Clinical Conversation

Guest: Lisa Hayes, MSW, LISW-S
On-Demand: This conversation was recorded on August 20th, 2025.

Therapists aren’t immune to the chaos. The same systems, crises, and global stressors that impact our clients are also shaping our own nervous systems, and the therapy room. In this Clinical Conversation, Lisa Hayes invites us to name and explore what it means to do trauma work amid collective dysregulation.

Together, we’ll look at how societal upheaval, burnout, and vicarious trauma show up in clinical practice. Lisa offers a grounded, honest lens on how therapists can stay regulated enough to hold space, even when the world feels anything but.

This isn’t about pushing through. It’s about resourcing ourselves and each other, so we can keep doing the work with clarity, integrity, and care.

 Lisa Hayes is a Clinical Social Worker based in Columbus, OH, with a master's in Social Work from The Ohio State University and undergraduate training in Sociology and Gender Studies. Her academic and professional focus has always included special considerations for issues of gender identity, sexuality, race, and social representation. Lisa's clinical experience spans complex trauma, complex PTSD, complex dissociation, anxiety and panic disorders, residential alcohol and drug treatment, inpatient psychiatric hospitalization, sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse, Military Veteran experiences, racial and culturally specific trauma, and LGBTQIA+ specific support needs. She has provided local, national, and international trainings on the impacts of trauma on individuals, communities, and families, and uses a variety of expressive and experiential therapeutic interventions in her clinical work. Lisa is currently employed by The Ohio State University, maintains a part-time private practice, is co-owner of The Trauma & Wellness Institute, and serves as the Director of the EMDR Therapy Training Program for BIPOC Clinicians with the Institute for Creative Mindfulness.