About Dr. Melissa Stefanski PhD, LMBT (NC License #21881)

Melissa Stefanski PhD, LMBT and Founder of Massage Plus, LLC, hails from Montreal, Canada and began her career in healthcare as a mental health therapist. Her proven success stems from her natural ability to establish trustworthy connections with her clients. Melissa holds a PhD in Psychology and is a Licensed Massage and Bodywork Therapist (LMBT) NC License #21881.

Melissa is also a certified hypnotherapist through the National Guild of Hypnotists. Her passionate dedication to the well-being of others continues to fuel her journey. Melissa’s clinical background in psychology and healthcare, coupled with her educational accomplishments and calming demeanor, will reward you, her partner in health, with the ultimate mind-body experience. Let your Massage Plus journey begin! ma

Melissa Stefanski: A Personal Story

Hello and welcome to Massage Plus. My name is Melissa Stefanski. I've been that shy kid for as long as I can remember. During parent-teacher meetings, my teachers would always describe me as "a good student but very quiet and timid." I think to this day, others would describe me as "quiet." It's strange because I never think of myself that way. I guess I don't think I'm quiet because there's a stream of conversation/thoughts/songs/etc. going through my head all day long. 

I never liked group activities at school or presentations in front of the class. I still get nervous when I'm called upon at meetings. I'm not usually the first one to speak up. I tend to worry easily and feel the worry throughout my entire body. I remember thinking that stress and anxiety were just a part of my life and that I needed to accept them. I thought maybe my genetic makeup was stacked against me and there was no changing what the genes had dictated.

At some point, I can't really remember when, I decided if I couldn't beat stress maybe I could join it. I decided to learn all I could about stress so I could manage it instead of it managing me! Maybe some people are wired to be more sensitive. Maybe some people have had events in their life to encourage wanting to hide away. But, so what? Resigning to feel stressed or anxious is only one option. Another option is to do the best with what you have. That's what I decided to do for myself.

Stress will never magically disappear, but we can get to know stress. Kind of like keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. I'd call stress a "frienemy." I'm keeping stress close, studying it's every move. I'm learning about my reactions to stressful situations and coping differently now.

Feeling as though I have some control over stress diminishes stress!

After all, stress stems from a perception of something being out of our control.

Am I an expert on stress? I would call myself a lifelong learner of stress. Have I figured out ways of managing stress that work? YES! I encourage you to take a mind-body approach to wellness. 

If you are willing to work on this, you will feel better. There may not be a particular day when you think, "Yea! I've managed stress." But, one day you'll think, "I'm not sure when this happened, but things just feel better."

HEALTHY BODY. CALM MIND.