Is there anything better than having the best of the best at your side? At Ascend, we strive to ensure that everyone that joins our team is absolutely stellar. One of our most important team members, and staff spotlight of the month, is Dr. Lisa Acosta. A California girl who graduated cum laude with a BA in Psychology from Harvard University, we love having her on staff because her passion and commitment are powerful motivators for both clients and coworkers. Ready to learn more about a day in Dr. Acosta’s life at Ascend? Follow along, and we’ll take you for a ride!
What Does Dr. Acosta Do at Ascend?
Dr. Acosta fulfills two roles for the Ascend family: she’s the Medical Director of our facilities as well as a psychiatrist. In addition to leading our team of nurses to ensure we meet all of our client needs, she also does crucial psychiatric assessments and medication management. After her time as the Head of the Ventura County Department for Behavioral Health, she has tons of experience and knowledge to share with us.
Amazing Dr. Acosta
While many professionals are intimidated by the niche we work in, Dr. Acosta really enjoys working specifically with teens. From her very first job out of college, Dr. Acosta managed to build a connection with young people who desperately needed her help. She’s worked with teens from all over the country with various socioeconomic statuses, races, and gender/sexual identities. Dr. Acosta believes her success in reaching our teens is based on her understanding of what they want: to be heard, validated, and recognized as themselves.
Where Can You Find Dr. Acosta?
One of Dr. Acosta’s favorite things about Ascend is the flexibility she has in working with clients. You might see her meeting with them outside in the garden, having therapy with the farm animals, or talking it out over a friendly game of tennis. Wherever a client feels most comfortable opening up is where you can find our doctor! We’ve even seen her searching under a bed for something a client lost and was distraught about!
You might also see her collaborating on treatment plans with other specialists, parents, and outside providers who are part of our clients’ routines. Blending experiential therapy with family therapy and other clinical modalities allows Dr. Acosta to learn and teach about the many aspects of mental health.
Challenges for Our Good Doctor
Dr. Acosta has been in the psychiatry field long enough to see how much stigma is associated with anyone who is struggling with their mental health. While she hopes to de-stigmatize mental health disorders and ensure a positive experience for patients and their families, every day is a new opportunity to teach others that mental health treatment is nothing to be ashamed about.
She believes that nobody should ever be embarrassed to reach out for themselves or others. We stand with her because we know that there’s no shame in needing a helping hand every once in a while. Mental health is just like physical health; sometimes bad things happen and a trip to the doctor puts us back on a positive trajectory.
Little Changes Are Big Wins!
An essential element of Dr. Acosta’s work is tracking client progress during their stay with us. She looks at everyday successes as the most important ones — a patient that finally opens up and shares, someone who is ready to try something that scared them before, and clients learning how to socialize with their peers are huge leaps forward in anyone’s treatment plan.
Why We Love Dr. Acosta
Dr. Acosta is a great addition to the Ascend team. She has tons of experience working with mental health concerns of all severities, and she has many resources that can help our clients grow and thrive. From other providers and programs to books and therapy techniques, her vast store of knowledge is a blessing!
Did you love learning about Dr. Acosta? Keep up with our blog to see more staff spotlights every month!
