Getting to Know Dr. Lisa Strohman
Dr. Lisa Strohman has widely become known for her advocacy and education around mental wellness as it relates to our digital lives. She has worked with thousands of parents, schools and children around the globe. An attorney, clinical psychologist, and author, Dr. Strohman established the Digital Citizen Academy, a non-profit program offered to schools with an in-home plan that educates, empowers and inspires balance and prosocial use of technology.
She is the founder and director of Digital Citizen Academy, one of the first organizations to address the global issue of technology addiction and overuse. As a licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Strohman has spent more than a decade working with individual, family and adolescent clients struggling with issues including depression, anxiety, addiction and technology overuse.
Recognizing the growing challenges parents now face with their children, and the increasingly serious issues her young patients are dealing with due to our growing dependency on technology, inspired Dr. Strohman to launched the Technology Wellness Center, which she co-founded with Dr. Melissa Westendorf JD, PhD in 2014.
With her work in schools and in the media Dr. Strohman recognized the need for prevention education and diversion programs and founded Digital Citizen Academy for students, educators and parents addressing these issues related to technology.
Dr. Strohman attended the University of California, Davis where she received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She then completed a joint, integrated program in law and Psychology at Villanova and Drexel Universities.
During her undergraduate career, Dr. Strohman gained experience as a lead program coordinator with Families for Early Autism Treatment (FEAT), as a family reunification therapist and a hospice counselor. While attending graduate school, she performed research in substance abuse, risk communication and child abduction. Her avid interest in public policy earned her the honor of becoming a legislative intern for Congress. She was also selected as an honors intern with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and invited to become a visiting scholar with the FBI’s National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime division as she completed her dissertation.
After earning her Juris Doctorate, Strohman worked at a large law firm, while completing her residency at the Arizona State Hospital in both a clinical and forensic rotation in clinical psychology. She eventually settled back into her counseling practice as the clinical psychologist with Lifescape Medical Associates, where she utilizes her training in cognitive behavior therapy to help patients.
In addition to establishing the Technology Wellness Center, Dr. Strohman and Dr. Westendorf developed an assessment test to help parents identify if their child is at risk from technology overuse. The two have also co-authored a book, Unplug: Raising Kids in a Technology Addicted World, published in July 2015.
In an effort to educate parents, caregivers and students, Dr. Strohman is a guest speaker to schools, parent organizations and students to help raise awareness and offer preventative tools and resources. She is also frequently featured in the media as an expert source for issues related to technology use and behavior, including a weekly feature on Dr. Drew’s radio show as well as an expert on Dr. Oz’s ShareCare site.