Susan Trefts , LCSW, LICSW

Susan Trefts is a licensed social worker with 21 years of professional experience practicing in Oregon and Washington. She holds the credentials LCSW and LICSW, which stand for Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, reflecting advanced clinical training and state licensure.

Susan’s work focuses on helping people manage stress and anxiety, heal from trauma and abuse, and cope with grief and loss. She also supports clients working on motivation, self-esteem, and confidence, and attends to related concerns such as body image, communication problems, forgiveness, guilt and shame, life purpose, post-traumatic stress, self-love, and women's issues. Her clinical background equips her to support a wide range of emotional and interpersonal challenges.

Believing that each person is the expert of their own story, Susan follows a strengths-based, collaborative approach. She combines client-centered principles with practical skills from Dialectical Behavior Therapy to help clients build coping strategies, clarify goals, and move toward a more fulfilling life. Taking the first step toward change can be difficult, and she aims to provide steady support throughout that process.

Client-Centered Care and DBT Skills Delivered Online

Susan Trefts integrates client-centered therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) into her online practice. Client-centered therapy emphasizes listening with empathy, honoring each person's perspective, and building on individual strengths to foster self-awareness and confidence. This approach can be helpful for people seeking support with self-esteem, life purpose, communication, and relationship concerns.

DBT brings structured skills training in areas such as emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. These skills are practical tools that can help people manage intense feelings, reduce reactive behavior, and improve interactions with others. Together these approaches balance compassionate understanding with actionable strategies for change.

Finding the right combination of approaches is part of the therapeutic process, and Susan collaborates with each person to identify what fits their needs, goals, and preferences. Online sessions - via video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging - make it possible to work together with licensed professionals in ways that suit varied schedules and life demands. This flexibility supports consistent progress while accommodating busy lives and different communication preferences.