Expert Feature Lisa Lisser, Divorce and Coparenting Coach
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At Fresh Starts, we’re proud to spotlight the incredible professionals who guide people through one of life’s most challenging transitions: divorce. Today, we’re featuring Lisa Lisser, a Divorce and Coparenting Coach, whose work helps clients find clarity, strength, and a true fresh start.
Lisa, can you tell us a little about yourself, what you do and what led you to this line of work?
I’m Lisa Lisser, the founder of LZL Coaching, a boutique coaching firm specializing in divorce, mediation support, and the BeH2O™ co-parenting process. I see myself as the compassionate guide on the side through life’s pivotal transitions. I'm my client's "phone a friend." I love this work because it blends my multiple experiences as a certified coach, former attorney, philanthropic leader, educator, author, mediator, and spiritual counselor. I'm also a divorced mom of three now grown kids, and I know the support I provide would have completely changed my own divorce experience.My goal is to inspire my clients to embrace new possibilities that shape their path to a fulfilling future. I believe that vision, values and education are the keys to a more grounded divorce process.
What inspired you to work with people going through divorce or big life transitions?
During my own divorce I was an emotional wreck. I felt guilty and I felt dumb. I didn't know the right questions to ask and I was embarrassed that I didn't know the answers to the questions I had. Ultimately, my learning journey through Jewish education and spiritual counseling inspired me to bring something different to the divorce landscape. Once I heard there was a field called divorce coaching. I knew I had found my work - and then the work found me.
What is your specialty within the divorce space, and how do you typically support your clients?
I have several areas of support. In the beginning, I work with people to help plan for their divorce, evaluate financial scenarios, learn their financial picture and begin to get educated about the divorce process. I help them find the authentic words to tell their spouse this is really happening. I also work with clients in the middle who are stuck in communication quagmires. We work on building tools and techniques to open up communication when necessary and close it down when boundaries have been crossed. I help clients prepare for mediation and understand that there are things they want, but things they want more. We prep what it means to negotiate from alignment. Finally, I work with individuals and couples through the BeH2O coparenting process to help them create a new operating system for their coparented family.
What makes your approach to working with clients unique?
I think the vision, values and education foundation is essential to my work. Women feel like they get to know themselves when they pause and take the time to articulate what matters most to them. They start with their "Why", and that creates an avenue toward the future that is grounded and personal. Additionally, I help women learn that they can design their own future, and I let them build alignment through their values and life plan. Strategy comes from values and vision. Further, as one who practiced law and went through her own divorce, I know the pitfalls and I know what won't work. I help my clients find their words so that when they speak they are heard. Ultimately, I help them get "unstuck".
What’s one thing that people are often surprised to learn about you?
I think people are surprised that I have so many trainings and skills up my sleeve. I have lived a full life and have constantly pursued learning and education that enhanced my soul. I use my experience as a model for my clients. We can always learn more and build a network of support that is broader than what we might have imagined. Some of the people I work with in the divorce world have become good friends. We are aligned in values. When you find those people, you thrive.
Do you have a personal story or experience that helps you connect with clients on a deeper level?
For some people, when I share my background in Jewish spirituality they are surprised. It's not all "woo woo", it is grounded in millenia of wisdom and history. What worked for people who lived generations before us, still works today. I think it is the acknowledgement that we are all humans. That we make mistakes and that's ok. We don't have to be perfect. I didn't have a perfect divorce. But it led me to where I am now. And this is where I am supposed to be. I hope people find that uplifting. I know my clients leave with confidence that they are standing for themselves.
What’s your favorite way to reset after a long day?
I love making dinner. Really. I work at home and I shift from work to home mode by planning my dinner. It really doesn't take that long or require too much advance planning to prepare a meal that is healthy and delicious. Sometimes if feels hard to do that when you live alone, but I have found that it makes me feel whole. Since my kids are grown and flown and I'm single, the simple caretaking act of preparing a meal is something I truly enjoy doing for myself.
If you could describe your work in three words, what would they be?
Vision, Values and Alignment
What does “fresh start” mean to you personally?
Fresh start means that every day is an opportunity to begin again. We are never done until we are done. Fresh start tells me that I have the opportunity to grow and learn and each day I can wake up and look at the world with wonder. Sometimes it can feel like the growing process is hard - that's true. And that's why they are called "growing pains." For me, my Fresh Start is my opportunity to find the people who will walk with me toward my future.
Thank you Lisa for sharing your wisdom and experience with the Fresh Starts community! You can learn more about their work by checking out Lisa’s profile below!
