About Susan
Susan Sparks is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who focuses on helping people cope with stress and anxiety. She draws on ten years of clinical experience and a long history of community involvement to offer steady, practical support for everyday struggles. Susan uses clear, goal-focused work to address worries, mood problems, and life transitions.
She helps people manage symptoms like sleeplessness, low self-esteem, anger, and grief by breaking concerns into small, manageable steps.
Background and approach
Sessions are straightforward and aimed at skills people can use between meetings. Her background includes a Master of Social Work from the University of Illinois and a practice license as an LCSW in Illinois. Before clinical practice she spent many years volunteering and working in community settings, which shaped her focus on real-world help.
Susan draws on a range of evidence-based techniques when planning care. She may teach ways to change unhelpful thinking, suggest behavioral strategies, or introduce mindfulness exercises depending on what fits. The approach is adapted to the individual rather than using a single method for everyone.
People seeking help with anxiety, depression, ADHD, relationship strain, parenting challenges, or coping after loss can expect a collaborative process. Susan emphasizes strengths and small, achievable changes so people can build confidence and move forward. Her practice also addresses eating and sleeping concerns, compassion fatigue, bipolar-related coping, and career stress.
Sessions aim to be practical, paced to the person's needs, and focused on everyday progress.
How evidence-based approaches translate to online care
Many of the techniques Susan uses involve learning new skills and practicing them between sessions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy teaches people to notice and change unhelpful thoughts and patterns, which helps with anxiety, depression, and sleep problems. Behavioral approaches focus on changing routines and reactions, useful for anger, eating or sleep issues, and ADHD-related habits.Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will talk with each person about their goals, try methods that match those goals, and adjust the plan based on what helps. This is a collaborative process where feedback guides next steps.
Online therapy makes those steps easier to fit into life. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation when demonstration or visual cues help. Phone sessions can be a lower-bandwidth option or a way to fit a shorter check-in into a busy day. Live chat and text-based messaging let people send updates, try brief coping tools, or ask quick questions between meetings. These formats aim to increase flexibility and keep therapeutic progress moving forward.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also listed
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Eating disorders
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Parenting issues
- Self esteem
- Sleeping disorders
- Experience
- 10 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English
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