When Talking Isn’t Enough: Why You Still Feel Stuck After Therapy (And How Brainspotting and EMDR Can Help)

You feel like you’ve done the work.

You've either been to therapy or are still attending sessions, where you’ve discussed your past, learned valuable skills, and read numerous books. Maybe you’ve gotten good at naming your patterns: “I know I overthink. I know I try to make everyone happy. I know I push myself too hard.”

But even with all that awareness, something still feels... stuck. It seems you’re still not making the progress you hoped for. 

You might still wake up feeling anxious. You might still shut down when you're overwhelmed. You might still feel like you’re never quite enough, no matter how hard you try.

If that’s you, you’re not alone—and you’re not doing anything wrong.

You might just need a different form of therapy. One that dives into the trauma stored in your body, like Brainspotting and EMDR therapy.

“I Get It, But I Don’t Feel It”

So many of my clients come in saying this exact thing:

“I know why I feel the way I do… but it doesn’t seem to help.”
“I’ve already talked about my trauma.”
“I’ve been to therapy before, but I still feel the same.”

Insight is powerful—but it’s not the whole story.

That’s because healing doesn’t just happen in your thinking brain. It happens in your body and nervous system, too.

Why Traditional Talk Therapy Isn’t Always Enough

Talk therapy can be really helpful. It gives us words, understanding, and tools. But sometimes it stops at the surface. We can understand our patterns and still feel powerless to change them.

Why? Because trauma and emotional wounds don’t live in your logic—they live in your body.

Think about it: when you’re anxious, you might feel it in your chest. When you’re triggered, you might freeze or shut down before you even have a chance to think. When you’re trying to people-please or be perfect, it might feel automatic—like your body just does it without asking you.

This is your nervous system at work. It learned long ago how to protect you. Even now, it’s still doing that job, even if it doesn’t make sense anymore.

That’s where trauma therapy like Brainspotting and EMDR come in.

What Is Brainspotting Therapy?

Brainspotting is a powerful way of working with trauma that focuses on where the body and brain store emotional pain. You don’t have to re-tell your story or explain everything. Instead, Brainspotting believes that where you look affects how you feel. So we use your eye position to access a “spot” in your brain where the unprocessed memory or emotion is stored.

It’s subtle, gentle, and goes beyond words.

Many clients describe Brainspotting sessions as deep, calming, and unlike anything they’ve done before. It can feel like your body is finally able to let go of something it’s been holding for a long time, even if your mind can’t quite name what it is.

What Is EMDR?

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is another trauma therapy that helps your brain and body reprocess past experiences that still feel “stuck.” Through bilateral stimulation (like following a moving light, tapping, and/or listening to bilateral sounds), your brain can process the distressing memory and work to install a new positive belief surrounding that memory. 

Like Brainspotting, EMDR doesn’t require you to talk through every detail of your trauma. It honors your pace and works with the wisdom of your nervous system.

Both of these methods help you feel better, not just understand better.

“But I Don’t Feel Anything in My Body”

That’s okay. Many of the women I work with say things like:

• “I don’t know what I feel.”

• “I feel numb or disconnected.”

• “I’ve spent so long ignoring my body, I don’t even know where to start.”

You might have learned to shut down your feelings to survive. That’s not a failure. That’s protection. And you don’t have to force anything in our work together.

Therapy isn’t about doing it “right.” It’s about creating a safe space where your body can slowly, gently start to feel again, without pressure or judgment.

You Don’t Have to Be the One Holding It All Together

You’ve carried so much for so long. Maybe you’re the strong one, the responsible one, the one who keeps everything running. Maybe you’re the helper, the achiever, the fixer. And maybe you’re exhausted.

What if therapy could be the one space where you don’t have to keep it all together?

What if you could show up as you are—tired, unsure, numb, or even frustrated—and still be met with care and compassion?

That’s the kind of therapy I offer.

You Deserve a Different Kind of Healing

You don’t need more pressure. You don’t need more strategies or tips.
You need someone who understands the deeper work. Someone who can help you listen to your body. Someone who sees that you’re not broken, you’re just stuck in old protective patterns that helped you survive.

Brainspotting and EMDR are tools that help you gently shift those patterns, one step at a time.

You don’t have to do this alone. And you don’t have to stay stuck.

Ready for Something Different? Let’s Talk.

If you’re tired of going through the motions…
If you’re ready to stop performing and start healing…
If you want therapy that honors your whole self—mind and body—
Then I’m here for you.

Let’s talk. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation and see if Brainspotting or EMDR might be the next step in your healing journey.

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Jarae Swanstrom is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor helping overthinkers, perfectionists, and people-pleasers slow down and reconnect with themselves. She blends Brainspotting, EMDR, and body-based therapy to gently work with the nervous system and heal the deeper wounds that insight alone can’t always reach. Jarae sees clients in person in Sandpoint, Idaho, and provides online therapy for clients in Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, and throughout Idaho. Learn more about Jarae or schedule a consultation at mountainrivertherapy.com.