Lisa is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Connecticut, and a National Certified Counselor with a master’s degree in clinical Mental Health Counseling from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wellesley College. Before pursuing her degree in counseling, Lisa began her career in the television news industry, honing her skills at active listening while telling stories with empathy and understanding. After taking some time away from that career to focus on her family, she pivoted to working for a social services agency where she realized that her skills of analysis, storytelling and empathic listening allowed her to help people. It was this realization that brought Lisa back to school to study psychology and counseling.
Lisa’s counseling philosophy is that no matter what the circumstance, everyone deserves a safe space, free from judgment or expectations, from which to explore their life challenges. To foster such an environment, Lisa uses compassion, encouragement, directness, and humor, as she strives to create a partnership with her client and work together towards forming and reaching goals both great and small. It is within the collaboration between therapist and client that Lisa believes the healing begins. Her passion lies with a fervent wish to provide a safe space that allows the client to be vulnerable, face painful truths and feel supported in their journey toward living their own definition of a better life. She utilizes multiple modalities (CBT, Client Centered Therapy, Acceptance Commitment Therapy, and Mindfulness to name a few) to provide an integrative approach that compliments a client’s own unique needs, strengths, and goals. Lisa specializes in treating mental health issues in late adolescents and adults such as anxiety, depression, life transitions, alcohol use disorder and grief.
Along with seeing private clients, Lisa is currently affiliated with Yale University working on interventions for risky drinkers and those with alcohol use disorder with a focus on co-morbidities including trauma, anxiety, and depression. Through this affiliation, Lisa hopes to translate research findings into clinical applications. Lisa has presented for the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Association for Psychological Science and the CT Psychological Association.
In her spare time , Lisa enjoys spending time with her blended family and dogs, hiking and indulging in binge worthy shows. Recommendations are always welcome!