Lisa Ghali

Couples Counseling & Relationship Therapy

I approach couples counseling and relationship therapy believing that most partners want the same things: to feel seen, heard, and understood. Over time, communication patterns can break down. I can assist you identifying these negative cycles, exploring new ways of connecting, and deeping your relationship.

Working together, I can help you improve communication, strengthen your sexual and emotional connections, heal from betrayals, explore commitment, and resolve other issues. In addition, I provide premarital and pre-commitment counseling.

I am also attuned to the cultural dimensions of partnership, and specialize in working with couples who are bridging different backgrounds, languages, faiths, or values. I help partners explore how the cultures they each bring shape the way they understand love, conflict, and connection.

My style is open, curious, and collaborative, creating a safe space to share perspectives and begin to understand what’s happening beneath the surface. Conflict or avoidance doesn’t necessarily mean something in a relationship is broken; it can be a doorway to healing, growth, and deeper connection.

I’m engaged and direct when it’s helpful, and attuned to both the emotional and practical layers of a relationship. Together we’ll make sense of the patterns that keep you stuck and will build new ways of relating that feel more supportive and connected.

I welcome partners and relationships of all kinds, including those who are dating, married, partnered, separated, divorced, monogamous, and ethically nonmonogamous. I’m LGBTQIA+ and kink-affirming.

I’m trained in Relational Life Therapy (RLT), a dynamic model of couples counseling developed by therapist Terry Real that helps partners break destructive patterns and achieve true intimacy. RLT addresses complex relationship issues, ranging from infidelity and trauma to chronic disconnection, and it provides a clear roadmap for rapid, substantive change.

Individual Therapy

I provide a compassionate, nonjudgmental space for people navigating anxiety and depression, relationship problems, sexual concerns, grief and loss, trauma, life transitions, and personal and professional stress, as well as cultural and gender identity concerns.

I’ll work collaboratively with you, building on your existing strengths to help you move through challenges that may feel overwhelming.

Drawing on a broad range of international and multicultural experience, I bring particular attention to the cultural dimensions of identity and relationships: how the cultures we come from shape who we are and how we connect. I welcome your unique story and support a deeper sense of self, greater resilience, and meaningful change.

Sex Therapy

Sex therapy is a specialized form of talk therapy that can help you resolve sexual issues and achieve a more satisfying sex life. I assist individuals and partners with a range of issues, including:

• Concerns about sexual functioning
• Low sexual desire or mismatched desire in relationships
• Inability or difficulty achieving orgasm
• Problems with sexual pain
• Gender identity exploration
• Sexual orientation exploration
• Opening your relationship
• Enhancing your sexual experience

Working with Executives & Professionals

Alongside my clinical practice, I bring an extensive background in organizational development and executive leadership. Over my career I have consulted with senior leaders and management teams; designed and delivered leadership and management trainings for multinational organizations; and led change management, DEI, and workforce initiatives for federal agencies and national associations. This work gives me a firsthand understanding of the pressures faced by executives, accomplished professionals, and those navigating demanding careers, and of how that stress can shape relationships, identity, and wellbeing.

I offer a discreet, sophisticated space for people who are used to performing at a high level and who rarely have somewhere to set that down.

My Approach and Background

My work is trauma informed and draws on a range of approaches that I tailor to each client. I am trained in Relational Life Therapy (RLT) with Terry Real, and I incorporate elements of Internal Family Systems (IFS), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, psychodynamic, solution focused, somatic, and mindfulness based methods.

I earned my Master of Social Work from New York University, with a concentration in international social work and crisis intervention and an advanced certification in social policy. I bring over two decades of clinical experience across diverse settings. For more than a decade, I served with the American Red Cross, providing crisis intervention and trauma informed care to individuals and families affected by disaster, humanitarian emergencies, and armed conflict. My work there combined direct, frontline clinical service with macro practice and organizational development, partnering with Red Cross chapters across the United States and around the world to strengthen their people and programs.

Credentials

• Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW), Washington, DC
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker-Clinical (LCSW-C), Maryland
• Certified in Psychological First Aid
• Certified in Critical Incident Stress Debriefing