Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 02/07/2026I didn't know this for many years, but Crazy Eights is used as a de-stress, transitional game by many improv teachers to start classes or before shows because it mimics the "shaking off" of stress that animals do. It's a somatic stress relief tool disguised as silly fun! 100
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 26/06/2026Calvinball! Chaos made playful! Calvinball is a game of total chaos, that isn't. It is the "work" of child's play, and it offers so many lessons around following "rules," identifying "rules," conformity, individuation, unseen "rules," and the role of individuals in group dynamics and play. 100
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 15/06/2026My friend and former improv co-teacher and collaborator, Dr. Anna Trester, invented this brilliant exercise that I have always used in my classes and sometimes in the therapy room. 100
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 05/06/2026Seven Line Stories is such a great improv game, and honestly, creative tool for so many settings! 100
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 27/05/2026Whether it starts with a "Caw Caw" or a "Brrrrrr," improvisers know Sound in Motion as the default #1 warm-up game, and it is. It's also SO. MUCH. MORE. 100
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 06/05/2026Ever wondered if you can send your therapy client that song that makes you think of them or what they're going through? Or have other questions about how you might enhance your clinical work with music, even if you're not a music therapist? If so, this continuing education workshop is for you! 100
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 04/05/2026Zen Count is the improv equivalent of meditation meets relationship dynamics meets philosophy class meets anxiety exploration... 100
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 27/04/2026A silly, zany funny game that can lead to fun discussions about meeting others' expectations, pressure to perform, peer pressure, boundaries, impulsivity, staying grounded, going slow, and more! 000
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 22/04/2026An improv game with a therapy twist that highlights intense listening, and the wonderful feeling of being heard fully. And people usually laugh, a lot. 000
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 14/04/20262 continuing education credits on incorporating music into therapy! Come get your CE groove on! shifthappenscollective.com/events//musi... 000
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 08/04/2026I'm making my improv game sheets, cultivated from a decade+ of practicing and teaching improv, and using it to train therapists and other helping pros, available to anyone who may benefit from them. open.substack.com/pub/shifthap...open.substack.comFree resource: Improv Game Sheets for use with groups, couples, classes, or just for fun!A "scene edit" for me means some resources for you! 000
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 19/03/2026If you're a mental health pro in need of continuing education, you may not know you need this workshop!: bit.ly/3NDvk9w It sounds a bit dry and boring, but I assure you that when Jennifer Glacel talks about ableism and its intersection with neurodiversity, it is anything but. 100
Reposted by Lisa KaysMegan Odett @megan2wheels.bsky.social · 09/03/2026"What if Nothing's Wrong With You" -- a breath of fresh air and a timely reminder that things are hard for me because Things Are Hard, not because I am an incompetent person who Persons All Wrong. 101
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 09/03/2026We recorded this MONTHS ago; yet it remains timeless, as the chaos keeps unfolding. Struggling a bit to cope with all that is happening right now? Being down on yourself because you feel like you can't quite "get it right" or "do it right" or feel "okay" about what you are or aren't doing? 110
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 02/03/2026Register here! We've worked hard to make this affordable and accessible, by hosting across two separate mornings for folks who can't spend all day in a CE workshop and with tiered pricing: www.eventbrite.com/e/practicing... 000
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 27/02/2026I will shout this from every rooftop. And, this is a quote with nuance. I mean voluntary martyrdom. The martyrdom that says, “I need to and I can but I really shouldn’t.” That doesn’t take into account that the comfort of others is coming at our expense. That we can count ourselves in comfort math. 000
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 18/02/2026Excited to share my guest appearance on the Complicated Kids podcast with Gabriele Nicolet where we discuss the impact of parental burnout on a child’s nervous system, 120
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 12/02/2026If you are a mental health practitioner, please consider joining us for this workshop by Jennifer Glacel of Seven Corners Psychotherapy on exposing cultural humility, implicit bias and ableism via a lens of neuro-diversity. More information below!eventbrite.comPracticing Cultural Humility: Addressing Implicit BiasThis program will help participants understand ableism and the impact on their professional work. 000
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 02/02/2026There is so much happening that makes this even more relevant today than when I first read this book, which set me on quite the professional and personal journey years ago. 100
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 28/01/2026One of the things I love about making the What If Nothing's Wrong With You? podcast is that we explore this in so many ways, from so many angles. 100
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 23/01/2026“We think that children act, whereas what they mostly do is react. Parents who realize this acquire a powerful tool. By noticing their own responses to the child, rather than fixating on the child’s responses to them, they free up tremendous energy for growth.”― Dr. Gabor Maté 000
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 14/01/2026On the far reaches of the harm done by mom-blaming, and all we're not seeing as a result. open.substack.com/pub/shifthap... 020
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 06/01/2026Lonely? Wondering if we all are? Curios about how to "cure" it? Is that even possible? We explore loneliness, of course, with the assumption that nothing is wrong with you. Also discussed, the books Educated & Jeff Hiller's Actress of a Certain Age. 020
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 05/01/2026I'm not saying every stressed parent has a neurodivergent child. But I am saying we need to be curious about the whole picture. We need to trust parental instincts and stop pathologizing parents for noticing real differences in their children. 120
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 16/12/2025This interview I did on the intersections of improv, therapy and decolonization is being re-aired! If you're interested in any of those things, feel free to have a listen now that it's back at the top of the feed again on the Therapist Uncensored podcast. 030
