Using compassion, encouragement, directness, and humor, Lisa strives to create a partnership with her client. It is within the collaboration between therapist and client that she believes healing begins.
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. Lisa specializes in treating mental health issues in adults and emerging adults with anxiety, depression, trauma, life transitions, grief, and alcohol use challenges.
Her 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, she strives to create a partnership with her client. It is within the collaboration between therapist and client she believes healing begins. Her passion lies with a fervent wish to provide a safe space for 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 to provide an integrative approach that compliments a client’s own unique needs, strengths, and goals.
This is a second career for Lisa. Before pursuing her degree in counseling, she began her career in the television news industry, honing her skills at active listening while telling stories with empathy and understanding. Then, 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, and after 8 years there, she found her passion lay in helping people one on one. She decided the time was now or never to return to her academic roots in psychology, and she began graduate school for a degree in mental health counseling.
Along with seeing private clients, Lisa was 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.
When she’s not working, Lisa enjoys spending time with her family and pets, indulging in binge-worthy TV shows (recommendations welcome!), and hiking. She’s looking forward to getting back to running after taking a few years hiatus.
Lisa has availability both virtually and in person. If you are interested in scheduling an appointment, please email Lisa directly or contact our intake team at info@westportcounselingtherapy.com.
Westport Counseling & Therapy 