Sharon Sumler, LMSW

Sharon Sumler is a Licensed Master Social Worker who helps people manage stress, anxiety, addictions, depression, and relationship or family strain. She draws on two decades of experience to offer practical support for everyday problems. Sharon speaks English and practices from Michigan.

Sharon focuses on helping people break unhelpful patterns and build skills that fit into daily life. She uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy along with client-centered methods to help people notice thoughts, test them, and try different behaviors. Mindfulness and Dialectical Behavior Therapy tools are also part of her approach when people need skills for emotional regulation and staying present.

Sessions include straightforward goal-setting and short-term skills practice as well as deeper work on attachment, abandonment, or past trauma when needed. Sharon often helps people facing parenting stress, grief, career shifts, compassion fatigue, and the ups and downs of bipolar mood. She also addresses issues linked to adoption and foster care, aging concerns, and complex personality or behavior patterns.

Sharon aims for a warm, nonjudgmental tone and encourages steady progress over time. She combines listening with concrete strategies people can try between sessions. Her work balances practical tools with respect for each person's story.

People considering therapy are invited to start by describing their main worry and their goals. Sharon then tailors recommendations so coaching, skills training, or deeper psychotherapy fits the situation.

How Sharon Uses CBT, DBT, and Client-Centered Work Online

Sharon often uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people identify unhelpful thoughts and test new ways of thinking and behaving. CBT is straightforward and works well for anxiety, depression, stress, and many everyday problems.

She also draws on Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills when emotion regulation and distress tolerance are needed. DBT emphasizes specific tools for handling strong feelings and improving interpersonal effectiveness. Client-Centered Therapy provides a supportive, nonjudgmental space where the person sets the pace and Sharon listens closely before offering ideas.

Choosing an approach is collaborative. Sharon will talk through goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t helped before to decide which tools to try first. Together they plan short-term steps and adjust as progress is made.

Online sessions can take place by video call, on the phone, via live chat, or through text-based messaging. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited, live chat can be useful for brief check-ins, and messaging supports ongoing reflection between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy around work, caregiving, or travel.