We had the honour of hosting Lisa Derencinovic, Registered Social Worker on this week's episode.   ✨ You're invited to the front row of Episode 26 as Lisa & I discuss: - Lisa's vision journey and how she came about social work. - The difference between counselling someone receives from a social worker versus counselling or therapy from a psychologist or psychotherapist. - The unique lessons that Lisa's vision journey taught her about the overall healing journey and how she uses it now to help others. - How social work counselling helps folx evolve and grow. - Ableism and how all of us listening can do our part to start dismantling barriers that folks with disabilities face on the daily. - How can we make healthcare more accessible and what resources Lisa avails of to make her practice more accessible? - Plus some great commentary from the audience!    Who is Lisa Derencinovic? Lisa has lived her life as a woman with a visual impairment. She was diagnosed with a genetic eye disease at the age of 4. At 4 years old she couldn’t pronounce the long complicated name of her eye disease, nevermind understand what was happening. She was in denial for a good 15 years. Her vision got to the point where denial was no longer an option. She was going to attend university and needed to travel on her own and get around a busy downtown campus. She learned how to use a white cane and started using JAWS, a computer program that makes the computer accessible. She also got involved with her local CNIB office and attended FFB conferences. Getting to know other visually impaired people her own age really helped her find her way towards acceptance. After her first FFB conference she talked on the phone for 5 hours with a friend she had met at the conference. To say it was smooth sailing ever since she went to university and started identifying as a woman with a visual disability would be a big fat lie. There were moments when she wanted to scream with frustration or just give up and hide under the covers. Yet, the bumps in the road taught her to keep focusing on achieving my goals. The support of her family and friends really helped her stay positive. Being able to laugh at herself and laugh at some of the funny situations that come up from having low vision kept her from getting stuck in negativity. Lisa is more than a woman with a visual impairment. She is a woman who loves to read, has dabbled with creative writing, finished a half-marathon and makes a mean eggplant lasagna. She brings all of herself and her experiences into her role as a counsellor.  Contact Lisa at counsellingwithlisa.ca