The Touchstone Institute

Mara Tesler Stein, Psy.D., PMH-C is a clinical psychologist practicing in the United States and Israel. She is the founder and director of The Touchstone Institute for Psychotherapy and Training where she offers both EMDR Foundational trainings for perinatal specialists & advanced EMDR workshops which take a deeper dive into the intersections and applications of EMDR and perinatal mental health. Dr. Stein is a staunch advocate for trauma-focused care and is trained and certified in a range of integrative trauma therapies. A certified EMDR therapist, EMDRIA Approved Consultant and Trainer, Dr. Stein is also certified in Emotion-Focused Family and Couple Therapy, is a Gottman Certified Therapist, and continues to pursue training in Clinical Hypnosis, Yoga-Informed treatment, Advanced applications of EMDR, Brainspotting, and Ego-State therapies.

I love working with people who are new to EMDR and helping them discover their passion and technique for this incredible modality. In terms of my clinical focus, my specialty is anything that falls under the umbrella of "Reproductive Health" with an interest in third party reproduction, abortion, terminations for medical reasons, and pregnancy losses.

Leslie began her professional career as an HR manager, recruiter and regional trainer for a big box retail store, then shifted to learning American Sign Language and worked for many years as a nationally certified freelance ASL-English interpreter, some days getting to meet Barack Obama or His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and other days working around horses in a horse barn. She then attended graduate school in social work at Michigan State University, and later worked in hospital/medical settings including NICU, labor/delivery, pediatrics, inpatient rehabilitation, ICU, dialysis, and primary care. She worked for many years at Michigan Medicine and helped start the Deaf Health Clinic at that institution. She has been in private practice since 2016 and specializes in reproductive psychotherapy, and is a certified perinatal mental health clinician through Postpartum Support International. Leslie’s current clinical focus is primarily on women and birth givers who have experienced birth trauma, pregnancy/ infant loss, infertility, and postpartum anxiety. She additionally sees people who are in recovery from substance abuse, and complex trauma. Leslie learned EMDR in 2016 after experiencing the healing treatment herself, and has continued the journey through certification and becoming an approved consultant and trainer with Mara Tesler Stein. She has additional training in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, clinical hypnosis, CBT, DBT, Motivational Interviewing, ACT, TF-CBT, and many advanced topics in EMDR. Leslie is currently planning to start her own group psychotherapy practice that will incorporate somatic and adjunct healing modalities, she is a reiki master, and is in training to become a yoga instructor. Leslie enjoys consulting individually and with groups who are in the midst of basic training, or those seeking ongoing certification, or those who just wish to improve their skills in the powerful modality of EMDR. Leslie has co-presented at EMDR Canada on EMDR for TMFR (termination for medical reasons), has facilitated basic training for the last several years, and has consultees from across North America and from around the globe. Leslie lives with her spouse and two bichon frises (Alexis Rose and Keeley Jones) in Ann Arbor, MI, and when she is not working she enjoys cross stitching, being at Lake Michigan, cross country skiing, yoga, and binging any serialized television available.