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 12/12/2025New episode drop! We discuss apologizing and way more, from privilege and power to our culture's bizarre messaging around it not being oaky sometimes to just not forgive and/or leave when someone has harmed you. 110
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 09/12/2025If a child doesn't like to do something, there's a reason. It's not because they're lazy or difficult. Human brains are wired for new experiences because that's how we learn about life. When we don't like something, it means we're in protection against it. 110
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 02/12/2025Group therapy often accelerates individual work by bringing dynamics into the room that people spend their whole lives avoiding. It's messier than individual therapy: less controlled, more spontaneous—and that's exactly why it can be so effective. 110
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 20/11/2025Some thoughts about the connections between improv and clinical hypnosis in my latest post on Substack: open.substack.com/pub/shifthap... 000
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 18/11/2025Here's what might surprise you: Research consistently shows that group therapy is as effective as individual therapy—sometimes more so. Irvin Yalom has documented this over 60 years of controlled studies. 100
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 10/11/2025Curious about clinical hypnosis? It can seem mystifying and a bit weird, woo woo, or even potentially embarrassing, i.e. what if I say something strange I wouldn't say otherwise? As a therapist recently trained in it, I have to say, it's getting results for folks. And fast. 100
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 05/11/2025What Is a Healthy Relationship? This may sound obvious, but for many people, especially those socialized as women, this question gets blurry fast. A healthy relationship is mutual. Collaborative. Safe. 110
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 03/11/2025New ep drop! We answer a lovely listener's ? about if monogamy can be a good thing (the answer is yes, sometimes, of course, because many things are true at once!) and explore some ways to think about protecting your attention and using it as a force of good for you, and maybe even the world! 020
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 28/10/2025I was recently led to remember leading a workshop at a recent professional conference called Improvisation for Decolonization. I had no idea when I proposed the workshop that October 7 would happen before I would offer it, meaning that when it was time to lead, I was unsure what I was walking into. 120
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 24/10/2025I taught improv for about a decade because it was profoundly healing for me—something I felt deeply as I began my MSW. I didn’t fully understand it at the time, but I knew improv and social work were connected. 100
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 22/10/2025A few words about Jane Goodall's "Famous Last Words" interview and what she has to teach us about mental health, authenticity, and making meaning in our lives.shifthappenscollective.substack.comJane Goodall's "Famous Last Words" interview encourages us to look beyond black-and-white thinking to get to know ourselves.Here's why complexity, nuance, and non-binary thinking are critical for our mental health, and, in her view, the planet. 010
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 22/10/2025If you’re curious about whether group psychotherapy may be the right fit for you, here are a few principles/themes from Irvin Yalom that group therapy helps provide: 110
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 15/10/2025As times get tighter financially, group therapy is an excellent--and misunderstood--option for many. Evidence shows it is often as effective as individual psychotherapy, and has the benefit of costing less to participants while covering therapist labor. 110
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 11/10/2025Episode drop! Just in time for Halloween and spooky season, horror stories, therapy style! shifthappenscollective.com/podcast 000
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 01/10/2025My latest Substack, wherein I go to water aerobics and drive to work and end up on a cautionary journey through blame, projection, and the importance of assessing power and systemic issues before we turn on the annoying person next to us. shifthappenscollective.substack.com/p/before-poi... 010
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 24/09/2025As new President Elect of the Board of MAGPS, I am thrilled to invite you to consider this upcoming conference in Baltimore. MAGPS is a wonderful conference for learning about and experiencing group therapy skills and dynamics, but it's also relevant for any therapist or social worker! Join us! 120
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 23/09/2025In this episode, we discuss a relatively new treatment for depression, ketamine, as well as the power and importance of friends in our lives. We also discuss how and why our culture doesn't support the value and importance of friends. Fight fascism...make friends! And more, in this episode... 010
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 03/09/2025For many folks, the hardest part of getting sober isn't giving up alcohol, it's the social weirdness that ensues. So, I decided to make this sober Bingo card that may be helpful in taking the edge off of weddings and other big events in early sobriety #soberskyopen.substack.comSober Bingo!The experiment mindset and distraction you didn't know you needed for the first big wedding, cocktail party, or family event where you aren't going to drink. 031
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 27/08/2025Feeling tired, depleted, exhausted, or like you can't keep up? This tool may help you explore if that's a "me" problem or something bigger going on with how the world around you is supporting you. open.substack.com/pub/shifthap... 031
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 20/08/2025Important news you can use: Self-silencing is making women sick. I work with a lot of women in my practice on becoming more disappointing, as this author writes, as well as in "being just a little less competent." Well worth a read.time.comSelf-Silencing Is Making Women SickFor women, being more disappointing could be a lifesaver, writes Maytal Eyal. 051
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 20/08/2025Two GenX therapists raised by Boomers and who see many of their children in therapy discuss this perplexing generation and offer some theories, guesses, and perspectives. Links to the full episode here: open.substack.com/pub/winwwu/p... 010
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 13/08/2025Need a therapist in Virginia? Our new associate, Robyn Gearey, may be a good fit for you. We're so glad she's joining us next month at the Shift Happens Collective! 000
Lisa Kays @lisakays.bsky.social · 30/07/2025Women are not only silencing themselves to a great degree, but we're often not letting our friends or therapists know what's really going on with us. The reason? Patriarchy, of course. More here: shifthappenscollective.substack.com/p/are-you-tr... 000