. You bring the issue to mind and notice where it lives in your body. Ashira guides your gaze slowly across your visual field until a position amplifies or holds that sensation.
4. You hold the spot and stay curious. You keep your eyes there and simply notice what arrives — images, sensations, memories, nothing at all. Ashira stays present and says very little. This is the part clients most often describe as strange and then as relieving.
5. We close the session deliberately. Processing continues between sessions. Ashira sends you out with a plan for the following days, not just a goodbye.

Brainspotting or EMDR: how to choose

Both are brain-body trauma therapies. Both work without requiring you to narrate the worst thing that happened to you in detail. They differ in structure and pace.

• Structure. EMDR follows an eight-phase protocol with defined targets and measurable distress ratings. Brainspotting is open-ended and follows what emerges.
• Evidence base. EMDR is recommended for PTSD by the World Health Organization and multiple national guidelines. Brainspotting’s evidence is promising but early.
• Pace and control. Brainspotting is often gentler for clients who found structured protocols overwhelming, or who dissociate under a fixed sequence.
• When words fail. Clients who cannot articulate what is wrong frequently do better starting with Brainspotting.

Christina Janiga Psychotherapy offers both, so this is a genuine choice and fit for your care. If EMDR is the better fit for you, Ashira will say so and connect you with the right clinician on the team.

Ready to Begin?

Taking the first step toward therapy is an act of courage. If you’re looking for trauma counselling for anxiety and PTSD in Ontario with a therapist who provides warmth, curiosity, and effective tools for change, I would love to connect.