Susie Cortez
If you're in your 40s or 50s and feel like you no longer recognize yourself, you're not imagining it. Anxiety that seems to come out of nowhere, a shorter fuse, brain fog, poor sleep, low mood, and feeling like you've lost your spark are all common in perimenopause and menopause. Too often, women are told it's "just stress" or that they should push through. I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 25 years of experience and a Certified Menopause Coach. I specialize in working with women in midlife who are navigating the emotional and mental health side of this transition, including anxiety, depression, and ADHD symptoms that often surface or intensify during these years.
I am also a Certified Menopause Coach and my current passion is working with woman suffering from perimenopause symptoms and struggles and help them thrive in midlife.
In our work together, you'll have a space where your experience is taken seriously. I'll help you understand what's happening, build practical tools for managing mood, stress, and focus, and reconnect with who you are and what you want from this next chapter. I draw on a range of evidence-based approaches and tailor them to you. Midlife can be more than something to get through. With the right support, it can be a time of clarity, confidence, and renewal. I'd be honored to help you thrive in it.
First session
In our first session I will get to know you, explore the reason that brought you into therapy and start creating goals for treatment.
Strengths
My greatest strength is creating a safe, non-judgmental space where women can open up and be fully themselves. For the past 5 years I've specialized in working with women experiencing anxiety and depression, and I understand how often those struggles are tied to the changes of perimenopause, menopause, and midlife. I bring years of clinical experience together with my training as a Certified Menopause Coach, so I can help you make sense of what you're feeling and why. Clients tell me they feel heard, validated, and understood, often for the first time. I listen closely, speak honestly, and offer practical tools you can use right away.
Ideal clients
I love working with women at a turning point in their lives. My ideal client is a woman in midlife who is struggling with the emotional side of perimenopause or menopause: the anxiety, mood changes, brain fog, or the sense that she no longer feels like herself. She may also be facing other big transitions, such as a new relationship, a breakup or divorce, a career change, or an emptying nest. She is often the one who takes care of everyone else and is ready to finally focus on herself. I provide a space where she can process the change, grieve what she is leaving behind, and learn new coping strategies to move through this challenging time and into her next chapter with confidence. I added "an emptying nest" as another common midlife transition, and the line about taking care of everyone else. Cut either one if it doesn't fit the women you see.
Treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a widely-used therapeutic approach that helps individuals identify and change negative thought patterns, beliefs, and behaviors. It is often used to treat a variety of mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and relationship problems. I have worked with many clients, specifically women using CBT and Problem Solving Therapy overcome every day challenges—whether in romantic relationships, friendships, or work environments. I help clients foster healthier, more positive, and respectful relationships.
Supportive
I use Problem Solving Therapy (PST) to help clients with every day life stressors and challenges. I will work with clients as a coach, mentor and cheerleader to overcome those barriers that are keeping them from being their best version of themselves. I will provide weekly activities for my clients tailored just for them.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
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Serves
Doesn't specialize in
Licensed in
- CaliforniaLicense 26205