LCSW, 3 years of experience
New to Grow
I'm Susan Sealy, a Behavioral Health and Substance Use Clinician passionate about helping people find relief from stress, heal from trauma, and build lives they feel good about. I work with adults and adolescents facing challenges such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, trauma, life transitions, and mood disorders, as well as those seeking support with substance use and recovery. I offer a safe, nonjudgmental, and supportive space where you can explore your experiences, process emotions, and develop practical tools to strengthen resilience and restore balance. My approach is collaborative and grounded in evidence-based care, combining compassion, reflection, and real-world strategies to help you create meaningful, lasting change. All of my services are offered virtually, making care convenient and accessible wherever you are. I believe that growth and healing are always possible, and my role is to help guide and support you on that journey.
Your first session is designed to help you feel comfortable, heard, and supported from the start. We'll spend time talking about what brings you to therapy, what you hope to achieve and what positive change might look like for you. I'll share information about how therapy works, review confidentiality and boundaries, and help you set a few initial goals. You'll leave our first session with a sense of direction and hope, along with practical tools you can begin using right away. My goal is for you to feel encouraged, understood, and confident that progress is possible.
My approach blends compassion, collaboration, and practical guidance. I believe that therapy should feel both safe and empowering- a space where you can talk openly, feel truly heard, and start building real change. I use evidence-based methods such as mindfulness, skill-building, and cognitive behavioral strategies to help you understand patterns, manage stress, and regulate emotions. Together, we'll focus on increasing self-awareness, reframing negative thoughts, and developing coping tools that bring more balance and calm into daily life. Clients often tell me they leave session feeling both supported and equipped with new insight and strategies they can use right away.
I work best with adults and teens who feel emotionally drained, stuck, or overwhelmed by life's challenges. Many of my clients are managing anxiety, trauma, or mood disorders, or are in recovery and seeking support to maintain balance and growth. You might be navigating a difficult transition, trying to improve relationships, or looking to reduce stress and reconnect with yourself. Therapy with me offers a compassionate, judgment-free space to heal at your own pace, find clarity, and build confidence in your ability to handle life's ups and downs.
I use ACT to help clients build psychological flexibility by learning to accept difficult emotions and thoughts instead of struggling against them. Through mindfulness and values-based work, I support clients in focusing on what truly matters to them and taking meaningful actions toward their goals, even in the presence of discomfort.
With CBT, I help clients identify and challenge unhelpful thought patterns that influence their emotions and behaviors. Together, we explore new ways of thinking and coping to promote positive behavioral change, emotional regulation, and improved self-esteem. This approach empowers clients to recognize the connection between their thoughts, feelings, and actions.
I use Motivational Interviewing to help clients explore their ambivalence about change and strengthen their intrinsic motivation to make positive choices. Through collaboration, empathy, reflective listening, I help clients discover their own reasons for change and build confidence in their ability to achieve it.
Incorporating DBT skills, I teach clients practical tools for managing intense emotions, improving relationships, and increasing distress tolerance. We focus on mindfulness, emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and grounding techniques to promote balance and stability in daily life.
I approach all treatment through a trauma-informed lens, recognizing the impact that past trauma and adversity can have on a person's current thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. My focus is on creating a safe, collaborative, and empowering environment where clients can build trust, develop coping skills, and move toward healing without re-traumatization.