Lisa M. Butler, M.S., LMFT is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in the State of Kansas. She is currently working towards her Clinical Licensure while under the post-graduate supervision of Brenda Harvey-Smith, M.S., LCMFT. Lisa specializes in working with individuals, couples, children, and family psychotherapy and maintains a private practice in Wichita, Kansas. She is a 2007 graduate of Friends University with a Masters of Science (MSFT) degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. Lisa served her internships with Catholic Charities Community Counseling Services, Inc., the Pregnancy Crisis Center of Wichita, Inc., and Center on Family Living which is located on the campus of Friends University. At her various placement sites, she provided psychotherapy services to clients struggling with depression, anxiety, partner relational problems, parent child relational problems, eating disorders, alcohol and/or drug addictions, and other problems and disorders. At the Pregnancy Crisis Center of Wichita, Inc., Lisa delivered psycho-education classes focusing on parenting issues and Gottman’s work on Emotion Coaching. She is currently serving as a private practitioner working with a broad spectrum of clients. Her strengths as a clinician are most evident while working with those who struggle with issues related to parenting concerns, marital/relationship difficulties, personal growth, and adjustment to life changes both planned and unplanned. Lisa Butler utilizes an integrated model of therapy which involves the use of Emotion-Focused Therapy, Attachment Theory, Narrative Therapy, and Cognitive/Behavioral techniques. In addition, she places an emphasis on intergenerational patterns from the past which might be impacting the present functioning of the client and their family. Her treatment approach is to provide support and practical feedback to help clients resolve current problems and/or long-standing patterns. In working with families, Lisa is quite effective in helping parents to gain insight and skills to strengthen their confidence and understanding of their child’s emotional and behavioral expressions. This is often accomplished through the use of Emotion Coaching and Play Therapy. Play is how a child works to understand, explore, and master their world. In utilizing Play Therapy, Lisa is able to connect with the child and their parents and to strengthen the connection between parent and child. While these approaches guide her general approach to therapy, Lisa has maintained the student’s mindset of purposefully continuing to grow in knowledge and skills through professional training and learning from the life experience of her clients. With humility and compassion, she believes that successful change involves new emotions, thoughts, and behaviors that are created through insightful, cognitively modifying, experiential conversations in a collaborative relationship between the client and the therapist.

Education:
Friends University – Wichita, KS
M.S. Degree in Marriage & Family Therapy –
Graduated – 2007
Kansas State University – Manhattan, KS
Honors Program
B.S. Degree in Family Studies and Human Services –
Graduated Summa Cum Laude – 2004

Licenses:
LMFT (Kansas licensure – Marriage & Family Therapist)

Additional Training:
Attachment-Focused Family Therapy presented by Dan Hughes, PhD –
Kansas Association of Marriage and Family Therapy Annual Conference,
Overland Park, KS, 2008
Noontime Forum on Stress – Sponsored by Delta Kappa
MFT Honor Society, Wichita, KS, 2007
Play Therapy Workshop held by Angie Moore, LCMFT, Friends University 2006 

Lifetime Memberships:
Delta Kappa International Marriage & Family Therapy Honor Society
Kappa Omicron Nu Honor Society