Susan Zacharias, LCPC

Susan Zacharias brings decades of health care and counseling experience to her work, offering steady support for people navigating stress, anxiety, trauma, self-esteem struggles, depression, and life transitions. With 40 years in health care and 20 years in professional counseling, she blends practical knowledge with a thoughtful, person-centered approach. Susan pays close attention to each individual's story and preferences, believing that no single technique fits everyone. She often uses EMDR and guided imagery to help uncover deeper concerns relatively quickly, while also drawing from other therapeutic and educational methods when they better suit a client’s needs.

Susan embraces the potential benefits of 12 step programs for some individuals facing addictive or compulsive behavior, while recognizing those programs are not the right choice for everyone. As a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor - LCPC - she explains therapeutic concepts in accessible terms and provides handouts to guide sessions or support later reflection. Based in Illinois, Susan offers a collaborative, respectful space and looks forward to meeting people at various points in their life journey to explore healing, growth, and practical coping strategies.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Support

EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, helps people process distressing memories and reduce the intensity of trauma-related reactions by using guided attention and bilateral stimulation. It is often used for trauma, abuse, and intense anxiety symptoms. Psychodynamic therapy explores how past experiences, relationships, and unconscious patterns influence present feelings and behaviors, supporting insight and longer term change in areas like self-esteem, depression, and recurring relationship struggles. Trauma-Focused Therapy concentrates on understanding and addressing the specific impacts of traumatic experiences, combining practical coping strategies with targeted interventions to help restore functioning and resilience.

Choosing the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Susan works collaboratively with each person to identify which methods align with their goals, needs, and comfort level, and she adapts plans over time as progress unfolds. That partnership helps ensure therapy feels relevant and effective for the individual.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility - sessions can happen by video call or phone, and shorter exchanges are possible via live chat or text-based messaging. These options make scheduling easier, support continuity of care across busy lives, and allow people to access licensed professionals from home or other convenient locations.