Lisa Bentivenga

I’m a cis-gender heterosexual female. My husband and I have a high school aged son. I’m originally from St. Louis, MO but I have lived in Florida for a combined 36 years because I love living in paradise. One of the things I enjoy about virtual work is seeing my clients’ pets too.

I was a non-traditional student and got my bachelor's degree at 29 and my master's degree at 32. The life skills I gained as I worked my way through school have been helpful throughout my career. For some people, the age of their therapist is important. I am 49 years old.

Some of my helpful qualities include being non-judgmental. I have talked to people of all kinds, many ages with all kinds of histories and all kinds of present lives. There really isn't a topic you can't discuss with me, I have never felt a client gave me "TMI" or too much information. You are guaranteed privacy and confidentiality. You can get judgment for free anywhere else. I believe everyone is doing the best they can with what they know.

I am often told after first sessions that I'm easy to talk to and those clients feel better just having gotten some things off their chest.

I have treated children and teens throughout my career beginning at my first job in foster care.since beginning in I graduated from my masters degree. I have also treated adults with depression, anxiety, grief and loss, PTSD, sexual dysfunction, porn addiction, people in the LGBTQ community & people in alternative lifestyles.

I also treated patients in hospice as well as other medical settings. I treat people with chronic illnesses and occasionally I treat people with life limiting illnesses.

Here at Headway I will treat anyone who is 10 or older because I believe they are best suited for virtual therapy. I'm open to appeals about this policy.

My approach is humble. You know more about yourself than I do. I will talk to you about the type of therapy I’m practicing and why I think it’s the most helpful for you. My aim is to keep you as comfortable as possible and I welcome feedback if you don’t like something I’m doing. We will move forward at the pace you prefer. When it is appropriate, I like to make my clients laugh!

You may leave feeling relieved because you finally “popped the cork” on some things you have tried really hard to avoid thinking it talking about. You might be relieved when you find I’m easy to talk to. You may be relieved by my lack of judgment & comfort with talking about things that make other people uncomfortable.