Suzanne Boak

Suzanne Boak, LMSW, helps people facing anger, relationship strain, grief, and parenting stress. She works with clients who feel overwhelmed by life changes, burnout, or difficulty communicating. Suzanne aims to make therapy a practical place for real change. She keeps sessions grounded and focused on what matters now.

With 32 years of experience in Michigan and overseas, Suzanne draws on several approaches to fit each person. She uses client-centered listening to make room for the client’s experience. She integrates EMDR for people coping with trauma and the Gottman Method for those looking to improve relationship skills. Motivational interviewing and solution-focused work help clients set small, manageable goals.

Suzanne often supports people dealing with chronic illness, caregiver stress, first responder strains, and blended family challenges. She also addresses control issues, impulsivity, guilt, and shame. Her background includes long-term work supporting people through grief and life transitions.

In sessions she focuses on clear, do-able steps and better communication habits. She helps clients notice patterns, practice different responses, and try small experiments between meetings. The aim is to reduce reactive anger and increase choices in difficult moments.

Suzanne encourages people to bring examples from real life into the work. She partners with clients to set goals, check progress, and adjust the plan as needed. Her style is steady, practical, and respectful of each person’s pace.

How Suzanne’s approaches translate to online work

Client-Centered Therapy means the therapist listens closely and follows the client’s lead, helping people find their own solutions and feel heard. This approach is good for relationship strain, self-esteem work, and coping with life changes. EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is used to address trauma symptoms by helping clients process difficult memories and reduce their emotional charge. It can help people with past abuse, accidents, or other traumatic events.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapy process. Suzanne will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit best for their goals and comfort. That may mean starting with client-centered work, trying solution-focused steps, or adding EMDR when trauma processing becomes appropriate.

Session formats are not specified in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives by removing travel time, allowing shorter check-ins during a workday, or letting clients join from a quieter place. Licensed professionals can use online work to continue momentum between in-person visits or when schedules change, while tailoring pacing and homework to what fits each person’s routine.