42: Wired for Healing: Cindy Smith on Brainspotting, Burnout, and Bilateral Breakthroughs

What if the key to unlocking deep emotional healing isn’t in talking, but in where you look?In this episode, we sit down with Cindy Smith, a pioneering brainspotting practitioner based in Boulder, Colorado, who’s been helping people regulate their nervous systems and reconnect with themselves since 2008. Cindy’s journey is anything but linear—and that’s exactly what makes it powerful.From being the go-to confidante as a kid to studying psychology from day one in college (never changing her major!), Cindy has always had an innate sense for emotional depth. But burnout from agency work with youth led them into the world of systems engineering—until they found their way back to the healing arts through the profound modality of brainspotting.Not only does Cindy bring a wealth of clinical and life experience to the table, but they're also the creator of Bodi Tree Bilateral Music, a groundbreaking soundscape designed to soothe the amygdala and support deep nervous system regulation.Cindy also shares what it was like navigating the world as a non-binary person before the language even existed—and how that shaped their lens as a healer who sees the whole person.🎙️ In this episode, we explore:How brainspotting fills the gaps traditional therapy can’t always reachWhy bilateral music helps calm the brain—and how it worksCindy’s leap from mental health to tech and back againThe emotional cost of burnout and how to recover from itWhat it means to be a pioneer—in identity, in healing, and in soundWhether you're a clinician, a seeker, or someone curious about the intersection of psychology, identity, and neuroscience, Cindy’s story will leave you inspired and maybe even transformed.Cindy “CJ” Smith (any) LCSW, ACC is a psychotherapist and executive coach in privatepractice in Boulder, Colorado. Cindy specializes in working with LGBTIA2S+ clients and theirfamilies as well as those dealing with anxiety, depression, trauma, traumatic brain injury andperformance issues (sports, business and performing arts). Cindy also works with leaders andorganizations on leadership, culture, strategy and enhancing performance.Cindy began her Brainspotting training in 2008 and has been a certified Brainspotting consultantfor more than a decade. She also co-owns the bilateral music company BodhiTree Bilateral.Cindy is queer and non-binary and developed the specialty workshop Brainspotting withLGBTQIA2S+ clients together with Dr. Pie Frey (she). Cindy enjoys skiing, hiking, biking,pickleball and writing music when not working.www.cindyjsmithlcsw.com www.bodhitreebilateral.com