SUSAN BLANK, LPC, NCC

We all go through times in our lives when we feel overwhelmed and need someone to listen. With a relaxed and nonjudgmental style, I will hold a safe and compassionate space where you can tell your story and be heard and understood. We will gently probe difficult and distressing topics and identify the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that keep you mired in unworkable ways of being and doing. Utilizing pragmatic, evidence-based practices, we will work to address the roots of your suffering and conflict and discover what's keeping you "stuck" in certain areas of your life. We will find resolutions that bring positive change so you can reach your goals and become the person, or couple, you are meant to be.

As Mr. Rogers beautifully said:

Anything that's human is mentionable, and anything that's mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. The people we trust with that important talk can help us know that we are not alone.

As a Board Certified, Licensed Professional Counselor, and a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, the counseling methods I utilize are researched-based and empirically proven to be highly successful. I have dedicated myself to years of study and training in these methods to gain the skills and expertise necessary to ensure that my client's counseling experience is a rewarding, empowering, and successful one. My areas of expertise include Couples Counseling (Trust, Infidelity, Communication, Disconnection), Anxiety Disorders, Depression/Mood Disorders, Trauma, Addictions, and Grief, Loss, and Illness. I am a great believer in the power of client education to aid in healing and have provided links to various educational resources, along with handouts I have written, to supplement and enhance our therapy sessions. I work with adults and adolescents, specialize in couples counseling, am LGBTQ affirming, and look forward to the honor of working with you.

I have specialized training in the following types of therapies:

  • Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy
    I have traveled the long and winding road of marriage for 40 years and fully understand the pitfalls and detours of committed relationships. With advanced training in Emotionally Focused Therapy, I am dedicated to helping couples find their way back home. I will help you stop the dance of blame, distancing, and mutual hurt. You will focus on the negative cycle that has become your mutual enemy and learn to change the music to a new dance of closeness and connection.
  • ​Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
    Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a newer, third-wave therapy born from the union of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and mindfulness meditation principles and practices. This therapy provides powerful tools that can be applied successfully to depression, anxiety, trauma, addictions, rumination, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, and more. I have practiced  mindfulness meditation and Metta (Compassion) meditation for over two decades and can personally attest to their benefits.
  • Schema Therapy
    Schema Therapy is a form of depth psychology that has shown remarkable results in helping clients change negative, (maladaptive) patterns that they have lived with for a long time, even when other methods and efforts have been unsuccessful. Schema Therapy is very effective in the treatment of trauma and PTSD.

Education and Professional Affiliations

M.S., Community Counseling, Mercer University
Licensed Professional Counselors Association of Georgia
The National Board for Certified Counselors
The International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT).
The Association for Contextual Behavioral Science