***This training is approved by Brainspotting Trainings, LLC and meets the Brainspotting Phase 1 requirement for Brainspotting certification. Both Phase 1 and 2 are required for certification and provide the full range of skills needed to work with most clients, including those with more complexity and C-PTSD. Make sure to check out Phase 2 dates if you work with these populations!
Learn more about the certification process here.
Registration Options
For post graduate level therapists, social workers, and counselors; MDs; psychiatrists; Master’s level or higher psychiatric nurses, located or working in India. Training is hosted over two weekends.
For psychology, social work, therapy/counseling, psychiatry post-graduates who have received their post-graduate degree on or after 2024. Those who are completing their post graduation in 2026 are also eligible. Must be located or working in India. Training is hosted over two weekends.
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AUDIENCE:
Psychologists, social workers, counselors, coaches, healing professionals with graduate degrees, working or located in India.
FOR THOSE WITH NON-MENTAL HEALTH DEGREES:Special consideration will also be given to practitioners who are working with the mental health / well-being of others in India, but do not meet the above qualifications (such as coaches, physiotherapists, etc). If you are in this category, please fill out this application first.
HOSTS: This training will be hosted by Mariya Javed-Payne and co-trainers Akshita Vaidyanathan, and Bharathy Thridandam.
REGISTRATION/PRICING:
This is the fourth Brainspotting training for mental health professionals practicing in India.
*Verification of degree, location, student status, and place of employment will be required during online registration.
Early Bird Pricing: 18,000 INR=$208.33 USD, last day to register for early bird is December 15, 2025.
Standard Pricing: 20,000 INR=$231.54 USD, begins November 28, 2025.
Recent Graduate (2024 or after)/Student Pricing: 10,030 INR=$116.09 USD
**Please note that there may be slight variations to pricing due to the currency exchange rate changing.Last Day to Register: January 2nd, 2026
DATES:Training will be held over two weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) in the Indian Standard Time Zone.
January 10th and 11th (Saturday and Sunday, from 8:30am-2:00 pm)
January 17th and 18th (Saturday and Sunday, from 8:30am-2:00 pm)The training is available to psychologists, counselors, and social workers with completed graduate degrees located or working in India.
ONLINE COURSE/SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
The training will be held in English with Zoom closed captioning enabled.
To access this online interactive webinar, you will need a cable, high-speed DSL or other medium that is internet accessible and a device (typically made within the last 5-7 years) that is able to run the Zoom software. Please view Zoom's System Requirements for more information.
Please log in using a desktop or laptop computer whenever possible. Tablets and phones do not provide the best Zoom training experience.
Please ensure you are in a private space for the duration of the training to honor confidentiality of other participants, especially for experiential components.
Plan to attend all 4 days of the training and avoid scheduling other activities during the training times.
Course attendees must be present for the entire course and complete an evaluation. Partial credit is not allowed. Zoom attendance will be taken throughout each day.
Please discuss any concerns with the trainer in advance.
Evaluations and completion certificates will be emailed within a week of training completion.
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In this 4-day introductory training, participants will learn four basic Brainspotting techniques, as well as receive an overview of the:
- standards of care and professional practice for Brainspotting practitioners
- research that supports the primary assumptions of Brainspotting
- challenges of research and evidence-based treatment for conditions such as Complex PTSD
This live Zoom training will be facilitated with didactic lecture, PowerPoint, handouts, role playing, dyad practice, and live demonstrations. Live attendance with camera access, sound, and a private space is required. Participants will learn to do the following:Define the components of Brainspotting
Utilize the techniques of “Inside window”, “Outside window” and “Gazespotting” and “Body Resource” Brainspotting.
Define how Brainspotting can be applied to trauma, dissociation, sports performance problems and somatic conditions
Demonstrate the theories and practices of Brainspotting.
