Susan Mellema, LCSW
Licensed in Illinois · 30 years in practice
Susan Mellema is a licensed clinical social worker with 30 years of professional experience in Illinois.
License and registration
- LCSW, Illinois
- 149.011313 · expires November 2027
- NPI
- 1700614948 · national provider identifier
- Years in practice
- 30
- Languages
- English
Details are as listed on the therapist's public professional profile. You can check any license with the state board and any NPI with the national registry.
About Susan
Susan Mellema is a licensed clinical social worker with 30 years of professional experience in Illinois. She focuses on practical help for people facing addiction, trauma, grief, and family challenges. Susan starts by listening to each person’s story and noticing strengths they already have.
She believes people know their lives best and that therapy is a team effort. Sessions are straightforward and respectful. Susan aims to help clients name problems, set realistic goals, and try steps that fit their daily lives.
Background and approach
Her approach blends several methods to match what each person needs. She uses client-centered work to prioritize what matters most to the client. Cognitive behavioral ideas help identify unhelpful thinking and try new behaviors.
Motivational interviewing supports decisions to change, especially around substance use. Susan also uses solution-focused and trauma-focused techniques when they fit the situation. Solution-focused work helps people break big problems into small, doable steps.
Trauma-focused methods address painful past events at a pace the client can handle. People reach out about many kinds of family stress, including blended family issues, adoption and foster care concerns, caregiving strain, and communication problems. She also supports those coping with cancer impacts, first responder stress, and feelings of guilt or shame.
Sessions are available in English and offered through a mix of video, phone, live chat, and text messaging. Susan helps people move from where they are toward clearer goals, one step at a time.
Focus areas and approaches
Everything Susan lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.
- Addictions
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Parenting issues
- Adoption and foster care
- Blended family issues
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Intellectual disability
- Multicultural concerns
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Self-love
- Workplace issues
Approaches Susan names
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Motivational Interviewing
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
Naming an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist lists and does not check training records.
Online support
How Susan’s Approaches Work Online
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and following the client's lead. It helps people clarify what matters most to them and lets the therapist support goals the client sets. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at the connection between thoughts, feelings, and actions and offers practical exercises to change unhelpful patterns. Motivational interviewing is a conversational method that helps people resolve mixed feelings about change and build their own reasons to move forward.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with each person about problems, goals, and preferences and then suggest methods that fit. That choice is collaborative and may shift over time as needs change.
Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexibility. Video can be useful for face-to-face conversation, phone calls work well when bandwidth is limited, live chat suits brief check-ins, and text messaging allows short updates between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, caregiving, or medical schedules and to keep progress moving forward.
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Questions people ask
What concerns does she help with?
Susan helps people facing addictions, trauma and abuse, grief, parenting stress, and a range of family problems including blended family and adoption issues.
How would you describe her therapy style?
She works in a direct and collaborative way that centers the client's goals and strengths. Sessions focus on practical steps and conversations that feel relevant to daily life.
How long has she practiced clinically?
She brings 30 years of professional experience in social work and clinical care to her practice in Illinois.
What credentials and location are listed?
She is an LCSW licensed in Illinois and provides services based in that state.
In which languages can sessions be held?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are available?
Sessions can be scheduled as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different needs and schedules.
How does cost work for sessions?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability and services are delivered through a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What should I do to begin working together?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.
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