About Susan
Susan Bowes is a licensed clinical social worker in Illinois with 15 years of experience. She helps people facing grief, LGBT-related concerns, low self-esteem, and big life changes. She also offers support for compassion fatigue and questions about sexuality and self-love.
Susan keeps sessions straightforward and humane. She focuses on listening first, then helping people name what matters. Conversations are judgement-free and paced to the client’s comfort.
Clients can expect a calm, steady presence in session.
Background and approach
Her work often addresses the emotional fallout of illness and chronic pain. She helps people sort through guilt, shame, and control issues. Practical ideas are offered alongside space to feel hard emotions.
Susan also helps people explore life purpose and forgiveness when those topics come up. She encourages small, doable steps toward greater confidence and self-compassion. Therapy can include discussion, reflection, and short-term goal setting.
Sessions are offered in English and arranged through online formats. Susan’s Illinois license is LCSW, which appears on professional records as IL LCSW 149011825. She aims to make beginning therapy easy to understand and to match the pace clients need.
Approaches and online care that fit your life
Susan uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques that focus on clear, practical steps and emotional processing. One common approach she uses helps people process grief and loss by creating space to tell difficult stories and practice small coping skills. This method is useful when emotions feel overwhelming and people need help organizing what comes next.She also emphasizes methods that build self-compassion and self-esteem through short, doable exercises and reflective conversation. These techniques aim to reduce harsh self-judgment and to strengthen everyday confidence by testing small changes in thinking and behavior.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. Susan treats choosing methods as a collaborative process and will discuss options based on each person’s goals and preferences. She checks in regularly and adjusts the plan when something is not working.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video lets people see facial cues and have longer conversations. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text messaging work well for brief check-ins or when a shorter, written exchange fits a busy day. These options make it easier to fit therapy into everyday life and keep progress moving forward.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Experience
- 15 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English