Lisa Gardner, LCSW is defined by her curiosity, dedication, and over 20 years of experience as a therapist helping individuals and couples find connection and growth. She approaches therapy as a continuous path of learning, believing that being open and curious allows her to be her best self for her clients, students, and colleagues.
Lisa views wholeness, satisfaction, and authentic connection as a deeply normal human need, and often distressing when that need is unmet. Her approach is rooted in experiential therapies that embody a fundamental stance of kindness toward this normal human struggling. She aims to create a grounded space where clients can feel safe enough to discover their most authentic, spontaneous selves.
Lisa has a passion for working with couples, serving as faculty in the Transformative Couples Therapy® Institute. Lisa began her journey in TCT with the AEDP (Immersion 2013) and AEDP for Couples/TCT in 2016 as a pupil of David Mars and Karen Pando-Mars Essential Skills Course. She continued with TCT Core Training, while deepening her skills with group and individual supervision. From 2017 through the present, she has been an Experiential Assistant at numerous trainings, teaching and supporting other therapists learning the TCT and AEDP models. Since 2022, Lisa has co-helmed the TCT Research Project as a clinical researcher and investigator. In 2025 Lisa joined David Mars as Faculty of the TCT Institute.
Described by colleagues as curious, open-minded, and devoted, Lisa also supports the therapeutic community by supervising, teaching and mentoring clinicians helping them grow in their own learning process. She holds an MSW from Fordham University (2002) and a BS from Georgetown University (1980).