About Susan
Susan Etter is a licensed counselor with 15 years of experience helping people who feel overwhelmed by stress and anxiety. She works with individuals facing trauma, depression, and self-esteem struggles. She also helps people cope with big life changes and the day-to-day weight of worry.
Susan creates a calm space where clients can talk about hard feelings without judgment. She focuses on clear, practical steps you can try between sessions.
Background and approach
Work often includes looking at thought patterns, building coping skills, and practicing small changes that add up over time. Her background includes licensure as an LCPC and an LPC, with professional experience in both Illinois and Wisconsin. That experience has included helping people deal with trauma and post-traumatic stress, as well as social anxiety and phobia.
She draws on evidence-based therapeutic techniques to guide the work. Common themes she addresses include abandonment, attachment issues, communication and control struggles, guilt and shame, and feelings of isolation. She also supports people who want to explore life purpose, self-love, and forgiveness as part of recovery and growth.
Susan approaches therapy as a collaboration. She helps clients set realistic goals and tracks progress in ways that feel meaningful. Sessions aim to leave people better able to manage stress and take steps toward a more balanced life.
Evidence-Based Techniques and Online Options
Susan uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques that focus on changing unhelpful thought patterns and building coping skills. This approach teaches practical ways to notice anxious or negative thoughts and test them against real-life evidence, which can reduce worry and improve mood.She also draws on trauma-informed methods that help people process difficult experiences at a manageable pace. These methods focus on grounding, emotional regulation, and gradually addressing distressing memories so they feel less overwhelming over time.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose methods that match their goals and comfort level. Together they adjust techniques as progress is made and needs shift, so the plan remains practical and relevant.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different schedules. Video lets people work face to face when that feels helpful, while phone sessions can be easier during a busy day or when bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text messaging can be useful for short check-ins, quick skill practice, or when typing feels more comfortable than speaking. These options aim to make regular therapy easier to keep up with alongside work, family, and daily routines.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Also listed
- Experience
- 15 years
- Licensed
- Illinois, Wisconsin
- Languages
- English
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