ABOUT BRAINSPOTTING
Brainspotting is a powerful, focused treatment method that works by identifying, processing and releasing core neurophysiological sources of emotional/body pain, trauma, dissociation and a variety of challenging symptoms. Brainspotting is a simultaneous form of diagnosis and treatment, enhanced with BioLateral sound, which is deep, direct, powerful yet focused and containing. Trainings are 9 am to 6 pm CDT each day and count for 21 clock hours that may count towards continuing education credits, depending on your state board licensing requirements.Brainspotting identifies activated eye positions designated as Brainspots. Located through either one or both eyes, Brainspots are observed from either the “Inside Window” of the clients felt sense and/or the “Outside Window” of the clients’ reflexive responses (i.e., blink, eye twitches or wobbles, pupil dilation, quick breaths and subtle body shifts). Students will first learn the phenomenological approach that underpins strategies for Brainspotting, followed by strategies for identifying and processing Brainspots. Attention will be given to the utilization and integration of Brainspotting into ongoing treatment, including highly dissociative clients.
Brainspotting is adaptable to almost all areas of specialization. Brainspotting provides therapists with powerful tools to enable their patients to quickly and effectively process through the deep brain sources of many held traumas, emotional, somatic and performance problems.
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Mariya Javed-Payne is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor and International Brainspotting Trainer and Consultant.
She is a somatic psychotherapist and the owner of Awaken Consulting Services, a private practice and consultancy where she utilizes Brainspotting therapy and offers training and consultation on the treatment of trauma, somatic psychotherapies, psychedelic assisted therapy, anti-racism, and other relevant mental health topics. She also offers therapy intensives for complex PTSD and addictions, where clients work with her for multiple hours a day for a number of days to get to the root of traumatic experiences.
Always seeking out the most cutting edge advances in treatment, she utilizes psychedelic medicines such as ketamine with somatic therapy. Her 14 years of experience have focused on clients with addictions, medication assisted treatment therapies, complex and developmental trauma, racial and ancestral trauma, oppression, and chronic pain. Identifying as a deep-hearted visionary and servant leader, she has served various leadership roles in the mental health service industry, such as Chief Clinical Officer at Institute for Integrative Therapies, the first psychedelic assisted therapy clinic in Minnesota, as well as Director of Behavioral Health at a large federally qualified health center. Mariya has courageously supported and trained many teams of physicians, therapists, psychiatrists, and social workers to embody attunement and provide trauma-responsive, anti-oppressive counseling and addiction therapies to people and communities in need of healing.
Akshita Vaidyanathan (she/they) is a neurodivergent, queer trauma-focused therapist, clinical social worker, and certified Brainspotting practitioner with over 9 years of experience in mental health and social work. She has worked across clinical, research, and community-based settings in the United States, India, and Singapore and now owns and runs her own private practice based in India. Their work is deeply soul-centered and rooted in values of anti-oppression and liberation. Akshita's approach to therapy and healing is integrative and holistic - they are client-centered, relational & neurodiversity affirming and use eclectic methods including Brainspotting and somatic psychotherapy, emotion focused therapy and attachment focused orientations, parts work, DBT skills and more. They currently offer support through individual therapy, empowerment-oriented tarot readings, groups, and short-term trauma healing intensives. They specialize in working with adults from the following communities - Autistic, ADHD, AuDHD, highly sensitive people, LGBTQIA+, polyamorous and non-monogamous individuals, survivors of developmental trauma, interpersonal and state-sanctioned violence, and individuals navigating their gender and sexual identities. She also works with activists, mental health professionals, and other kinds of healers. Akshita brings herself and her histories into all parts of her work and believes in the healing power of authentic relationships. She is currently in training to become a Brainspotting consultant.
Learn more here.
