About Susan
Susan Christoffelsz is an ACA counsellor based in Victoria, Australia, with ten years in independent practice. She supports women dealing with stress, anxiety, burnout and loss. Her approach is warm and down-to-earth, aimed at helping people feel less overwhelmed right away.
Susan draws on a masters degree in counselling from Monash University and further postgraduate study in grief, loss and trauma. Before counselling she worked as a teacher, so she often uses clear, practical explanations and simple exercises clients can try between sessions.
How Susan works
She combines talking with body-based techniques to help calm the nervous system and reduce overwhelm. Susan focuses on life transitions and the everyday struggles that come with them. She helps people who feel stuck or unsure how to set boundaries, and those carrying shame or guilt about prioritising themselves.
Sessions include practical strategies for coping, alongside calming practices that can be used at home. Her style is non-judgmental and supportive, aimed at meeting people where they are. She understands the strain of caring roles and serious illness, and offers help with grief, ageing issues, relationship communication and feelings of isolation.
Susan offers sessions by video, phone, live chat and text-based messaging. For people in Australia she works within the context of subscription sessions that can be cancelled at any time, and scheduling is arranged after completing a short matching questionnaire.
What Susan works with
The areas below are the ones Susan selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Grief
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Blended family issues
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Divorce and separation
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Self esteem
- Women's issues
Training and background
| Register | ACA |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 10 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | Australia |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Therapeutic approaches and how online counselling can help
Two approaches Susan uses are practical calming techniques and grief-focused work. Practical calming techniques involve simple body-based tools and breathing exercises to lower arousal and reduce anxiety symptoms, which can help when feeling overwhelmed or burned out. Grief-focused work involves gentle processing of loss, exploring emotions and practical ways to honour change and move forward, useful for bereavement or major life transitions.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Susan works with each person to decide which methods fit their needs and goals, adjusting as progress is made. She aims to explain options in everyday language and tries different tools until something feels useful.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to connect by video calls, phone sessions, live chat or text-based messaging. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues, phone sessions can be shorter check-ins or work better when bandwidth is limited, and chat or messaging suit quick updates or ongoing support between sessions. These options make counselling easier to fit around work, caring duties and busy schedules while still allowing meaningful therapeutic progress.
Start online instead of waiting
Our partner service asks a few questions about what you are looking for and matches you with a therapist for sessions from home.
Book with SusanWe will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.
Common questions
What concerns does Susan commonly support?
How would you describe her counselling style?
What is Susan's professional background?
Which credentials and location are listed?
Which languages are supported and are international clients accepted?
What session formats does she provide?
How are fees and payment handled?
How do I begin if I want to work with Susan?
A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you. Entries are not assessed or endorsed by this directory.
Other entries for stress, anxiety
Supportive LCSW helping people build strength and clarity
Practical, trauma-aware therapy for everyday life
Practical, relational therapy for life transitions