Hey there

Greetings, Earthling. I’m Lisa Schoenstein, creator of Reclamation Therapeutics and Licensed Professional Counselor. Let me tell you what I believe you can expect in therapy.

Therapy is a professional relationship, one that can bring significant emotional and intellectual intimacy to direct toward your growth and nurturance. It’s an ongoing, structured conversation between us, complete with thoughtful silences, laughter, tears (maybe), pauses in the convo, and riffing off each other’s comments. We work together. You decide what you wish to address, what you do or don’t yet feel comfortable discussing. You are encouraged to try several different tools, skills, and practices to move in the direction you wish to go.

A client-centered approach acknowledges you as the author of your life. You point the way, and you do have to put one foot in front of the other. I walk beside you, shining the flashlight around and wondering with you, “Hey what’s that? Should we look at it closer? Should we approach gently? Never speak of it again?” If you’re not sure where to start or where to go, I will always have questions to open up a session. When it comes time to incorporate some skills or tools or fresh perspectives, I draw on my training and experience to suggest tools I think might be a good fit. Trying them out is up to you, and I’m confident offering follow-up and non-judgment to your learning curve.

Therapy is likely to involve some challenging conversations, difficult feelings, and therapeutic confrontation. Client-centered does not mean zero-accountability, and sometimes a directive approach can help you shift a feeling of stuckness. Ultimately, you decide if you are willing to pick the tools up and see if they will work for you. A little action, an experimental mindset, and some curiosity can go a really long way. You are allowed to say I don’t know, and no is a complete sentence.

The aim of all this? You reclaim, restore, re-story. Feeling supported, resilient, and worthy. You may not get all the answers and I cannot guarantee a precise outcome. I can guarantee that you will have: a committed opportunity to develop relevant skills and practices to inform and impact your life, sincere encouragement to identify not just what you want to change but also what’s already working, and increased awareness and sense of self and your agency in a complex world.

What will not happen:

I will not tell you that you are bad or wrong, that you need to change what you’re doing or else, that you are broken, or I guess that’s just the way you are. I will not position myself as The Professional Knower of Things About You. I think that’s kinda your job, and my job is to come to know you, as much as you are willing, at your pace. I will not insult you, belittle you, attack your identities or belief systems, or try to convert you to anything. I will not treat your concerns, fears, and needs as silly or unimportant. I will not tell you that you must schedule on a particular interval - that’s up to you, in consideration of your time, energy, and resources. Would I like us to meet weekly? Yeah absolutely, it builds great rapport and supports consistency, but I also understand there are many reasons that may not work for you.

More details, in case you would like to know:

I prioritize a sensory-pleasing and trauma-informed environment, providing professional care in a casual and informal setting. What does that mean in everyday terms? My office smells nice, has hot tea and cold drinks available at all times, a dish of candies, and we don’t turn on the Big Light. I lock the door behind us, because my office is downtown and we don’t want anyone wandering in. Yes, you can take your shoes off. Yes, you can cuddle the weighted dinosaur. Yes, you can have a beverage or a snack. Yes, you can fidget with that fidgety thing or borrow a notepad and pen, or borrow a book. Yes, it’s okay to cry and yes, it’s okay if you don’t. I want to say yes, your dog can come, but that’s a case-by-case basis. Yes, you can ask a personal question. I’m clear in my boundaries, and if it’s something I don’t wish to share, I’ll just say so rather than offer what would you feel if I said yes/no or some other deflection. That’s really not my style. I figure you’re asking because it’s important to you, I respect that. Good communication is crucial, let’s practice it.

If we meet vitrually, we will be on HIPAA-compliant sessions through Simple Practice. If I’m at home, you’ll probably meet my “interns,” two cats. We can still have tea together though, and light a little candle or gaze out the window. If you have pets, I’d love to see their little faces, though that’s obviously not required. Or…no, no it’s not required.

My bookshelves are lined with books and trinkets and fidgets, all of them mean something, each plant has an origin story. There’s comfy funiture, and the vibes are laid-back though the work itself is professional. I’ll probably be in a cutoff rock and roll t-shirt and jeans. I swear sometimes, mainly for emphasis and because not everything should sound like a textbook - you can too, if that feels useful. Try it. Say the unspeakable things, see how it feels. If you are still reading all this, fuck yeah - I bet you also read contracts and disclosures all the way through before signing them. Me too.

I am committed to movements that fight to end intersecting forms of oppression, and to weaponizing my locations of privilege aginst the systems that grant them. My work explicitly celebrates LGBTQ+ lives, moves in anti-racist and feminist praxis, and centers a social model of disability. Racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of prejudice are not entertained in this practice. We can, however, unpack -Isms and -Phobias therapeutically, as “discriminatory (and often hostile) beliefs and behaviors based in stereotypes, fear and ignorance.” Challenging these beliefs is likely to produce meaningful change in one’s life, outlook, sense of self, and relationships. It is also likely to be uncomfortable and require meaningful effort and willingness. If you’re in, I’m in.

I identify as queer and genderfluid (she/Sir), White (Irish-German heritage), and mostly able-bodied (got some issues). I’m a cancer survivor, have been a caregiver for terminally-ill folks, live with non-visible disability, and am in long-term recovery. I love birds, coffee, gardening, moody melodic EDM, playing rock cello, lifting heavy things, hiking, and reading books (like the paper kind). Can’t say it enough, I’m already looking forward to connecting with you.