Lisa deFaria has a Masters in Social Work (MSW) and is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Board Certified Diplomat (BCD) in Clinical Social Work. For over 20 years Lisa has been providing quality psychotherapeutic services for adults, parents, teens and children. She has recently relocated from California to Washington State, and offers private therapeutic services on Bainbridge Island.
In addition to general psychotherapeutic services, Lisa has a specialty in child development, specific to infants and children, 0-5 with neurodevelopmental challenges and other special needs, including autism spectrum disorders, difficulties with self-regulation, attending and focusing and those with emerging emotional, behavioral and learning challenges. She is a Senior Clinician Certified in DIR (Developmental, Individualized and Relationship-Based) approach, featuring the child and family "Floortime" developmental play therapy model for supporting the growth, development and learning of young children with special needs. Lisa also is Certified in pre- and-post adoption counseling by the Kinship Centers of California.
Lisa has trained and worked extensively with Drs. Stanley Greenspan and Serena Wieder’s DIR® (“Developmental, Individualized, Relationship-Based”) and “Floortime” models for the last 18 years. She was on faculty with the "Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders" (ICDL), and was an Associate Professor with the ICDL Graduate PhD program in Early Childhood Development. While in California Lisa was also an Adjunct Faculty member of the University of California Santa Cruz, Extension. Regional community-based services provided while in California included developmental programming consultation and in-service training focusing on pro-active and positive intervention approaches for Early Start/Infant Intervention programs, preschools, elementary/high schools and inclusion programs. These have included: The Children's Health Council, Palo Alto, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County Early Start, No. Monterey County State Preschools, Monterey County Office of Education and Infant Development Program, Monterey County Family Service Agency, San Jose’s PACE Preschool, and the Pajaro, Carmel and Pacific Grove Unified School Districts, San Jose's Creekside School and the Soaring Eagle Academy, Riverside, Illinois. A CEITAN grant recipient and former member of the Monterey County Family and Children’s Commission’s First Five Subcommittee on Children with Special Needs, Lisa has long been an advocate for children with challenges and their families and was a recipient of The Special Kids Crusade "Reach for the Stars" award, honoring individuals and agencies that support children with special needs.
Lisa graduated with Honors from the University of Southern California’s School of Social Work, and participated in a two-year Post Graduate Fellowship in Clinical Social Work at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center’s Thalians Mental Health Center working in the Family and Children's Outpatient Clinic and Infant and Early Child Development Centers, in Los Angeles.. Lisa is an accredited member of the International Association for Play Therapy, the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work, the National Association for Social Work and the Washington Society for Clinical Social Workers.
Balancing your child’s online learning/hybrid schedules, family care, health and safety, on top of your own work demands is simply “too much” for any parent. Excessive pressure to “do it all,” has resulted in chronic stress and worry for so may parents. (Hint: You can’t “do it all.” And that’s OK!) Identify the difference between “I should…” and “I NEED…”. Set reasonable priorities and expectations for yourself and family. Explore easy stress-relief tools. Learn about ways to stay calm and present, one day, and one moment, at a time, through simple “mindfulness” practices to regain balance and find islands of calm in your busy days. Finally, why your own self-care is a true priority!
Balancing your child’s online learning/hybrid schedules, family care, health and safety, on top of your own work demands is simply “too much” for any parent. Excessive pressure to “do it all,” has resulted in chronic stress and worry for so may parents. (Hint: You can’t “do it all.” And that’s OK!) Identify the difference between “I should…” and “I NEED…”. Set reasonable priorities and expectations for yourself and family. Explore easy stress-relief tools. Learn about ways to stay calm and present, one day, and one moment, at a time, through simple “mindfulness” practices to regain balance and find islands of calm in your busy days. Finally, why your own self-care is a true priority!
Although all providers in this directory have completed one or more of Profectum’s certificate training courses on the DIR-FCD model, the providers listed in this directory are independent contractors. Providers are not agents nor are they employees and nor are they under the control of Profectum Foundation. Providers are solely responsible for the quality of the services you receive.
