About Susan
Susan Christoffelsz is an ACA counsellor based in Victoria, Australia, with ten years in independent practice. She works with people facing stress, anxiety, grief and the strain of life changes. Her style is warm and down-to-earth, aimed at helping people find small, practical steps forward when they feel overwhelmed.
Susan trained at Monash University and holds a master's degree in counselling. Before counselling she was a teacher, which informs her clear, practical approach to problem solving.
Background and approach
She has also completed postgraduate study in grief, loss and trauma and brings that experience into sessions where bereavement or major loss is part of the picture. Sessions often combine simple coping strategies with body-based tools to calm the nervous system. Conversations focus on what feels stuck now and on useful actions that can be put in place straight away.
She pays attention to boundaries, shame and guilt when people struggle to put their needs first. Susan supports people through transitions such as divorce, caregiving stress, midlife changes and ageing concerns. She also helps with attachment wounds, codependency and feelings of isolation or purposelessness.
Practical problem-solving and emotional understanding sit side by side in her work. Her manner is non-judgemental and supportive. People who come to her can expect straightforward conversation and grounded strategies to help reduce anxiety and regain a clearer sense of control.
How Susan uses practical approaches online
Evidence-based techniques in Susan's work include simple body-based calming tools and practical coping strategies. Body-based calming tools teach ways to notice and settle the nervous system through breathing, grounding and gentle movement, which can help when anxiety or grief heighten physical tension. Practical coping strategies focus on small, manageable actions like setting boundaries, planning daily routines and creating short experiments to test a change in behaviour, useful for stress, overwhelm and life transitions.Finding the right approach is part of the work. Susan will explore your needs, goals and preferences in early sessions and will adapt methods collaboratively. Together you will choose techniques that feel manageable and relevant, then review what helps and what needs adjusting as therapy progresses.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging, which give flexibility for different situations. Video calls suit deeper conversation and visual connection, while phone sessions can be easier when internet bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and messages work well for brief updates, reflective notes or ongoing support between longer sessions. These options make it simpler to fit sessions around work, caring duties or travel while still accessing ongoing therapeutic support.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Grief
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Blended family issues
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Divorce and separation
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Self esteem
- Women's issues
- Experience
- 10 years
- Licensed
- Languages
- English
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