Susan Soares , LCSW

Susan Soares is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) licensed in Indiana with 17 years of clinical experience working with children, families, and adults. She has worked in school-based settings and brings a longstanding commitment to helping young people and their families build healthier, more resilient lives. In addition to child and family work, she supports adults facing a range of challenges and diagnoses, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and many other concerns.

Susan addresses a broad spectrum of issues such as stress, trauma and abuse, parenting, self-esteem, relationship and family problems, grief, intimacy-related concerns, anger, career transitions, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and coping with life changes. Her additional focus areas include attachment and abandonment issues, blended family dynamics, body image, caregiver stress, communication and commitment difficulties, dissociation, and forgiveness work.

Her counseling style is relational and warm, favoring a casual, laid-back atmosphere where people feel heard. She balances sensitivity with firmness, believing that effective therapeutic work combines empathy with practical guidance. Susan also emphasizes healing across mind, body, and spirit, viewing balance among those areas as central to living a fuller life.

Susan supports individuals and families who are taking steps toward change and healing, and she offers a collaborative, compassionate approach to therapy that centers each person’s goals and strengths.

Approaches used online and what to expect

Susan brings client-centered therapy and evidence-based skills work into online sessions to meet people where they are. Client-centered therapy focuses on building a supportive, nonjudgmental relationship in which the therapist listens deeply, reflects the client's experience, and helps the person identify their own goals and solutions - this approach is helpful for building self-esteem, improving relationships, and processing life transitions.

Susan also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help clients recognize and change patterns of thinking and behavior that contribute to anxiety, depression, and stress. CBT is practical and goal-oriented, often including skills and exercises that people can apply between sessions. For clients who need tools for emotion regulation and distress tolerance, she incorporates elements of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which teaches mindful coping strategies and ways to manage intense emotions.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Susan works with each person to tailor methods to their needs, goals, and preferences, adjusting the focus over time as progress is made. Online therapy offers flexible ways to connect - video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging - making it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules, maintain continuity during life changes, and access support from home or another convenient location. Licensed professionals can use these modalities to deliver effective, personalized care across a range of concerns.