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LMSW

Susan Shouse, LMSW

  • Experience26 years
  • LocationMichigan
  • Focus areasStress and Anxiety, Addictions, and Family
  • Therapy approachesInternal Family Systems and Client-Centered Therapy
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About Susan

Susan Shouse is a licensed social worker in Michigan with 26 years of clinical experience helping people navigate stress, anxiety, depression, addiction, and other life challenges. She creates a supportive, nonjudgmental space where clients can explore difficult emotions, process trauma, and build practical coping strategies.

Background and approach

Her work often addresses relationship and intimacy concerns, grief, self-esteem, and transitions such as caregiving and health changes. Shouse blends collaborative, client-centered care with evidence-informed tools drawn from cognitive behavioral techniques, mindfulness practices, motivational interviewing, and Internal Family Systems.

She emphasizes uncovering internal strengths and developing individualized plans that reflect each person’s values and goals. In addition to common mood and anxiety concerns, her practice also attends to issues such as ADHD, substance use, body image, chronic illness, co-dependency, and communication patterns.

Clients can expect a personalized approach that balances empathy with practical problem-solving. Sessions focus on helping individuals identify patterns, practice new skills, and move toward clearer priorities and improved daily functioning.

Shouse works with a broad range of life circumstances and aims to support sustainable change through respectful, goal-oriented collaboration.

How integrative approaches translate to online care



Susan frequently uses Internal Family Systems to help clients notice and relate to different parts of themselves, which can support healing from trauma, internal conflict, and patterns that interfere with relationships and wellbeing. She also integrates Client-Centered Therapy, offering an empathic, collaborative stance that centers the client's values and pacing as the foundation for change. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is used when practical skill-building is needed to address anxiety, depression, or unhelpful behaviors by identifying and adjusting thoughts and routines.

Choosing the right approach is a shared process. The therapist works together with each person to test methods, adjust interventions, and prioritize goals so that treatment fits the individual’s needs, preferences, and life circumstances rather than assuming one path from the outset.

Online options - including video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging - make it easier to maintain continuity of care during busy schedules or life transitions. These formats offer flexibility in timing and communication style, allowing therapists to use the same collaborative and skills-based tools remotely while accommodating different comfort levels and practical needs.

Frequently asked questions

What concerns does she commonly address?
Susan sees people seeking help for stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, relationship and intimacy issues, grief, trauma and a variety of life transitions and behavioral concerns.
What is her therapeutic style like?
The approach is collaborative and client-centered, combining practical skills from cognitive behavioral work, mindfulness, motivational interviewing, and trauma-informed techniques.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She brings 26 years of clinical experience working with a wide range of concerns and life circumstances.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She holds an LMSW license in Michigan with license number MI LMSW 6801072025 and practices from that state.
Does she offer services in other languages or accept international clients?
Sessions are provided in English and she is not accepting international clients at this time.
Which session formats are available?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to accommodate different preferences and schedules.
How is cost handled for sessions?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What steps should I take to begin working together?
To start, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule according to the therapist's availability.

Areas of expertise

Primary focus

Stress, AnxietyAddictionsFamily conflictsDepressionCoping with life changes

Also works with

LGBTRelationship issuesTrauma and abuseGriefIntimacy-related issuesEating disordersSleeping disordersParenting issuesAnger managementSelf esteemCareer difficultiesBipolar disorderCoachingCompassion fatigueADHD

Additional focus areas

AbandonmentAging and geriatric issuesAttachment issuesBlended family issuesBody imageCancerCaregiver issues and stressChronic pain, illness, and disabilityCo-morbidityCodependencyCommitment issuesCommunication problemsDependent personalityDivorce and separationDrug and alcohol addictionEating and food-related issuesEmptinessFamily of origin issuesFamily problemsForgivenessGuilt and shameHospice and end-of-life counselingImpulsivityIsolation / lonelinessLife purposeMidlife crisisMoney and financial issuesMood disordersPanic disorder and panic attacksPostpartum depressionSeasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)Self-loveSexualitySocial anxiety and phobiaWomen's issuesWorkplace issues

Therapeutic approaches

Client-Centered TherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Mindfulness TherapyMotivational InterviewingSolution-Focused TherapyTrauma-Focused TherapyInternal Family Systems

Experience

26+ years

Licensed

Michigan

Languages

English