Lisa Strayer, PhD

Welcome! My site is here to help you learn a bit about me and my practice.

My work centers on helping youth and adults find greater ease and fluidity in their lives. Working with me starts by creating a safe space that allows my clients to move into exploring patterns that may be outdated and creating experiences which open doors to new ways of being. This process includes becoming better acquainted with sensations in their bodies, and learning ways to let emotions inform thoughts and actions.

My work is experiential in nature, is informed by psychodynamic processes and attachment theory, and draws on mindfulness practices & interpersonal neuroscience. My background includes a PhD in clinical psychology from Kent State University, an internship accredited by the American Psychological Association, post-doctoral study work with children and adolescents at University of Rochester, licensure as a psychologist by NYS department of the professions (#010336), extensive training in Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), and certification as a collaborative law child expert, as well as experience in working with parents in high conflict divorces.

I welcome all people to my practice, and work to extend myself to compassionately understand and support others' experiences. I strive to be sensitive to issues of class, gender, race, sexual orientation, sexual identity and culture, and to speak honestly and openly about these issues with my clients.

Nitty Gritty Details

How to Contact Me:

Email (PREFERRED METHOD): lstrayerphd@gmail.com

I typically check email at the start and end of my work days. I will do my best to respond within a day of receiving your message.

PLEASE NOTE: My email is NOT secure, and it does NOT meet HIPPAA privacy standards, so please ONLY use it contact me! I will reply on a secure portal.

Phone (607.329.7014) & Text Messages (offered to existing clients):

Phone Contact should be reserved for:

  • emergencies

  • when you need to cancel an appointment with less than 24 hours notice

  • there is a pressing concern or issue that you need to address with me prior to our next scheduled session

I seldom directly answer the phone, so please leave a message (including your name) at 607-329-7014. I will get back to you as soon as possible. If it is an emergency, and you do not hear from me in a timely manner, please go to your nearest hospital emergency room and leave me a message on my phone.

Availability as of September 2020:

    • Ithaca Practice - my practice is full, and I do not maintain a wait list. Feel free to check back with me on a monthly basis.

Offices

    • Mondays (11:00 to 5:00), Tuesdays (11 to 5:30), Wednesdays (8-12 to 3-6:00) and Thursdays (12 to 7:30)

Appointments

  • Appointments begin at ten or forty minutes past the hour and last for 50 minutes. It is expected that adults will be available to pick up their children at least five minutes before the end of their scheduled appointment.

Insurance:

  • I accept and directly submit bills to Aetna, Fidelis, Medicare and BCBS insurance plans, and request payment of copays by cash or check at the time of a session. I provide receipts that can be used for reimbursement from other insurance companies. If you do not have insurance, I charge $140 per session. I also make accommodations for 20% of my clients for sliding scale fees.

Cancellations:

  • Unless I am able to reschedule a session with another client, I charge $100 for all appointments cancelled with less than 24 hours notice.

Office Location

My office is located in Ithaca, out of my home, at 361 Floral Avenue (Floral Ave is also known as Route 13A.) Please park in the vehicle pull-in area by the front door, leaving enough room for other cars to park, and enter via the front door into the waiting/living room, and have a seat. The bathroom is to the left, first door on the right.

Resources

books, articles, videos, websites...

AEDP (accelerated experiential dynamic psychotherapy)

This is the foundation/theory/type of therapy that I practice. It was developed by Diana Fosha, and is being extended by a group of therapists around the world, with research findings that support its efficacy for fostering emotional well being and sturdier, more rewarding relationships. A recent article by Diana Fosha addresses how we are wired for healing.

Hilary Jacobs Hendel has written a book on AEDP that lays out its tenets in easily digestible language with many examples that bring the ideas to a personal level. She also has created a podcast on Core Emotions and the Change Triangle.

General Parenting

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen, and Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish (1999). This book, and its companion, How to Talks So Teens Will Listen and Listen So Teens Will Talk, by the same authors, are among the very few books that I repeatedly recommend to parents (and kids). With cartoons interspersed, gazoodles of examples, and very practical advise for focusing on the "big" stuff and addressing but not yammering on and on about the other stuff, it is a gem.

Raising Happiness is a website devoted to helping families learn how to be happier, based on science for the greater good. It is a lovely site, and one where I think about every child, teen and parent can find morsels that will make them smile.

Attachment Concerns

Attachment Focused Parenting by Daniel Hughes (2009). With an attitude of kindness toward the struggles of both children and parents caught in the throes of troubled attachments, this book offers an understanding of insecure bonds and steps to take to nurture both children's and parents' capacities to trust and love one another.

Parenting from the Inside Out: How a Deeper Self-Understanding Can Help you Raise Children Who Thrive by Dan Siegel and Mary Hartzell: This book helps parents see the ways in which their own experiences of being parented have an impact on their brains and how they parent. It also touches on the interactions between how a child's behavior influences their caregivers' brains and abilities to nurture them.

The Neurobiology of Attachment-Focused Therapy: Enhancing Connection & Trust in the Treatment of Children and Adolescents by Jonathan Baylin and Daniel Hughes. This book offers an understanding of how therapy can help children's brains shift from being on high-alert to be being more open to experiencing delight and joy.

Mindfulness

Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting by Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn (1998). This is a book that I treasure. It is meatier and takes creating some stillness within to fully digest what it has to offer, but it is well worth the time. It offers a path to parenting that speaks to being present with oneself in order to be able to have goodness to offer your children. It is less of a how-to, than a settling into oneself book.

Peaceful Piggy Meditation by Kerry Lee Maclean and Kerry Maclean (2004). This is one of those books I love. It is a story of a pig who finds that life has its up and downs, and that some of the downs leave her angry and frustrated. She shows kids how to do an experiment to see what happens when their emotions get all stirred up, and how sitting quietly can clear things up! It is a picture book geared to young children, but I find it useful with kids of all ages, even teens and adults with a willingness to banter with their child-within.

Susan Kaiser Greenland offers four minute mindfulness instructions for young children, and resources ones for parents and teens. She is one of the pioneers in bringing mindfulness practices into educational settings.

Contact Me

Email (PREFERRED METHOD): lstrayerphd@gmail.com

I typically check email at the start and end of my work days. I will do my best to respond within a day of receiving your message.

PLEASE NOTE: My email is NOT secure, and it does NOT meet HIPPAA privacy standards, so please ONLY use it contact me! I will reply on a secure portal.

Phone (607.220.5250) & Text Messages (offered to existing clients):

Phone Contact should be reserved for:

  • emergencies

  • when you need to cancel an appointment with less than 24 hours notice

  • there is a pressing concern or issue that you need to address with me prior to our next scheduled session

I seldom directly answer the phone, so please leave a message (including your name) at 607-220-5250 (office). I will get back to you as soon as possible. If it is an emergency, and you do not hear from me in a timely manner, please call my mobile phone (607-329-7014) or, if I don't pick up, go to your nearest hospital emergency room.