Lyssa began her training and teaching in the mid-1980s. She was first formally trained as a trance channel by a well known and respected channel in Los Angeles. The approach to her training was psychological in nature, because doctoral candidates at UCLA were studying the process of channeling as it relates to personality integration and development, and her teacher was part of the research program. Because of this approach, and her B.A. in psychology, Lyssa learned channeling from the point-of-view that it could be a tool for spiritual evolution as channels learn to work with their egos so that it would not interfere in the channeling process. This profound method of learning to channel influences the way she teaches the skill today – as a tool for personal and spiritual evolution.