Susan Merletti, LPCC

Susan Merletti is a California-licensed counselor with 39 years of professional experience. She brings steady, experienced support for people facing stress, anxiety, depression, relationship struggles, grief, and trauma. Her style is straightforward and focused on practical steps that people can use right away.

Susan believes each person knows their own story and has strengths to build on. She listens first, then helps identify small changes that reduce overwhelm. Sessions aim to make problems easier to manage rather than simply talk about them.

Her work often addresses long-term health concerns such as cancer, chronic pain, and illness. She also helps people with issues around body image, sexual assault and abuse, gender dysphoria, and complications from complicated family histories. Intimacy, non-monogamous relationships, and identity-related topics are part of her practice as well.

Susan draws on several therapeutic approaches, including cognitive behavioral techniques, client-centered methods, mindfulness, and psychodynamic ideas. She mixes these to fit what each person needs and to create doable strategies for daily life. The focus is on making sense of feelings, changing unhelpful thoughts, and building coping skills.

People who reach out can expect calm guidance and a collaborative approach. Susan supports goals like better sleep, healthier boundaries, improved communication, and managing compassion fatigue. She works with each person at a pace that feels manageable.

How Susan Uses Therapy Approaches Online

Susan commonly uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help people spot and change unhelpful thought patterns and habits. CBT sessions often focus on small experiments and practical tools to reduce anxiety, improve sleep, and manage mood.

She also draws on client-centered therapy, which emphasizes listening and guiding from the person’s perspective. That approach helps people feel heard while they clarify values, goals, and next steps.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. Susan will talk with each person about their needs, goals, and preferences, and then shape sessions to fit. The process is collaborative and adjusted over time as progress and challenges emerge.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful for full conversations and visual cues, phone sessions can fit during a work break or when bandwidth is limited, and chat or messaging can support brief check-ins or ongoing reflections between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and keep continuity when in-person visits are not practical.