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Sue (Susie) Swartz

Sue (Susie) Swartz, LMFT

California

LMFT in California - Family of origin patterns

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  • Stress and anxiety
  • Family of origin
  • CBT and ACT methods

About Sue

Sue (Susie) Swartz is an LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist) practicing in California with ten years of experience. She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, trauma and abuse, relationship and family concerns, parenting challenges, addiction, and life transitions. Sessions are conducted in English and aimed at people who want to change recurring patterns that limit their daily life.

Sue uses a client-centered approach that focuses on each person's strengths. She listens for the patterns that developed in early family relationships and how those patterns show up now. In sessions she helps people notice thoughts and behaviors that get in the way, and practices skills to respond differently.

Her methods draw on cognitive behavioral techniques to track and shift unhelpful thinking, as well as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to clarify values and take practical steps toward them. Attachment-based ideas inform work around abandonment, adoption and foster care issues, and relationship patterns rooted in early experience. Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills may be used for emotion regulation and coping strategies.

Sue has experience supporting people impacted by caregiving stress, chronic illness, body image and identity concerns, and blended family or communication problems. She also works with issues related to autism spectrum traits and avoidant personality features in adults. Her background includes work in trauma response and crisis intervention.

Practical steps are emphasized in sessions rather than labels. Prospective clients in California should confirm current session options before booking and follow the site's process to match and schedule a first session.

How therapeutic approaches guide online sessions

Sue often draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help people clarify what matters to them and take small, concrete steps toward those values. ACT focuses on noticing thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them and is useful for anxiety, stress, and life changes.

She also uses Attachment-Based Therapy ideas to look at how early family relationships shape current patterns. This approach helps when abandonment, adoption, attachment issues, or repeating relationship roles are a concern and guides work on changing those patterns.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Sue treats approach selection as collaborative and will help identify which methods suit a person’s goals and preferences. She adapts techniques across sessions based on how someone responds and what they want to focus on.

Session formats are not listed in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life - for example, shorter check-ins during a lunch break or avoiding travel time. They can also allow a focus on skill practice, tracking thoughts between meetings, and steady work on family-of-origin patterns without needing to rearrange a whole day.

Areas of expertise

Also works with

AddictionsLGBTRelationship issuesFamily conflictsParenting issues

Additional focus areas

AbandonmentAdoption and foster careAging and geriatric issuesAttachment issuesAutism and Asperger SyndromeAvoidant personalityBlended family issuesBody imageCancerCaregiver issues and stressChronic pain, illness, and disabilityCo-morbidityCodependencyCommitment issuesCommunication problemsControl issuesCoping with natural or human-caused disasterDivorce and separationDomestic violenceEating and food-related issuesEmptinessFamily of origin issuesFamily problemsFatherhood issuesFertility issuesFirst responder issuesForgivenessGender dysphoriaGuilt and shameHIV / AIDSHoardingHospice and end-of-life counselingImpulsivityInfidelityIsolation / lonelinessLife purposeMen's issuesMidlife crisisMood disordersNarcissismPanic disorder and panic attacksPersonality disordersPolyamory / non-monogamous relationshipsPostpartum depressionPost-traumatic stressPregnancy and childbirthSeasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)Self-loveSexual assault and abuseSexualitySocial anxiety and phobiaVisually impairedWomen's issuesWorkplace issuesYoung adult issues

Therapeutic approaches

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)Attachment-Based TherapyClient-Centered TherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)Mindfulness TherapyMotivational InterviewingNarrative TherapyPsychodynamic TherapySolution-Focused TherapyTrauma-Focused Therapy

Experience

10+ years

Listed in

California

Languages

English

Frequently asked questions

What concerns does she focus on?

Sue works with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, trauma and abuse, relationship and family issues, parenting, addictions, and life changes.

How would she describe her style in sessions?

She uses a client-centered style that highlights a person’s strengths and looks at recurring family patterns that affect present life.

How much clinical experience does she have?

She has ten years of clinical experience, including work in trauma response, crisis intervention, and victim advocacy.

What are her credentials and where is she based?

She is an LMFT licensed in California and practices in that state.

Which languages are supported?

Sessions are offered in English.

Does she work with international clients?

International clients are not currently accepted.

How are sessions paid for?

Cost varies with location; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.

How do I begin with her?

Use the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.

Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger, use the emergency numbers. Looking for someone else? Find them by surname.

Sue (Susie) SwartzLMFT

See online therapy options