Lissa Merkel, MSW ’14, a former student in our Mental Health Focus Area, and now a licensed clinical social worker in Los Angeles California, has faced major health challenges during her life. First, a lengthy stay in a hospital for emergency surgery, and four years ago, kidney failure, resulted in dialysis. She was recently fortunate to receive a kidney transplant.
For the past five years Lissa, has focused her mental health practice, True Compassion Therapy on helping those experiencing medical trauma and/or managing chronic disease. There, she offers a wide array of services to help people navigate the health system, advocate for themselves, and deal with the emotional realities of long-term illness. Having a telehealth practice allows her to serve those whose health concerns make it difficult or impossible to be in person and makes her available to those throughout California.
Drawing on her own experiences when appropriate and having seen the benefits of using a therapist during her own illness, she explains to her patients, “I offer a safe place to process difficult feelings and experiences and am here to guide you through your journey.”