About Susan
Susan Ryder is a licensed clinical professional counselor in Maine with 17 years of experience. She focuses on practical, steady support for people facing stress, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and life changes. She frames clients as experts in their own stories and builds on everyday strengths to make small, workable changes.
Her approach centers on listening first and tailoring methods to what each person needs. She uses client-centered listening to help people feel heard and understood.
Background and approach
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy tools are offered to spot patterns that keep problems going and try different ways of responding. Susan also draws on motivational interviewing to help people find their own reasons to change. Narrative therapy ideas are used to reframe difficult chapters and create new possibilities.
Solution-focused techniques keep sessions goal-oriented and practical so progress can be noticed between meetings. She has helped people manage compassion fatigue, caregiving stress, addictions and process addictions, relationship and intimacy concerns, parenting strain, grief and loss, and issues tied to aging and end-of-life care. She also supports people dealing with divorce, blended family challenges, first responder stress, and seasonal mood shifts.
Susan offers sessions by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging. She uses a subscription model for sessions that can be canceled at any time. To begin, someone selects Start Therapy, completes a short matching questionnaire, and schedules according to availability.
Approaches to change and how they work online
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening first. The therapist reflects what matters to the person and helps them name strengths and priorities; this approach is useful for stress, low self-esteem, and life changes.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps people identify unhelpful thoughts and try different responses. It breaks problems into small, manageable steps and can be used to reduce anxiety and depression symptoms through practical exercises and homework.
Motivational Interviewing is a short, collaborative way to find personal reasons for change. It works well when someone feels stuck or unsure about next steps, and it pairs naturally with goal-focused planning.
Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what feels most helpful, then try strategies that fit those needs. That collaborative process is revised as progress unfolds.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to meet. Video calls let people work face-to-face when a fuller conversation is helpful. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or when someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text-based messaging are available for quick check-ins, shorter exchanges, or ongoing support between longer sessions.
Questions people ask
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What this counselor works with
Most often
Also listed
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Blended family issues
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Divorce and separation
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Parenting issues
- Postpartum depression
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-love
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 17 years
- Licensed
- Maine
- Languages
- English