Pursuing Her Passion to Change Lives for the Better: Lisa Rivers ’21
Written by Amanda Mathis
Marriage and family therapy offers hope and opportunity to heal the home and the heart. Helping others work towards healing their most important relationships and supporting them in this process is not a new mission for Converse University graduate and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) Lisa Rivers ’21.
Lisa’s passion for working as a social worker and eventually pursuing a Master of Marriage and Family Therapy is due to her journey. “I entered the foster care system at two years old and was adopted at the age of five,” she shared. “It was a social worker who removed me from an abusive foster home and placed me in my adoptive home.”
After receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from Columbia College in Columbia, SC, Lisa served as a social worker in Child Protective Services in both North and South Carolina. “My role as a social worker was to promote the welfare of children,” she said. “I accomplished this by working with children, parents, and families to address child abuse and neglect through access to local mental health resources, awareness and education, and systemic strengthening of parenting skills and familial relationships. Together with clients, we built stronger families and a stronger community. I was honored to witness and share in my clients’ journeys.”
“Our professors brought the campus culture to Greenville.”
Lisa Rivers ’21
After working in Social Services for several years, Lisa realized she wanted to develop her career by pursuing a graduate degree. “Early in my career, I sought a Master in Social Work at a large state university but postponed that decision to pursue owning and operating a commercial refrigeration company with my partner. It was almost double the price of a graduate degree at Converse, and when I looked at the classes offered, there wasn’t a specialization,” said Lisa.
She found the affordability and focused options she needed at Converse. “A master’s degree from Converse University in Marriage and Family Therapy (MMFT) was a logical progression from my life experiences, my undergraduate degree, my work in Child Protective Services, and my business and family’s growing independence,” Lisa said. “I was truly eager to return to both my passion and my purpose.”
Living in Greenville, accessibility to education while continuing to raise a family was important to Lisa, who attended the courses for her MMFT program at the University Center in Greenville, where she experienced a strong sense of community. “I felt like I was at Converse. Our professors brought the campus culture to Greenville,” she explained.
“One benefit of the program is that it offers a business class for marriage and family therapy students who don’t have experience owning and operating a business.”
Lisa Rivers ’21
“One benefit of the program is that it offers a business class for marriage and family therapy students who don’t have experience owning and operating a business,” said Lisa, who was drawn to the school due to its small atmosphere and the program offerings. Additionally, Lisa felt that the partnership between Converse University and Emerge Family Therapy and Teaching Clinic was a crucial part of the MMFT program. “Converse and the practicum experience at Emerge prepared me in a way that made me want to share my knowledge with the next generation of therapists – they invested in my success.” Currently, in Lisa’s private practice, she offers an internship to other therapy students whose programs do not offer an on-site practicum for their students.
“A small college cares that students are heard and seen, and I was excited about the coursework at Converse University,” she explained. “The faculty supported me as a mother and an older student in my educational journey. I felt they were truly invested in my growth as a student and as a future professional in the field of marriage and family therapy. I am very proud to have graduated from Converse University.”
After graduation, Lisa served clients at Modern Wellness Family Counseling, where her growth as a clinician was encouraged and supported. However, her extensive experience as a business owner led her to open her private practice, Lisa Rivers Counseling Services LLC. “I help individuals and couples uncover authentic self, rekindle emotional, mental, and physical intimacy with self and others, and redefine personal, professional, and relational wellness. I specialize in therapy for anxiety, therapy for mothers, couples therapy, and therapy for entrepreneurs and business professionals.” Lisa shared, “My work as a therapist is deeply grounded in creating a safe space for reflective moments where you can define and create authentic self and valued meaning within all areas of your life.”
After building her thriving private practice, she focused on furthering her reach within the community and developed Greenville Couples Therapy, LLC. “Greenville Couples Therapy is a coworking therapy collective serving couples, families, and individuals in person in the heart of Greenville, SC, and virtually via telehealth across the state,” she said. “Our mission is to provide a supportive and safe environment where you can develop the skills needed to maintain meaningful, secure, and healthy relationships within all areas of your life. At Greenville Couples Therapy, we provide access to an expert team of licensed therapists, each of which owns and operates their own private practice.” Greenville Couples Therapy is not only home to Lisa and her private practice but also houses several of her fellow Converse alumni and their private practices – Rickell Ballentine ’21, Dawn Hayes ’23, and Ashley Belcher ’23.
Lisa loves mountain biking, business ownership, her partner of 22 years, and her two adult children. Marley Rivers, ’27, is a freshman at Converse University studying professional creative writing and American Sign Language, and Theron Rivers is a student at Paul Mitchell of Greenville.