Susan Kates

Compassionate, practical therapy for lasting change

LMFT Wyoming

Experience: 30 years in practice
Focus areas: Addictions, Trauma and abuse, Stress, Anxiety
Approaches: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Client-Centered Therapy
Languages: English

About Susan

Susan Kates is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) based in Wyoming with 30 years of clinical practice. She supports people facing addictions, trauma and abuse, stress and anxiety, mood disorders including bipolar and depression, relationship and family challenges, grief, parenting concerns, and anger.

Background and approach

Her work also addresses related issues such as abandonment, adoption and foster care dynamics, caregiver stress, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, panic attacks, personality and disruptive mood concerns, and isolation or loneliness. Her style blends practical strategies with empathic listening, helping clients identify patterns that maintain distress and testing small changes that lead to relief.

She commonly uses cognitive behavioral techniques to challenge unhelpful thinking, solution-focused methods to set short-term goals, and trauma-informed practices when past hurts are central to current struggles. Over decades in hospital and outpatient settings, she has worked with populations affected by homelessness and children impacted by trauma, and she brings that experience to community-focused care.

Susan aims to create an open, nonjudgmental atmosphere where clients can explore thoughts and feelings and build skills for a more fulfilling life. She accepts international clients and conducts sessions in English.

How therapeutic methods translate to online care

Susan commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help clients notice and change thoughts and behaviors that contribute to anxiety, depression, and mood instability; this approach emphasizes practical skills and experiments that can be practiced between sessions. She also draws on Solution-Focused Therapy to set clear, short-term goals and identify strengths and past successes that support forward momentum. When trauma is central, trauma-focused practices are integrated to attend to safety, processing of painful memories, and paced recovery.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will work with each person to clarify goals, try techniques, and adjust methods over time so that treatment fits the client's needs, preferences, and pace. Clients are invited to provide feedback and to shape the focus of sessions as progress unfolds.

Online formats such as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives and to connect from different locations. These options offer scheduling flexibility and allow work on skills, problem solving, and processing to continue between in-person visits or as an accessible primary mode of care with licensed professionals.

Frequently asked questions

What concerns does this therapist commonly address?

Susan treats a range of concerns including addictions, trauma and abuse, stress and anxiety, relationship and family problems, grief, parenting difficulties, anger, bipolar disorder, and depression. She also focuses on related issues such as obsessions and compulsions, panic attacks, personality and mood disorders, and caregiver stress.

What is the therapeutic approach and style offered?

The approach combines client-centered listening with practical interventions. Cognitive behavioral techniques are used to identify and shift unhelpful thinking, while solution-focused strategies help set achievable short-term goals and trauma-focused practices guide work with past wounds.

How much clinical experience does the therapist have?

She brings 30 years of professional experience, including work in hospital and outpatient settings and experience with clients impacted by homelessness and childhood trauma.

What are the therapist's credentials and location?

The therapist is licensed as an LMFT in Wyoming with license number WY LMFT LMFT-074 and maintains a practice based in Wyoming.

Can clients who live outside the country work with this therapist?

Yes, she accepts international clients and conducts sessions in English.

Which session formats are available for online work?

Sessions are offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to accommodate different needs and preferences.

How are fees and billing handled for sessions?

Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions are provided through a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.

What steps are required to begin therapy?

To get started, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.

Areas of expertise

Primary focus

Addictions Trauma and abuse

Also works with

Stress, AnxietyRelationship issuesFamily conflictsGriefParenting issuesAnger managementBipolar disorderDepression

Additional focus areas

AbandonmentAdoption and foster careAging and geriatric issuesCaregiver issues and stressCommunication problemsDisruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)Drug and alcohol addictionFamily problemsImpulsivity Isolation / loneliness Mood disorders Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD Panic disorder and panic attacksPersonality disordersPost-traumatic stressProcess addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)Self-harmSexual assault and abuseSmoking / vaping cessationSocial anxiety and phobia

Therapeutic approaches

Client-Centered TherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Solution-Focused TherapyTrauma-Focused Therapy

Experience

30+ years

Licensed

Wyoming

Languages

English