Susan Dawson, LMHC

Susan Dawson is a licensed mental health counselor with 17 years of experience who uses practical, evidence-informed approaches to help people facing stress, anxiety, depression, and addiction. She focuses on everyday struggles like low self-esteem, anger, relationship worries, and career uncertainty. Susan aims to make therapy straightforward and approachable for someone under pressure.

She combines cognitive behavioral techniques with client-centered care to help clients notice unhelpful thinking and try new behaviors. Sessions are conversational and goal-focused so people can practice changes between meetings. Mindfulness tools are used when racing thoughts or intense emotions make daily life harder.

For relationship strains and intimacy concerns Susan draws on emotionally-focused ideas and elements of the Gottman Method to improve connection and communication. She also supports people working through grief, trauma, and life transitions such as divorce or relocation. Substance use and addiction concerns are addressed with motivational strategies and practical planning.

Susan works with a wide range of mood and adjustment issues including bipolar mood swings, panic and phobias, and feelings of emptiness or isolation. She pays attention to how identity and life context affect coping and decision making. The goal is clearer thinking, steadier moods, and better day-to-day functioning.

Sessions are offered through multiple online formats for people living in Florida and beyond. Susan welcomes clients who want a calm, direct approach and offers tools that people can use right away.

Therapeutic approaches and how they work online

CBT, or cognitive behavioral therapy, focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing new behaviors. It helps with anxiety, panic, depression, and problematic habits by turning ideas into small experiments people can try between sessions.

Client-centered therapy emphasizes listening and building a trusting relationship. It gives space for a person to tell their story and arrive at their own solutions while the therapist offers support and reflection.

Emotionally-focused work zeroes in on patterns in close relationships and how emotions shape connection. It can be useful for intimacy issues, communication problems, and healing after betrayal or loss.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t worked before. Together they choose techniques and adjust them over time so sessions feel useful and relevant.

Online therapy makes these methods flexible. Video calls let people practice communication and see nonverbal cues. Phone sessions fit shorter check-ins or times with low bandwidth. Live chat and text-based messaging work well for quick reflections, tracking progress, or when typing out thoughts helps more than speaking. These options help people fit therapy into busy lives and keep momentum between meetings.