Susan Ridenour

Experienced clinician guiding life and relationship change

LCSW, LSCSW Kansas

Experience: 35 years in practice
Focus areas: Relationship, Grief, Career
Approaches: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Languages: English

About Susan

Susan Ridenour is an LCSW and LSCSW with 35 years of clinical experience practicing in Kansas. She draws on a long history of work across healthcare and community settings to help adults navigate relationship concerns, grief, career transitions, and broader life changes.

Background and approach

Her background includes leadership roles and individualized coaching in large healthcare organizations, experience that informs her collaborative approach with clients who bring workplace or EAP-related issues. Susan combines practical tools and reflective exploration to support clients pursuing personal growth, better communication, or adjustment to aging and chronic illness.

She uses a range of therapeutic approaches, including cognitive behavioral strategies and acceptance-based methods, along with client-centered and relationship-focused work, to tailor sessions to each person’s needs. She often provides worksheets, journaling options, and messaging support to supplement sessions and encourage practice between meetings.

Susan presents therapy as a partnership and emphasizes respect, openness, and nonjudgmental listening. She typically works with adults and couples seeking changes in relationships, family dynamics, or life direction, and she aims to empower clients to clarify goals and build skills for ongoing adjustment and resilience.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Support

Susan uses cognitive behavioral techniques to help clients identify unhelpful thinking and develop practical strategies for changing behaviors and reactions; this approach is useful for addressing relationship patterns, mood shifts, and workplace stress. She also integrates Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, which emphasizes noticing difficult thoughts and feelings while clarifying personal values to guide meaningful action in the face of life transitions.

Finding the right approach is part of the collaborative process. The therapist and client will explore which methods fit the client’s goals, preferences, and circumstances, and adapt the plan over time to best support progress and resilience.

Online sessions are available by video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to increase flexibility and access. These formats allow scheduling that can accommodate work and life responsibilities, enable ongoing use of worksheets and journaling between sessions, and support steady momentum when in-person meetings are not convenient.

Frequently asked questions

What kinds of concerns does Susan commonly address?

Susan works with relationship challenges, grief, career and workplace issues, coping with life changes, and coaching for personal growth. She also focuses on a variety of related areas such as aging, caregiver stress, family problems, and forgiveness.

What is Susan's therapeutic style like?

Her approach blends practical, skills-based techniques with reflective, client-centered conversation. She aims to match interventions to each person’s goals and encourages active use of tools like worksheets and journaling.

How much experience does she bring to therapy?

She has 35 years of professional clinical experience and has worked across healthcare and community settings, including leadership roles that inform her coaching and workplace-related support.

What credentials and where is she licensed?

She holds LCSW and LSCSW credentials. Her license details include MO LCSW 2016009696 and KS LSCSW LSCSW 1252, and she practices in Kansas.

Does she offer services in languages other than English?

Sessions are provided in English only, and she is not accepting international clients at this time.

Which session formats are available for working together?

Therapy is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to accommodate different communication preferences and schedules.

How are fees and billing handled?

Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time. Exact pricing depends on those factors.

What is the first step to begin therapy?

Start by selecting the Start Therapy button and completing a short matching questionnaire, then schedule sessions according to the therapist’s availability.

Areas of expertise

Primary focus

Relationship issuesGriefCareer difficultiesCoping with life changesCoaching

Additional focus areas

Aging and geriatric issuesAttachment issuesAutism and Asperger SyndromeBody imageCancerCaregiver issues and stressCo-morbidityCodependencyCommunication problemsControl issuesDissociationDivorce and separationFamily of origin issuesFamily problemsForgivenessGuilt and shameHospice and end-of-life counselingImpulsivityInfidelityLife purposeMidlife crisisPostpartum depressionPost-traumatic stressSeasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)Self-loveSexualitySomatizationWomen's issuesWorkplace issues

Therapeutic approaches

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)Client-Centered TherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Existential TherapyImago Relationship TherapyMindfulness TherapyMotivational InterviewingNarrative TherapyPsychodynamic TherapySolution-Focused TherapyTrauma-Focused Therapy

Experience

35+ years

Licensed

Kansas, Missouri

Languages

English