Trainer: Deb Antinori, MA, LPC, FT, RDT is a Licensed Professional Counselor with 34 years in private practice. She is a Brainspotting Trainer and Consultant, and a member of David Grand’s NY supervision group. She has been using Brainspotting since its inception and offers a specialty workshop, Brain Science to Inform your Brainspotting Practice. She is working on her PhD through the International School of Graduate Studies, ABD. Deb is a masters graduate of NYU’s Drama Therapy Dept. As a grief therapist, she holds her FT from ADEC. She is the author of the double award-winning audiobook, Journey Through Pet Loss. Originally an actress, she earned her BFA from the Boston Conservatory of Music and is still in the professional actor’s unions, AEA and SAG/AFTRA. She can be contacted at [email protected], 908 507-4254 and through her website www.petloss.com
Brain Science to Inform Your Brainspotting Practice; An approved Brainspotting Specialty Workshop
2 Fridays, April 24 & May 1, 2026
10am-6pm Eastern Standard Time US & Canada both days
Live Interactive Online Specialty Workshop
$575.00 (Please let me know if there is hardship regarding the price)
$50 off for Institute Members: SEBI, RMBI, MBI
Payment by Venmo (@Deborah-Antinori, cell 908 507-4254), Zelle or by check to: Deborah Antinori, 1 Harborside Place, #158, Jersey City, NJ 07311
If paying by credit card, there is a $17 processing fee for the credit card company, so fee goes up to $592 in that case. You will see this on the registration jotform link.
Cancellation Policy: Notice of cancellation must be made by email or text to Deb Antinori by Friday, October 31, 2025, after that date, a fee of $100 will be charged. There is the option to not receive a refund, but to take the course at a later date, or to receive the recordings which will have a 3 month viewing period post-training.
14 CE's from NASW-NJ: This course, Brain Science to Inform Your Brainspotting Practice, Approval #10092024-10, provided by Deborah Antinori is approved for continuing education by the New Jersey Social Work Continuing Education Approval Collaborative, which is administered by NASW-NJ. CE Approval Collaborative Approval Period: Wednesday, October 9, 2024 through August 31, 2026. New Jersey social workers will receive 14 CE credits for participating in this course.
Please Note: Licensing Boards change regulations often and while we attempt to stay abreast of their most recent changes, if you have questions or concerns about this course meeting your specific board’s approval, we recommend you contact your board directly to obtain a ruling.
View downloadable flyer: April-24-May-1-2026
View downloadable agenda: Brain Science Agenda
Register here: https://bit.ly/3KmBwkH
There is no conflict of interest or commercial support for this program.
For questions or concerns contact [email protected] or 908-507-4254.
Deborah Antinori, MA, LPC, FT, RDT is a Licensed Professional Counselor with 34 years in private practice. She is a Brainspotting Trainer and Certified Consultant, and a member of David Grand’s NY supervision group. She has been using Brainspotting since its inception. She is beginning research on Brainspotting for her PhD through International University for Graduate Studies. She has contributed a chapter on Brainspotting and Grief in The Power of Brainspotting: An International Anthology. Deborah is a masters graduate of NYU’s Drama Therapy Dept and a professional actress (AEA, SAG/AFTRA). As a grief therapist, she holds her Fellow in Thanatology (FT) from the Association for Death Education and Counseling. She is the author of the double award-winning audiobook, Journey Through Pet Loss. (Audio Publishers Association, Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Silver Award)
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Communicate in layman’s terms our current theories regarding how Brainspotting works in the brain/body.
- Identify the brain mechanisms that inform us why Brainspotting seems to work as profoundly as it does.
- Describe how the brain moves from dysregulation to regulation.
- Contrast the differences between agranular vs granular isocortex functions, and describe why they matter in Brainspotting.
- Locate the areas and describe the functions of the allocortex that assist in regulation (insula, hippocampus)
- Describe the function of the main component of the "alarm system", the amygdala.
- Communicate the function of the HPA axis in layman's terms.
- Relate the importance of the survival programs that begin in the PAG (periaqueductal grey in the midbrain portion of the brainstem) in a manner clients can understand.
- Describe the insula and Orbitofrontal Cortex functions (rather than the mirror neurons) for our embodied experience (Damasio's "the material me") and our capacity for empathy.
- Experience how the cortical brain studying the subcortical brain upgrades your attunement – Self Spotting experiential exercise.
- Explain how expansion may arise from an insular cortex and Basal Ganglia functional point of view.
- Describe why the hippocampus needs to be "hip": explicit memory is evolutionarily designed to be updated.
- Compare the two distinct anatomical and neurochemical pathways for fearful experiences – FEAR and PANIC/GRIEF/Separation Distress (from Jaak Panksepp, Affective Neuroscience), and how to “squeeze the lemon” in cases of anxiety, fear, phobias and other defensive survival responses.
- Learn and metabolize the neurobiological reasons to “WAIT” (Why am I Talking?) in working with clients.
Course Content Level – Beginner through Advanced
Target Audience – Psychologists, Psychotherapists, Psychiatrists, Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Nurses, Doctors.