Susan Ridenour, LCSW, LSCSW

Susan Ridenour is a licensed clinical social worker who brings 35 years of experience to her practice. She holds LCSW and LSCSW credentials and sees adults in Kansas. Susan focuses on helping people navigate relationships, grief, career questions, and major life changes. She draws on practical methods from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, along with client-centered and existential ideas. In sessions she uses straightforward exercises, worksheets, and journaling to help people notice patterns and try new ways of responding. She also offers coaching-style guidance for career and leadership concerns. Susan has worked across many settings, including community and home-based care, and has experience in leadership roles within large healthcare organizations. That background informs how she supports people coping with aging, chronic illness, caregiving stress, and issues tied to family of origin or divorce. She also addresses attachment concerns, codependency, body image, and related challenges. Her approach is collaborative and down-to-earth. She helps clients set clear goals, practices skills between sessions, and checks progress over time. Susan can provide worksheets and journal prompts to reinforce what was discussed in a session. People who prefer practical tools, gentle exploration of meaning, and focused work on relationships or life transitions may find her style a good fit. Sessions are offered in English and use a range of online formats to match individual needs.

How Susan’s Approaches Work Online

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and choose values-based actions. It’s useful for coping with life changes, grief, and persistent worries by focusing on what matters most and taking small steps toward those values.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying patterns of thinking and behavior that keep problems going. It uses practical exercises and homework to test new ways of thinking, which can help with relationship patterns, anxiety, and career stress.

Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes listening and empathy so the person feels understood. This approach supports exploration of meaning, identity, and difficult emotions in a gentle, respectful way.

Choosing the right approach is a shared process. Susan will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has helped or not helped in the past. Together they decide which methods to try and adjust the plan as progress is made.

Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy fit into a busy life. Video works well for deeper conversations and exercises, phone can be a good option when bandwidth is limited, and chat or text messaging can be useful for quick check-ins or brief reflections between sessions. These formats make it easier to keep therapy consistent while balancing work, caregiving, and daily routines.