The Baltimore Brainspotting Collective is a professional directory of Brainspotting clinicians in the greater Baltimore Metro area.
Originally founded by Melissa Wesner, LCPC, LCMHC, Susan Stork, LCPC, LPCC, LPC, CST, and Katie Cashin, LCPC, the Baltimore Brainspotting Collective was created with the vision and mission of creating a network of local Brainspotting (BSP) clinicians. Additionally, the collective works to increase the awareness and practice of BSP and the positive benefits that BSP yields for clients in Baltimore + beyond.
Currently, the Baltimore Brainspotting Collective is managed and run by Melissa Wesner, LCPC, LCMHC and Susan Stork, LCPC, LPCC, LPC, CST.
Melissa Wesner, LCPC, LCMHC
Brainspotting Consultant & Approved LCPC Supervisor
Licensed in Maryland & New Hampshire
Brainspotting Consultant & Certified Brainspotting Clinician
Melissa became interested in BSP because of how well it integrated to her existing practices. Melissa believes that Brainspotting helps access our body's natural ability to heal and find solutions. By taking the time to be silent, BSP allows us to notice and access our own inner wisdom. Like Susan, Melissa completed Phase I & II trainings with renowned Brainspotting clinicians, Dr. Pie Frey and Dr. Christine Ranck, respectively. Melissa offers Brainspotting Consultation services to Brainspotting therapists who are looking to become Certified Brainspotters. She offers Brainspotting services to:
Individuals whose past experiences keep inflicting pain on the present
Individuals who have experienced sexual trauma
adults who are having sexual difficulties
people who are looking for something other than traditional talk therapy
professionals who are exposed to trauma in the work place
burned out helping professionals who are looking to do a different kind of therapeutic work
adults who are looking to do deep work, gain insight, & find healing
business owners who want to address issues that are preventing them from moving forward with their business goals
Melissa is fluent in both English and Spanish, which makes her an ideal fit for Spanish-speaking individuals. Unlike traditional talk therapy, BSP allows individuals to process trauma without the necessity of verbal communication. This makes BSP ideal for individuals who have work-related obligations of confidentially due to their occupation, such as high-profile government officials, and mental health professionals.
In addition to her Phases I, II, III, IV training in BSP, Melissa is has completed trainings for Gottman Level I, EMDR levels I & II, and The Ferentz Institute’s level I trauma certification program. Additionally, Melissa is a Gottman Bringing Baby Home Program Educator and a Gottman 7 Principles for Making Marriage Work Leader. Melissa has also completed the University of Michigan’s Sex Therapy Certificate Program.
MARYLAND: LCPC LICENSE #: LC3221 - LICENSED CLINICAL PROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR (LCPC)
NEW HAMPSHIRE LICENSE #: 2185 - LICENSED CLINICAL MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR (LCMHC)
Susan Stork, LCPC, LPCC, LPC, CST
Approved LCPC Supervisor in Maryland
AASECT Certified Sex Therapist
Licensed in Maryland, Delaware & New Mexico
Certified Brainspotting Clinician
Susan began researching Brainspotting in 2016 and attending Brainspotting training in 2018. Alongside Melissa, Susan attended Phase I & II trainings with renowned Brainspotting clinicians, Dr. Pie Frey and Dr. Christine Ranck. In addtion, became Certified in Brainspotting in 2019 - after attending Phase 4 with Developer and Founder, Dr. David Grand.
Susan approaches therapy with her BSP clients as a collaborative process, one with compassion, patience, transparency, processing before and after BSP-ing, and lots of psychoeducation. The BSP approach is intuitive to Susan in many ways.
Brainspotting is a container for exploring life’s roadblocks, historic traumas, active traumas, and assists in metabolizing traumatic experiences, and neutralize existing / perceived hurdles in ones life.
With an emphasis on a “focused state of mindfulness” and with a huge does of therapeutic attunement, Brainspotting fits in well with Susan’s previous training in Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy® (PACT) and Intergenerational Family Systems Therapy which both acknowledges generational influences on individual behaviors based on Family of Origin + Attachment Theory.
Identifying activations states - “focused activation” = a feeling related to trauma or emotional states at times brings into view multigenerational behavioral patterns for BSP clients. Such as management of anxiety, emotional regulation and stress management. This awareness can help clients see how their current problems may be rooted in, fused within, and/or enmeshed within previous generations and can be a bit “mucky” within areas of family systems and/or transgenerational trauma. BSP helps clients contain and shift the MUCK.
Susan offers BSP for individuals + couples who identify within the following categories:
burned out Type A’s and Creative Urban professionals
Neurodiverse Folks: AD(H)D, Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Dyscalculia, Autistic Spectrum, Asperger syndrome, Tourette Syndrome
Those Already enrolled in therapy needing additional support / exploration
individuals previously enrolled in therapy who did not achieve their ideal results
ENTREPRENEURS / SOLO ENTREPRENEURS
Couples Work Utilizing Brainspotting for Witnessing and Deepening Connection
mental health providers, Nurses, Physician Assistants, Doctors, PHYSICAL therapists, life coaches, Occupational Therapists, etc.
aviation professionals - such as pilots & flight attendants
INDIVIDUALS / Couples Processing Adoption (individuals who were adopted / adoptive parents)
Burnt out Baltimore city public school educators
creatives feeling “stuck”
Those processing a type of grief/loss
attorneys / Lawyers, Accountants / cpas / Veterinarians
Performers / Public Figures
Athletes seeking to increase / improve peak performance
Attuning to the energetic field, tracking the client's body movements and facial expressions, and letting the client guide the sessions are all values that Susan implements in all of her therapeutic interactions. Additionally, Brainspotting suggests the notion that a person has inside of them all the information they need to access, process, and heal themselves. As stated by Dr. David Grand, the job of the therapist, is to create a safe place to promote this, and provide a different way into the process beyond talk therapy and into a space of “focused mindfulness” created by connecting the mind and body - via bilateral sounds and a focused vision point. The BSP therapist does this by assisting the client to locate and attune within a certain field of vision that taps into and harnesses the body's natural self-healing ability through the optic nerve to the the subcortical aspects of the clients brain.
In addition to her Phase I, II, IV trainings in BSP, Susan has completed trainings in the Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy® (PACT), developed by Dr. Stan Tatkin Levels I & II, and The Ferentz Institute Trauma Certification Program, developed by Lisa Ferentz, LCSW-C, Levels I & II. Susan completed the University of Michigan’s 2019 Sex Therapy Certificate Program and is an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist.
When Susan is not working with clients she enjoys spending time with her husband and son. Susan has a true passion for spontaneous travel that also includes attending live music venues + thrifting vintage finds — she makes a point to do it as often, as possible. Some of her favorite destinations are India, Amsterdam, Taos, NM, Joshua Tree, CA and Savanah, GA. Susan believes that her travel habits top-off her novelty-meter in life, teach her additional observation skills, build her tolerance, and strengthens her understanding of multiculturalism across life spans. Additionally, Susan deeply appreciates urban gardening that includes urban chickens + top-bar beekeeping.