Hi! My name is Lisa. I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) based in California. I received my Masters from Smith College School for Social Work and have been practicing for over 25 years. I am also a Certified Mental Performance Consultant®, earned through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. As a dually trained practitioner, I'm in a great position to help athletes at all levels, learn to cope and ultimately thrive, with their various responsibilities, in and out of their sport. I have come to learn that empowering athletes, coaches, parents of athletes, and spouses of athletes feel equipped to show up fully to themselves and their relationships, is my purpose. I am deeply moved to work with other high performing people who are often in high demand, high stress environments: first responders, military personnel, actors, executives, to name a few. I would love the opportunity get to know you, your story, and what your goals are. Make an appointment and let's get started.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
The first session is all about getting to know each other, understanding what brings you here, and starting to figure out how we can work together to help you reach your goals—whether they’re performance-related or personal. It’s a chance for me to learn about you and your sport/high performing environment, and for you to ask questions or share anything that’s on your mind. We’ll start by talking about why you decided to come in. Maybe you’re facing some challenges in your sport, like performance anxiety, focus issues, or maybe you’ve been dealing with stress or a recent injury. Or dealing with a situation at home, work, school, or in a relationship. Whatever it is, I’m here to listen and support you. I want to understand what you’re going through and what you’d like to work on. This might be about improving mental skills, managing pressure, building confidence, or dealing with something outside of sport , like your relationships, job, or school. I’ll also ask about your background—how long you’ve been in your competitive environment, any mental or emotional hurdles you’ve faced in the past, and what kinds of strategies or tools you’ve tried so far. I want to learn about what aspects of your identities and experiences have shaped you thus far. I know we wont get to everything. But what you do share will help me get a better sense of where you're at and where we can start. I may introduce you to a tool like journaling, meditation, goal setting, or how to manage stress. But we'll feel it out together about what could make sense. We’ll also talk about what the next steps will look like. If we continue working together, we’ll have regular sessions where we dive deeper, build on your strengths, and figure out what works best for you. Finally, I want you to know that this is a process. It takes time, but I’ll be here to support you every step of the way. It’s totally normal to feel nervous or unsure at first—that’s part of the process! The most important thing is that you feel comfortable and open to working together on things that matter to you.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
My work with athletes, coaches, parents of athletes, spouses of athletes, and high performers is what I enjoy the most and where I have found the most success. I have worked with elite high school athletes, collegiate athletes, cirque du Soleil performers, actors/actresses, Olympic-hopefuls, and professional athletes. I I am listed in the National Football League Player Association's Clinician's Directory and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee's Mental Health and Mental Performance Registry. I am the first ever Mental Performance Coach at the Oakland Roots SC, working with their men's professional soccer first team. My lived experience as a former competitive athlete and a parent to a rising collegiate student athlete, intersects well with my training and experience.
About Lisa Bonta Sumii, LCSW, CMPC
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VirtualMy treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a structured, goal-oriented therapeutic approach that helps individuals identify and challenge unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. I use CBT methods such as journaling, implementing mindfulness techniques, and creating positive self statements, to name a few.
Attachment-based
Attachment-based approaches in therapy focus on understanding the ways in which early attachment experiences (with primary caregivers) shape a person’s relationships, emotional regulation, and sense of self. I explore these early attachments and how they influence current relationships. I believe the relationship between client and therapist is an amazing opportunity to experience a safe, consistent, and reliable attachment. We can focus on ways to regulate emotions with grounding techniques, breath work, and how we hold emotions in our bodies.
Couples Counseling
Couples counseling is a therapeutic process in which a therapist works with two people to improve their relationship dynamics, address conflicts, enhance communication, and help them reconnect emotionally. I love working with couples. Facilitating a process where the couple can feel safe enough to express their individual truths vs who is right or wrong, is an integral part of my approach. I focus on the strengths of each person and of the couple itself. Processing old hurts in the couple's narrative and providing a space for healing, is something I co-create with the humans in the space.
Culturally Sensitive Therapy
Culturally sensitive therapy involves recognizing and respecting the cultural backgrounds, values, and experiences of clients in the therapeutic process. It emphasizes the importance of cultural competence—understanding the influence of culture on an individual’s identity, worldview, and mental health. I use this approach in learning the full human being that I have the honor to be working with. As a BIPOC identified therapist, I recognize that everyone shows up differently to their race, ethnicity, culture, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other identities. I encourage an open sharing and exploration of how these cultural components feel at any given time. Understanding the emotional labor it may take to show up fully from time to time.