Lisa Stevenson

Relationship and Couples Counselling

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Lisa Stevenson

Relationship Counsellor
About Lisa Stevenson Relationship Counsellor

A little about me

My own experience has taught me that the quality of my relationships determines the quality of my life.

But it’s something I had to learn.

I grew up in a home where I knew without doubt that I was loved without ever really learning how to love. Values of care and kindness were a given, but I didn’t learn how to take an active part in a relationship.

I assumed that harmony required agreement. I thought relationships had a life of their own.

Once grown up, I recognised that something was missing, that I still had no idea how to create a healthy and sustainable intimate relationship. In the face of discomfort, my instinctive reaction was to withdraw.

And yet I craved engagement and intimacy.

I’m naturally curious and a little bit stubborn too so accepting a ‘make do’ relationship has never been enough. I love the challenge of discovering what more there is.

I’m hugely grateful to have met my life- long partner early in life and to have had the opportunity to be stubborn and curious together.

Our differences meant that we had to pay attention and start learning quickly. We had to find the courage to keep getting up again for the ‘more’ that lay ahead.

We quickly dispelled the myth that new relationship energy belongs only in a new relationship. We learnt that we could keep creating the new energy that we wanted ourselves.

We found that fun, flirting, laughter and kindness were essential.

We agreed that changing tack would always come before giving up.

And that’s why I love my work.

I have the same hope for you because you too are the source of what works for you.

So where did I begin?

I first trained as a general counsellor with a Diploma in Clinical and Pastoral Counselling and a Certificate in Couples and Family Counselling 15 years ago.

Very quickly I began to specialise in relationships and trained in the Developmental Model of Couples Therapy with Ellyn Bader PhD at The Couples Institute.

 Realising how essential sexuality and intimacy are to my life and work, I trained in Assessing and Treating Sexual Issues with Martha Kauppi at the Institute of Relational Intimacy.

Amongst others, I’ve trained with Terry Real of the Relational Life Institute and Esther Perel and each of them continue to be much valued mentors.

I am an accredited member of both the National Counselling Society and the National Council of Psychotherapists.

Following my training, I joined a team in a challenging and busy multi -cultural practice abroad. My work was with local, international and inter- cultural couples. It was there that I gained experience and insight into working with difference and how it can be turned from problem back into gift.

These days, I live in rural Devon and am continually refreshed and restored by the natural world around me.

Lisa Stevenson Accreditations

Accredited with:
The National Counselling Society (NCS) The National Council of Psychotherapists (NCP)