Bharathy is an California Board of Behavioral Sciences Approved Licensed Clinical Social Worker since 2001. She has been trained as a Medical and Psychiatric Social Worker at NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences) in India, before she moved to the US in 1994. She has worked with clients with Chronic Schizophrenia, clients with cognitive/memory impairments due to brain injury or dementia and has supported their families, has worked with terminally ill clients and their families in a Hospice setting and since 2003, she spent 19 years working in a Psychiatric Outpatient setting with an HMO covering the range of mental health conditions, teaching classes on Anger management, Stress management & Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction(MBSR).
Bharathy is currently in Private practice full time, working with adults-Individuals and Couples from different ethnic backgrounds, and provides EAP counseling as well.
Learn more here.
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To support integration of the material, two optional consultation groups will be offered after the training on the following dates:
Saturday, February 27th, 2026
10:00 am ISTSaturday, April 4th, 2026
9:30 am IST -
Participants of this introductory-level course participants will be able to:
Summarize the standards of care and professional practice of the International Brainspotting Association.
Describe the hypothesized neurological underpinnings of how brainspotting works.
Summarize the research that supports the hypothesized way in which eye positions activate and accesses midbrain activity.
Explain the uncertainty principle as it relates to brainspotting.
Describe the concepts of simultaneous neurobiological and relational attunement.
Explain the importance of client-therapist attunement during brainspotting.
Explain how the treatment frame is set and held by the therapist.
Explain the role of focused mindfulness in brainspotting.
Discuss the similarities and differences between the activation and resource models of brainspotting.
Explain the concept of limbic countertransference.
Demonstrate a basic mastery of the use of the outside window brainspotting technique.
Demonstrate a basic mastery of the use of the inside window brainspotting technique.
Demonstrate a basic mastery of the use of the gaze spot brainspotting technique.
Demonstrate a basic mastery of the use of the resource model of brainspotting technique.
Assess the appropriate brainspotting techniques for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, including the Dissociative Subtype, and other trauma-related symptoms.
Describe two challenges to assessing and providing evidence-based treatment to individuals with Complex PTSD.
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We will provide you with a full refund if you cancel up to 14 days before the event (less $20 administrative fee per ticket purchased.) We do not offer partial refunds if you are unable to attend the entire training. However, we know that life situations arise, so please contact us if you have a special circumstance.
Otherwise, we can also transfer your registration/payment to a future training up to one year of your original scheduled course.
Please note that you will be responsible for deciding the alternative training date and communicating with us.
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We are dedicated to making sure all of our continuing education (CE) programs uphold the highest standards of accessibility. If you have specific needs or accommodations, we encourage you to contact us. Sharing your requests before the training helps us create an inclusive and supportive learning experience for everyone.
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DATA USAGE & SECURITY
Your data is kept private and secure and we do not sell your information to any other parties. We may use your email to update you for future trainings and news from Awaken Consulting Services. You are welcome to opt out at any time.
RECORDINGS
While we do record the training, the recordings are for internal purposes only and are not shared with attendees. We ask that you do not record any portion of the training through any audio/video recording devices, as this information is proprietary. By attending this training, you are agreeing to not recording any portion of the training.
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Participants who have a grievance regarding our continuing education courses are invited to submit their concerns in writing through our online form within 30 days of course completion.
Please include the following information when submitting a grievance:
· Your name and contact information
· Course title, completion date, and instructor’s name (if applicable)
· A detailed explanation of the concern, including relevant facts and any supporting documentation
· The outcome or resolution you are seeking
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For questions or concerns, please reach out to:
Awaken Consulting Services, LLC
CC: Awakened Minds Academy
11436 Kensington Drive
Eden Prairie, MN 55347
763-232-4694
Email
For post graduate level therapists, social workers, and counselors; MDs; psychiatrists; Master’s level or higher psychiatric nurses, located or working in India. Training is hosted over two weekends.
For psychology, social work, therapy/counseling, psychiatry post-graduates who have received their post-graduate degree on or after 2024. Those who are completing their post graduation in 2026 are also eligible. Must be located or working in India. Training is hosted over two weekends.