- Client-centered approach
- Focus on addictions
- Family and parenting
About Susan
Susan Mellema is a licensed clinical social worker with 30 years of experience in Illinois. She focuses on practical help for people facing addictions, family conflict, trauma, grief, and parenting strains. Susan starts by listening and by treating each person as the expert on their own life.
Her style is grounded and respectful. She looks for existing strengths and builds on them. That often means identifying small, doable steps that make daily life easier and more manageable.
Susan uses a mix of approaches to match what a person needs in the moment. She leans on client-centered work to make space for each person's experience. She also brings techniques from cognitive behavioral and solution-focused methods to help change unhelpful patterns and find solutions fast.
Over three decades she has supported people through adoption and foster care issues, blended family challenges, caregiver stress, and problems linked to addiction and family of origin wounds. She also addresses concerns tied to illness, multicultural issues, guilt, and forgiveness.
Sessions aim to be collaborative and practical. Susan helps people set clear goals, try new ways of coping, and review what works. Her approach is steady and focused on helping people move toward clearer, more workable days.
How Susan’s approaches translate to online work
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and understanding each person's story. It creates space for someone to say what matters most and to guide the pace of work. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at patterns of thought and behavior and offers practical tools to change them. It can help with mood, anxiety, and managing urges related to addiction. Motivational Interviewing uses open questions and reflective listening to help people find their own reasons to change and to build commitment.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what feels useful. Together they will try methods that match the situation and adjust as progress is made.
Confirm the current session options before booking because specific formats are not listed in the biography. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It can also let people use phone or video depending on what suits them and the moment. A therapist and client work together to decide what scheduling and session style best support steady progress.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
30+ years
Credentials
Illinois
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of problems does she help with?
Susan helps people dealing with addictions, family conflict, trauma and abuse, grief, and parenting difficulties. She also works with issues like codependency, adoption and foster care concerns, caregiver stress, and communication problems.
How would you describe her therapy style?
Her style is client-centered, meaning she listens closely and follows each person's priorities. She combines that with practical techniques to change habits and reach short-term goals.
What is her professional background?
She has 30 years of professional experience supporting people through addiction, family issues, trauma, and loss. That experience shapes a practice focused on steady, practical help.
What credentials does she hold and where is she based?
She is an LCSW licensed in Illinois and practices from that state.
Can I work with her if I live outside the United States?
Sessions are offered in English and she does not accept international clients at this time.
What session formats are available?
Please confirm current session options before booking, since the biography does not list specific formats. Check the scheduling flow to see what is offered.
How much do sessions cost?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability. Sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.
Profile details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. Credential and registration rules differ between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.