About Lisa Major
Lisa Major is a psychotherapist specialising in narcissistic abuse recovery and couples therapy in Widnes, Cheshire. She holds certification in Dr Ramani Durvasula’s narcissistic abuse recovery framework and Gottman Method Level 2 training for couples work, alongside a Master of Arts degree in Counselling and Psychotherapy. Lisa founded Sentio Psychotherapy Practice after recognising the need for specialised clinical support that moves beyond accessible counselling towards theoretically grounded psychotherapeutic depth. Her approach integrates Carl Rogers’ person-centred experiential framework with specialised training in narcissistic relationship dynamics, focusing on self-concept reconstruction and relational pattern interruption rather than surface-level symptom management.
Why Narcissistic Abuse Recovery?
Lisa’s decision to specialise in narcissistic abuse recovery came from observing a significant gap in available therapeutic support. Whilst general trauma counselling is widely accessible, narcissistic abuse involves specific psychological mechanisms such as reality distortion, intermittent reinforcement and self-concept erosion that require specialised clinical frameworks most therapists don’t possess.
Many clients arrive at therapy having already tried general counselling that treated their experience as standard relationship difficulty or post-traumatic stress. Without understanding the unique dynamics of narcissistic relationships, these approaches often provided validation but not the clinical depth required for genuine psychological reconstruction.
Lisa pursued Dr Ramani Durvasula’s certification programme specifically because it provides evidence-based clinical frameworks for working with these dynamics. Moving beyond popular psychology concepts like “red flags” towards the underlying psychological mechanisms that enable exploitation and the structured therapeutic work that recovery requires.
Why Person-Centred Therapy for This Work?
Lisa chose person-centred experiential therapy as her theoretical foundation because it directly addresses the core psychological mechanism narcissistic relationships exploit: the gap between authentic self-experience and the self constructed to meet others’ expectations.
Carl Rogers’ concept of conditions of worth, the internalised beliefs about what you must be or do to be valued, explains why intelligent, capable people stay in relationships where their reality is systematically denied. Narcissistic relationships don’t just exploit existing conditions of worth; they intensify them, creating profound psychological dependence on external validation.
The person-centred approach to incongruence, working with the disconnection between how you actually experience yourself and how you believe you should be, provides the framework for self-concept reconstruction. The therapy goes beyond learning coping strategies and identifying toxic behaviours to rebuilding your relationship with yourself after sustained reality distortion.
Lisa integrates emotion-focused therapy and focusing-oriented approaches within this person-centred foundation, recognising that narcissistic abuse operates at the level of embodied experience and not just cognitive understanding. Recovery requires reconnecting with your own felt sense of reality, which narcissistic dynamics systematically undermine.
Clinical Insights From Practice
Through her clinical work, Lisa has observed that clients who make genuine progress share certain characteristics. They recognise that recovery requires more than understanding what happened. It requires addressing why they stayed, what psychological structures enabled the dynamic and what needs to change at a fundamental level to prevent future exploitation.
The clients who struggle the most are often those seeking quick validation or simple explanations. Narcissistic abuse creates complex psychological patterns that took months or years to establish. Undoing this doesn’t happen through psychoeducation alone. It requires sustained therapeutic work addressing the deeper incongruence and conditions of worth that made you vulnerable to this dynamic in the first place.
Lisa has also learned that the popular recovery narrative, focused on identifying narcissistic traits, learning boundaries, and ‘healing yourself’ often misses the most important work. Real recovery means examining uncomfortable questions: What did this relationship offer you? What conditions of worth did it exploit? What made you suppress your own reality? These questions require therapeutic depth, not just supportive counselling.
For couples work, Lisa has found that relationships recover when both partners commit to examining their own contribution to destructive patterns rather than focusing on whose fault things are. The Gottman Method provides the structured framework this work requires, identifying specific, changeable interaction patterns rather than unfocused discussions.
Professional Training Journey
Lisa completed her Master of Arts degree in Counselling and Psychotherapy (Level 7) and Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy (Level 7) with a focus on person-centred experiential approaches. Her training emphasised the theoretical depth and clinical frameworks that distinguish psychotherapy from shorter-term counselling interventions.
Recognising that general psychotherapy training doesn’t adequately address narcissistic abuse dynamics, Lisa pursued Dr Ramani Durvasula’s specialist certification, one of only two recognised trainings in this field. This programme provided the evidence-based frameworks and clinical understanding that enable effective work with the specific psychological mechanisms narcissistic relationships create.
For couples work, Lisa trained to Level 2 in the Gottman Method, valuing its research foundation and structured approach. After observing too many couples drift through open-ended “exploration” without measurable progress, she sought a methodology that provides clear assessment, targeted intervention and objective markers of change.
Lisa maintains professional membership with the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society as an Accredited Registrant and with the Person-Centred Association, ensuring ongoing professional development and adherence to ethical practice standards.
Lisa’s Approach to Therapeutic Work
Lisa’s therapeutic stance emphasises congruence and growth. Recovery from narcissistic abuse requires examining uncomfortable truths about your own psychological patterns, not just processing what was done to you. This means Lisa will gently challenge narratives that keep you in a victim position whilst validating the genuine harm you experienced.
In couples therapy, Lisa maintains a structured, present-focused approach. The Gottman Method provides clear frameworks for addressing communication patterns, trust rebuilding and conflict management. Lisa uses these frameworks to keep therapy focused on changeable interaction patterns rather than endless processing of historical grievances.
Lisa believes therapy should be time-limited even when depth-focused. The goal is to develop psychological resources and understanding you can use independently, not create ongoing dependence on therapeutic support. Most clients work with Lisa for 6–18 months, depending on the complexity of their situation and their readiness for the work.
Lisa’s Background Before Psychotherapy
Before training as a psychotherapist, Lisa worked in education as a teacher of English, History and Media Studies, then as a broadcast radio journalist after completing her Master of Arts degree in Journalism. She also worked in education recruitment and the health insurance sector as a business consultant.
Her decision to retrain as a psychotherapist came from recognising the profound impact that skilled therapeutic support can have on psychological wellbeing and the equally significant harm that inadequate or mismatched therapeutic approaches can cause. This awareness drives Lisa’s commitment to specialised training and clinical depth rather than accessible generalist positioning.
Sentio Psychotherapy Practice
Lisa founded Sentio Psychotherapy Practice in Widnes, Cheshire, to provide the kind of specialised, theoretically grounded support that narcissistic abuse recovery and complex relational work require. The practice serves clients throughout Cheshire, Merseyside, Northwest England and UK wide through in-person and secure online sessions.
For detailed information about therapeutic approaches, service structure, and who the practice serves, visit the About Sentio and Sessions & Fees pages.
What to Expect Working With Lisa
Sessions are structured and focused. Lisa uses person-centred principles to create a safe therapeutic space whilst maintaining clear direction towards psychological reconstruction rather than open-ended exploration. She integrates emotion-focused and focusing-oriented techniques to work with embodied experience, not just cognitive understanding.
Lisa offers a free 30-minute initial consultation to discuss whether her approach fits your needs. This conversation allows both of you to assess fit before committing to therapeutic work. To learn more or arrange a consultation, visit the Contact me page.