About — lisamorrison

About Me

Hello … let me introduce myself

Life for me began in the hot, humid climate of Durban, South Africa. I left school and started my Law Degree with high hopes that I would change the world. I quickly packed this in not realising that before I could fulfil my true calling, I would spend the next 25 years pursuing different careers whilst navigating a world of poor mental health. I took up Early Years teaching and lectured part-time until moving to Northern Ireland in 2000. Here I found work in a school for children with special educational needs and completed my Honours Degree in Education. The research is clear that the formative years in a child’s life are crucial to good outcomes and I took up a Family Support post in Sure Start where I was able to share this knowledge bringing my love of teaching and facilitating to parents and community groups.

There has always been a restlessness in me to find new ways of helping people reconnect with themselves, their worth and the world around them. I ran a small business, baby massage classes and developed workshops to help women grow their confidence and self-worth. I think we teach what we need to learn. And I had a lot of learning to do. I found myself acutely unwell for a number of years and now understand this was the result of untreated trauma. The road back to good health has been beautiful, excruciating and also just plain hard work.

Working as the Lead Peer Trainer at the Southern Trust Recovery College gave me insight into how our systems work and why trauma informed, recovery focused cultures are so vital. Working both locally and regionally I was able to merge lived and learned knowledge and skills to bring a different voice and perspective to a variety of initiatives. Evidence-based interventions are essential but I believe that too often we overlook the very basic need to establish safe, trustworthy relationships. This is hard to measure and quantify and yet without this foundation how can anything else change, grow and flourish?

I think back to the me of my late teens wanting to change the world and ensure justice prevailed. I can still be quite outspoken and persistent at times. But the sometimes-painful lessons since then have gifted me with a deep knowing that any difference I hope to make will emerge from staying true to and continuing to come home to who I really am. Stepping out into this new venture is born from a desire to follow a path which I believe will allow me to honour my own journey and best contribute towards further building more compassionate, connected communities and organisations. I have so much to be grateful for and only keep what I have by also giving it away.

Scroll down to see a snapshot of some past work I’ve been involved in …

“I’ve come to know Lisa best through our many conversations about all things pertaining to living a meaningful life. Lisa brings a quality and depth to her living and her work reminiscent of the ‘wise elder’ of so many indigenous cultures. Her willingness to reflect on her own experience, to study her subject, to glean understanding from the complexity of what it means to live well, creates a richly woven teaching that touches the heart. It is from within her own heart space that Lisa listens and speaks making that which she says, so worthy of our listening”.

Deirdre Mc Kenna Senior Social Work Practitioner

Meeting Caroline Aldridge has been a highlight since starting my business in 2021. Visit her website at https://www.learningsocialworker.com to learn more about her and to purchase two books which should be essential reading in any profession or person involved with mental health. I co-authored the introductory chapter and wrote one about my own experiences of services in ‘They Died Waiting’. Very special to be at the in-person launch in Norwich in 2022 and online in 2023.