ADVANCED TRAINING

American Psychological Association International Affiliate

Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology and Education from Columbia University (2002)

Master Life Coach from The Certified Life Coach Institute (2021)

ACC Credentials from The International Coaching Federation (2022)

Gottman Method Couples Therapy (Level 3, 2022)

Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT Externship & EFIT Level 2, 2023)

Gottman Treating Affairs & Trauma (2023)

NICABM: How To Work with Anxiety (2023)

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

-Mahatma Gandhi

My experience ranges from working with homeless families through the range of mental health issues that brought them into homelessness and resulting from it, with juveniles and their families that have had contact with the criminal justice system, with families to prevent the placement of children into foster care by providing therapy regarding parenting, to coping and substance abuse issues and with HIV positive, recovering addicts.

After all of my experiences with mental illness and crisis, I realized I like most helping people find their happiness. I no longer take on clients with serious mental illness, instead I focus on supporting my clients through the transformational process of facing themselves and being authentic. I love working with couples: helping them break out of cycles of miscommunication and diving back into reconnection.

My education and training enables me to bring my clients the support, techniques, and evidence-based practice to enable change. I will guide and hold you accountable; help you create achievable goals that transform you everyday.

My personal experiences in my marriage (and with my children) inspire me every day. That’s because I don’t just talk the talk, I walk the walk by practicing and implementing the same skills that I teach you.

Global therapist with her children in exotic lush surroundings

GET TO KNOW ME!

Wife, mom, friend, expat, entrepreneur, psychotherapist, life coach, yoga practitioner, bread baker, world traveller, and life enthusiast.

“Love is a verb. Not a permanent state of enthusiasm.”

-Esther Perel

My name is Lily Manné and I grew up in New York City. I was a city girl. I believed the world began and ended in NYC. I loved playing soccer, art, studying philosophy and observing the intricacies of people, which eventually led me to the study of culture and psychology.

I received my bachelor’s degree at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and my Master’s in Psychology and Education at Columbia University’s Teachers College. I worked blending social work and psychology for numerous years ranging from working with prisoners in an arts project to families in conflict to recovering addicts.

In 2002, I went to India. I was feeling somewhat burned out by the New York City bureaucracies that underlie all social work and I was frustrated and angered by the corruption and lack of care that my clients were receiving. So, I decided why not go to a different world and see how social work exists there.

My nine months in India changed the course of my life… things would never be the same. I was always carried by my convictions. Looking for right or wrong. Truth. Purity. India taught me about grey areas and perspective. I learned that “right” was always missing some element of truth and there is my truth and your truth. Both can be right.

I met Niels in San Marcos La Laguna on beautiful Lake Atitlan, Guatemala in 2003. I was supposed to stay four days and then go back to graduate school. That was in 2004. Since then we built and ran a small hotel in a tiny Mayan village and happily immersed ourselves in our culturally diverse community. Our children entered our world in 2008, 2012 and 2014. Each one teaching us important lessons. To my surprise, I discovered I could find happiness outside of my field and become adept in finding myself and living authentically. My life in Guatemala includes lots of nature, fun, yoga, mud, cooking, hiking and raising well-rounded children. Along with continued training in psychology, these life experiences have greatly informed and inspired my practice.

I BELIEVE

Light cursing is a form of authentic expression. Kombucha and essential oils cure all. Board games help us express our competitiveness and sharpen our intellect.

THINGS I TRY TO AVOID

Wearing a bra. Getting too hung up on my expectations and perfection.

YOU CAN FIND ME

Living between a little village near Coimbra, Portugal and our lakefront home overlooking three volcanoes in Guatemala.

DAILY RITUALS

Writing in my gratitude journal. My morning cappuccino. Hiking. Baking bread.

Living as an expat in Guatemala since 2004 has taught me more about life than I thought I knew in my New York City, big city upbringing. Watching people with nearly nothing finding happiness everyday, made me reconsider my notion of what happiness entails. As I learned to drop one pretense and the next, I grew closer to my core… my authentic self. I learned and saw so many people trapped by ideas of what they feel they are supposed to be and feel, while shutting down their true self.

Living in a partnership (sharing my most vulnerable thoughts, my life goals, disappointments, compromising every day) and coparenting 3 children has been my other biggest teacher. As I learn to let go of unnecessary fears and learn to flow into fun, I get to be the teacher and student of life with my children. I learn to communicate wisely. I get to live a life that mirrors my essence.

Running a business and truly caring about my employees taught me how to balance doing the right/ethical thing and being successful. I learned that being a business woman does not take away from my love of other human beings. We can do both.

I realized I like most helping people find their happiness.

Many of us have never been taught how to make relationships work. We would never let a person drive a car without a license, yet every day couples try to navigate the complex currents of partnership without training.

Relationship Coaching is not only about your relationships in the outer world but your relationship with yourself and the internalized patterns of relating that you keep reliving.

To change the pattern of relating with your partner, you will first reconnect with each other in a deep way. You are interested in doing this work. That is an amazing first step, it means you are both invested. But maybe you have been blocked in expressing that commitment.

Happily ever after doesn’t just happen. It takes constant effort and often-times hard work for you to balance being all the parts of yourself. Your ability to communicate, manage conflict, and grow is hampered when you aren’t living an authentic life.

For more about my credentials: this blog.

Get in touch for a free consultation!