Lisa Burns, Ph.D.

Lisa Burns is a 2009 Saybrook doctoral graduate where she earned a Ph.D. in humanistic and transpersonal clinical psychology. She earned her MA in counseling and psychology with an emphasis in art therapy from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont in 2003.

Dr. Burns has worked extensively with adolescents for over 25 years. She is a retired classroom educator, previously having served for six years as an intervention counselor for expelled students. She is in private practice in Grand Junction where she works within a trauma-informed paradigm to serve youth and women. Lisa’s strengths as a clinician are in the employment of creative approaches such as art therapy, sand tray therapy, narrative therapy, guided imagery, and trauma-sensitive care. Her approach is holistic and humanistic.

Lisa’s doctoral study, Elements for Holistic Sanctuary Design Based on the Expressed Needs of Traumatized and At-Risk Adolescents, is the foundation of her work toward innovating a sanctuary model of treatment delivery for traumatized youth and was an honorable mention for distinction at Saybrook. Dr. Burns co-founded Sozo Youth Sanctuary Foundation along with Frederick Bolton, CFO, in 2005 and serves as its clinical director.