About Susan
Susan Phillips is a licensed mental health counselor who has worked in Florida for 25 years. She focuses on listening closely and helping people find practical ways to manage stress, anxiety, grief, depression, trauma, and life changes. Her approach centers on the person in front of her and what they want to change.
Over her career she has helped people facing addictions, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and relationship or family concerns.
Background and approach
She also supports those coping with caregiver strain, chronic illness, end-of-life issues, and the effects of abandonment or foster care history. She uses straightforward methods so people can use what they learn right away. In sessions she draws on client-centered work to create a listening space.
She pairs that with cognitive behavioral techniques to identify unhelpful thinking and build new habits. Motivational interviewing helps people find their own reasons to change. She also uses solution-focused strategies and trauma-focused techniques when they fit the client's goals.
That means most sessions are practical and goal-oriented while still addressing painful memories and reactions when needed. Susan emphasizes collaborative planning and clear steps. She helps set manageable goals, practices skills during sessions, and checks progress between meetings.
The aim is steady, usable change rather than fast fixes.
Practical approaches for online healing
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and building a trusting relationship so people can name their own goals and feel understood. It helps when someone needs time to process emotions and decide what matters most to them.Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps identify unhelpful thoughts and replace them with clearer thinking. It is useful for worries, low mood, and stress because it provides step-by-step skills to change behavior and feelings.
Motivational interviewing supports people who feel stuck or ambivalent about change by helping them find their own motivation and commit to practical steps. It pairs well with CBT and solution-focused work when planning next moves.
Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will listen to your goals, try strategies, and adjust methods based on what helps most. Clients and the therapist work together to shape each plan over time.
Online therapy makes sessions easier to fit into a busy life. Video calls allow face-to-face interaction for skills practice. Phone sessions can be a good option when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging are useful for brief updates, questions between sessions, or when writing feels easier than talking. These formats offer flexibility while preserving the same therapeutic methods used in person.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Domestic violence
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 25 years
- Licensed
- Florida
- Languages
- English