Susan Ridenour, LCSW, LSCSW

Susan Ridenour is a licensed clinical social worker practicing in Kansas. She holds LCSW and LSCSW credentials and brings 35 years of experience in healthcare and clinical settings. She works mainly with adults ages 21 to 65 who are facing relationship strain, grief, career questions, and major life changes.

Her background includes work across the lifespan and in community settings. She also spent a decade in leadership roles within large healthcare organizations and completed intensive leadership trainings with individualized coaching. That experience can help people navigating workplace challenges or using an employee assistance program.

In sessions she uses practical tools and brief exercises. She offers worksheets and journaling prompts for practice between meetings. Her style is supportive and straightforward, focused on helping people take the next step rather than on labels or long assessments.

Therapeutic approaches include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Existential Therapy, and Imago Relationship Therapy. These methods guide conversations about values, behavior change, meaning, and relationship patterns.

She also addresses aging and geriatric issues, caregiver stress, attachment and family-of-origin difficulties, body image, cancer-related concerns, and forgiveness work. The aim is to help people find practical ways to cope and move forward.

Susan invites people to share their stories and to set goals that feel right for them. She emphasizes collaboration and gentle accountability during the process.

How these approaches guide online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on identifying personal values and taking small, meaningful actions toward them. It is often useful for people feeling stuck during life transitions or struggling with persistent worry. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and uses simple practices to change unhelpful patterns. CBT is helpful for managing anxiety, grief reactions, and workplace stress. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes a respectful, nonjudgmental relationship where the person leads the pace and goals of therapy.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. The therapist will work together with the client to pick or combine methods that fit their needs, goals, and preferences. That collaborative planning helps shape each session and any homework or worksheets shared between meetings.

Confirm current session options before booking, as specific formats are not listed here. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, allow for shorter check-in meetings when needed, and reduce travel time for those juggling work or caregiving. It also supports the use of tools like worksheets and journaling between appointments to keep progress moving forward.