Dr Lisa Turner is a trauma expert and the Founder of CETfreedom, a spiritual and consciousness awakening organisation, specialising in training professional coaches and practitioners in trauma recovery.
CETfreedom aims to revolutionise the coaching and therapy industry by ensuring that every practitioner has the Conscious Emotional Transformation (CET) method in their toolbox to help them guide others to leading a life free from emotional pain.
With a PhD in mathematical modelling and aero-acoustics, Lisa made the transition from scientist to spiritual teacher through her own journey to become free from her past, in which she was kept as a house prisoner for 5 years by a paedophile from the age of 15. Lisa’s book ‘I Loved a Paedophile‘ is currently being adapted for film.
Tell us a bit about yourself, background and your current role
I can begin by saying I do have an unusual background which has ultimately led me on my path to my current role. I was born in the UK but my parents moved to Australia when I was a toddler. I had a great upbringing but at the age of 12 I fell victim to grooming by my teacher and was trafficked to the UK where I was kept as a virtual house prisoner for 5 years until my late teens. All aspects of my life at this point were controlled and I lost all my self worth and self confidence.
Even when I had decided I had wished to leave, it took me a year to build the confidence as well as a way out. Once I had managed to break free, I decided to stay in the UK to complete my studies and regain my independence but it wasn’t long before I realised I was not coping. It was my journey to recovery that led me to become a trauma expert and develop my transformational recovery process CET, Conscious Emotional Transformation.
Did you ever sit down and plan your career?
When I was being kept as a house prisoner, my studies was one of the things I was allowed to do so I threw myself into them. Once I had come to the realisation I wanted to leave and made this a reality, I tried to settle back in ‘normal life’ but soon found I was suffering with PTSD, social anxiety disorder and crippling low self-worth and self-confidence.
This led me on my healing journey, where I tried psychological and spiritual techniques but having tried many modalities found that none left me with a solution I hoped for.
It was at this point I drew upon my background and skill set within scientific method and engineering rigour which enabled me to create CET, Conscious Emotional Transformation, the true combination of what works, clearing trauma in hours without having and without having to revisit pain.
Have you faced any challenges along the way?
Overcoming my own PTSD and reclaiming my life has had its challenges but my journey has also now led me to help others in their own battles recovering from trauma.
I also experienced many of the usual challenges of being a woman in engineering in the 90s. I remember shortly after I’d been appointed to a relatively senior position chatting to the sales team when one of them said ‘have you heard about the new girl engineer?’ He hadn’t realised it was me they were laughing about. Imagine his surprise when I pointed this out!
Then there are all the usual challenges entrepreneurs face when setting up and running a successful business.
What has been your biggest achievement to date?
It’s a close thing between getting my PhD in mathematical modelling and engineering and founding CETfreedom, developing Conscious Emotional Transformation.
Developing CET, a trauma and abuse modality that works so quickly and easily is something I’m immensely proud of. I couldn’t have created it without my scientific background.
My PhD was the first significant accomplishment that I achieved truly on my own. Of course, I’ve had other achievements since then: my business, writing 5 books and now landing a movie deal for my first book ‘I loved a Paedophile’. But at the time of completing my PhD I was still struggling with my past trauma. I had so little self belief in my intelligence and abilities that this made it a constant struggle and there were many times that I nearly gave up. Finally getting the title “Dr.” is such an achievement and that still gives me a kick today.
What one thing do you believe has been a major factor in you achieving success?
I truly believe it’s my emotional resilience. Emotional resilience is the ability to pick yourself up after setbacks and challenges.
Being emotionally resilient doesn’t mean everything is always fine, it means when things aren’t fine you know that you can recover and rise above your challenges. It meant I could recover from the many inevitable failures that we hit along the path to success.
Although I would never wish my experiences on anyone I do believe that when people have experienced and overcome challenges this greatly increases their emotional resilience.
How do you feel about mentoring? Have you mentored anyone or are you someone’s mentee?
I think mentorship is essential and a key part of anyone’s success. I have a range of mentors who help me with different aspects of my life and at different times I work with different mentors. The thing about working with a mentor is you benefit from their experience so it takes the guesswork out of success.
If you could change one thing to accelerate the pace of change for Gender Equality, what would it be?
I think we need to stop making men bad or wrong. The problem isn’t men, it’s the systems. Many men are as much a victim of the system as women are. Rather than attacking individuals or groups of people, we need to challenge the systems that create power imbalances, cause suffering and ultimately enslave us all.
If we stop pointing the finger at individuals, and start working to challenge the systems and status quo, real change will eventually follow. We can challenge the system by doing just that.
By women gathering together, and gathering men too, and challenging the systems that don’t serve anyone fully, we can create change. I know that sounds like a bit of a lofty goal, but someone has to dream it!
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self what would it be?
You’re doing ok!
I found this question tricky to answer. But that’s what I would say to past me. Many might think I would warn my younger self in some way that would avoid me being trafficked. But this would mean I was a completely different person. I like who I am! I’m strong, happy, and loved. I live a full life. I’m brave and a bit silly. If I hadn’t had the experiences I did, I wouldn’t be who I am. I might not have achieved what I have.
So I think just reassuring my younger self, that I’m actually doing OK, and on the right track is all I’d choose.
What is your next challenge and what are you hoping to achieve in the future?
My big goal is to revolutionise how people think about emotions and trauma. There are so many myths and misunderstandings that we need to break free of. Like you Can recover. It can be EASY. CET clears trauma in a matter of hours where other modalities might take years. So many people are using things that just don’t work, And the fact is, hurt people hurt, angry people become bullies. And fearful people deny the world of their gifts.
Freeing people from their limitations with CET (or anything that works) is my big dream and challenge. I am aiming to get 10,000 Certified CET practitioners in the next 5 years.
Working on adapting my first book “I Loved a Paedophile’ for screen has been a big part of that. It has also been a bit scary as I have to be really vulnerable and reflect back to create the screenplay, which has been harrowing at times. But it creates a much needed discussion and raises awareness of the cycle of pain that CET can free us all from.
