Lisa Ferentz, LCSW-C, DAPA

Lisa is the President and Founder of The Institute for Advanced Psychotherapy Training and Education, Inc.  She has a B.A. in Theatre from SUNY Albany, and an M.S.W. from the University of Maryland School of Social Work, and is a Diplomate of the American Psychotherapy Association. In 2009, she was given the “Social Worker of the Year” Award by the Maryland Society for Clinical Social Work.

She has been in solo private practice for twenty-eight years.  Working with children, adolescents, individual adults, couples and families, her areas of specialization include: adult children of alcoholics; survivors of emotional, sexual and physical abuse; co-dependency; substance abuse; eating disorders; self-injurious behavior; anxiety; depression; dissociation; multiplicity; professional burn-out; parenting skills; and stress management.  Her work embraces a variety of creative paradigms and treatment modalities including Ericksonian Hypnosis, art therapy and Sensorimotor techniques.

For over ten years, Lisa was an Adjunct Instructor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work where she taught first and second year graduate students.  She was also a Core Faculty Member for their Continuing Professional Education Certificate Program entitled “Child and Adolescent Therapy”, and a frequent presenter at Continuing Education workshops.  Additionally, she was a Core Faculty Member of the Maryland Society for Clinical Social Work where she created and taught continuing education workshops for advanced practitioners.  She is also a faculty member of the Psychotherapy Networker Symposia. 

Lisa serves as a Clinical Consultant for Social Workers and other mental health providers in private practices and agencies. Currently, she is a consultant and trainer for The DOVE program at Northwest Hospital, assisting clinicians in their work with domestic violence victims.  As a Clinical Instructor at the University of Maryland Department of Family Medicine she provides core lectures, and has taught residents about  the bio-psycho-social model, how to join with and interview patients, how to assess for abuse and trauma, and processes doctor/patient interactions. Lisa was also an Adjunct Instructor at University of Baltimore’s criminology department where she taught a course entitled “Trauma and Crisis Intervention” for under-graduate and graduate students.

Seven years ago, Lisa created and began training clinicians in a Certificate Program in Advanced Trauma Treatment.  To date, over 375 clinicians have graduated from her Level I and Level II  strengths based, de-pathologized approaches to treating trauma survivors.

Locally, nationally and internationally, Lisa frequently presents workshops, lectures, and key note addresses for clinical social workers, primary care physicians and other helping professionals, and is considered an expert in the field of trauma.  She has written articles on self- injurious behavior for New York University’s Child Study Center, and the Psychotherapy Networker Journal.  She participated in a documentary called “The Multiple Personality Puzzle” for the Learning Channel.  She also participated in three educational videotapes on eating disorders available for clients and clinicians through Cavalcade Videos. Lisa’s book entitled Treating Self-Destructive Behaviors in Traumatized Clients: A Clinician’s Guide will be available January 2012

Lisa is able to offer her clinical expertise on issues related to addiction and trauma as an active member of the Shofar Coalition under the Associated and CHANA. For several years, she was also a Board member for Jewish Recovery Houses.

She continues to act and direct as a member of Country Drama, a community theater group in Baltimore.  She also choreographs for local High School musical productions.