Susan Charney , LCSW

Susan Charney is a licensed clinical social worker in Arizona with 26 years of experience supporting people through relationship strain, anxiety, grief, and life transitions. She helps individuals who are wrestling with intimacy, self-esteem, career questions, parenting stress, and the effects of trauma and loss. Her style is direct and compassionate, focused on practical steps clients can try between sessions.

She uses straightforward conversation to identify what matters most to each person. Sessions often include goal-setting, skills practice, and reflection on patterns that keep problems repeating. Susan blends talk with exercises drawn from cognitive behavioral ideas and mindfulness to reduce worry and build coping skills.

For people recovering from difficult experiences, she offers trauma-focused work aimed at easing the impact of painful memories and improving day-to-day functioning. Solution-focused techniques are used to spot small, achievable changes that lead to progress. The overall aim is to help people feel more in control and better able to handle stress.

Susan also pays attention to practical life demands like caregiving, chronic illness, and workplace pressures. She supports those navigating divorce, blended family challenges, fertility and cancer-related concerns, and age-related transitions. Her approach recognizes how physical health, relationships, and work interact.

Clients can expect a collaborative process where goals are revisited and plans adjusted. Susan provides options that fit different schedules and communication styles, helping people find approaches that match their needs and pace.

How her approaches work online

Client-centered therapy centers on the person's goals and priorities and creates space for them to lead the work. Online sessions let the therapist follow the client's pace while focusing on what feels most important in the moment. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and uses exercises to change unhelpful patterns; it often helps with anxiety, depression, and stress by giving concrete tools to practice between sessions.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose whether CBT, client-centered work, trauma-focused techniques, or solution-focused steps will be most helpful. Goals and methods are reviewed and adjusted as progress is made so the plan fits the person's needs and preferences.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging so people can pick what fits their life. Video calls work well for in-depth conversations and visual cues. Phone sessions are a good option when bandwidth is limited or for a check-in on a break at work. Chat and messaging can suit quick updates, brief coaching, or people who prefer not to be on camera. These options make it easier to keep therapy consistent amid busy schedules and caregiving or work demands.