Dr. Susan L. Waldo (She/Her)

Hi there, welcome to my therapytribe page and my psychological services practice. I’m pleased that you chose to look at my profile and hope I may be of service to you. Practicing psychotherapy, in addition to having close friends and family, raising children (8), having pets, reading good books, and being in nature are the things that give my life the most meaning and fulfillment. I enjoy developing true relationships with my clients as we work together. My belief is that most psychological concerns are best healed through true relational connectedness coupled with courage and a willingness to be reacquainted with the Essential Self. The Essential Self is the most authentic version of ourselves and often gets lost in the shuffle of all the roles we must play in our lives (i.e. mom, dad, sibling, businessman or woman, friend, employee, daughter or son…). My style is client-led because I believe you know better than anyone else what you need to work on. Once you let me know what that is, I will provide you ways to get where you want to go. Through therapy strategies, coping skills, brain science, personal interactions with me, letting you know what best practices are for concerns you have, giving you many tools to chose from, I assist you in healing the hurts you carry. My goal is to equip you to resolve your current issues and give you what you need to make those improvements last well after psychotherapy has ended. I employ a great many strategies, tools, and types of therapy to help clients heal. If one thing does not work, I always have more things to try so clients can remain hopeful to solve their problems even if something we try first does not work. As your therapist, I vow never to judge you no matter what you’ve done, feel guilty or ashamed about. I believe that in our lives we all do the things we believe we need to do to survive, some of those things may, in retrospect, feel wrong to us. Sometimes we violate our own morals and principles in the actions we take because humans are like that. Sometimes we do irreparable harm to someone else or ourselves. I understand this, have experienced it myself, and can help you get through the worst things that have happened to you or that you have done. Freedom is possible even when it feels out of reach. After thirty years working with traumatized children, teens, adults, couples, and families, I have heard and experienced so much, nothing surprises me anymore. So whether your concerns are super unusual or more common among people, you are safe with me. You are safe with me. I will believe in you until you can believe in yourself(selves). I will never give up on you. I will work with you as long as needed to help you get where you want to be. Some therapists try to make you feel better about feeling bad. That would not be me. I want you to actually feel better, to make the necessary changes in your feelings, mind, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior to have a better life, the life you want. This requires honesty, a willingness to take risks, and real relationship between us where we acknowledge and resolve the conflicts between us as they arise. This can be hard and a little awkward at first but without it, there is no real healing. I would love to join your life and healing journey for awhile. Let me know what you need and when you can meet and let’s get started! Some business, I believe psychotherapy should be accessible to everyone so I accept Medicare and Medicaid and keep my cash pay prices much lower than other practitioners at the PhD level (which is the highest level of training in the field of psychology). For the last thirty years, I have accepted numerous insurances, pro bono clients, and sliding scale payments. However, as I approach retirement, I have found my retirement savings to be woefully inadequate due to my generosity. I am at a time in my life where I have to pull in the parameters of generosity to make sure I can support myself in my old age. That is why I am unable to negotiate my full cash pay requirement. I hope you understand. With the lower cash pay charge, almost anyone can afford 1-4 sessions/month. I am very flexible and will work with you whether you can see me once per month or four times a month. I am equally committed to all clients. For those who are out-of-network, I will provide a super bill to help you be reimbursed for your payment by your insurance company. I wish you all the best whether you choose to work with me or another practitioner. My wishes for you and all people: May you be well. May you be at peace. May you find moments of true happiness and excitement. May you be healthy. May you feel your feelings - the good, the bad, and the ugly and accept them all. May you find fun and meaning in your daily tasks. May you learn to accept and love yourself. May you behave toward yourself and others in a way that pleases your highest self. May you find great love and be cherished.