Susan Trefts, LCSW, LICSW

Licensed in Washington · 21 years in practice

Susan Trefts is a licensed social worker in Oregon who helps people facing stress, anxiety, grief, trauma, and low self-esteem.

License and registration

LICSW, Washington: LW60906461 · expires November 2026
LCSW, Oregon: L5658 · expires December 2027
NPI: 1154480143 · national provider identifier
Years in practice: 21
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 Trefts is a licensed social worker in Oregon who helps people facing stress, anxiety, grief, trauma, and low self-esteem. She emphasizes practical support and respects each person as the expert on their own life. Her style is steady and collaborative, aiming to make the first step feel manageable for someone who is worried or unsure.

With 21 years of experience, she draws on approaches that focus on the relationship and on concrete skills.

Background and approach

Sessions often center on what is most pressing now, while also building tools to cope with intense emotions and repeated patterns. That can include strategies for managing anxiety, navigating loss, and reducing compassion fatigue. Susan uses client-centered work to listen, reflect, and help people find their own solutions.

She also incorporates Dialectical Behavior Therapy - DBT - skills to teach emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and clearer communication. These methods are chosen to match the person’s needs rather than to follow a fixed agenda. People meet her for help with body image, guilt and shame, forgiveness, life purpose, and women's issues as well as post-traumatic stress concerns.

Conversations are practical and grounded, with attention to small changes that add up over time. She is licensed as an LCSW in Oregon and holds a LICSW credential in Washington. Sessions are offered in English and are available through a mix of video, phone, chat, and messaging formats.

Focus areas and approaches

Everything Susan lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.

Approaches Susan names

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

Practical approaches for online healing and skills-building

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and understanding the person’s experience. The therapist offers empathy and reflection to help people identify their own goals and strengths, which can be especially helpful for building confidence, finding direction, or coping with grief.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, teaches specific skills for managing strong emotions, tolerating distress, and improving communication. These skills are useful for anxiety, post-traumatic stress reactions, and situations where emotions feel overwhelming or hard to control.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will work with each person to see which methods fit their needs and goals, and will adjust the plan as those needs change over time.

Online therapy offers flexible ways to connect, including video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful when face-to-face interaction matters, phone works well for a shorter check-in or when bandwidth is limited, and messaging or chat can fit into a busy day or provide ongoing support between sessions. These options make it easier to keep continuity of care and practice skills in real-life moments.

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Questions people ask

What kinds of concerns does this therapist help with?

Susan helps people working through stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, and low self-esteem. She also supports concerns such as compassion fatigue, body image, guilt and shame, and life purpose.

How would you describe the therapeutic style?

The approach is collaborative and down-to-earth. Sessions combine listening with practical skill-building so clients can manage intense emotions and improve daily functioning.

What is Susan's professional background?

She has 21 years of professional experience working with people facing a range of emotional and trauma-related concerns. Her work emphasizes steady support and practical tools.

Which credentials and location apply to this therapist?

She holds LCSW and LICSW credentials and practices in Oregon. The profile lists both Oregon LCSW and Washington LICSW as credential details.

What languages are supported for sessions?

Sessions are offered in English.

Which session formats are available?

Therapy is provided via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging depending on the client's needs and preferences.

How are costs and billing handled?

Cost varies with location and therapist availability. Sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.

What are the first steps to begin working together?

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

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