Suzanne Boak

Suzanne Boak is a licensed social worker with 32 years of experience in Michigan. She helps people facing relationship and family challenges, grief, parenting stress, low self-esteem, anxiety, and the fallout of trauma or abuse. Suzanne also works with those dealing with anger, intimacy issues, caregiver strain, and life changes such as divorce and separation.

Her style is empathetic and straightforward. Sessions focus on what matters to the person in front of her. She listens closely, helps clarify goals, and offers practical steps to manage stress, improve communication, and rebuild self-worth.

Over a long career Suzanne has supported people managing chronic illness, caregiver burdens, and the stresses of first responder work. She brings experience helping people untangle complicated family patterns and blended family issues. Clients looking for help with commitment, control, or impulsivity find concrete tools to try between sessions.

Suzanne draws on several approaches to fit each person’s needs, including client-centered work, EMDR, the Gottman method, motivational interviewing, and solution-focused techniques. She tailors methods to what a person wants to change and how they prefer to work.

Her Michigan-based practice emphasizes steady progress rather than quick fixes. People leave with clearer priorities, better ways to handle conflict, and steps to move forward after loss or separation.

How these approaches translate to online care

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and building a trusting relationship. The therapist follows the person’s lead, reflects what they say, and helps them find their own solutions. This approach is useful for boosting self-esteem and navigating relationship or family concerns.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is a method used to reduce the impact of traumatic memories. It combines focused discussion with guided bilateral stimulation to help people process past distress and reduce its hold on daily life.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Suzanne will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit their goals and comfort level. That conversation guides whether sessions lean more toward talking-based support, practical solution-focused tasks, or trauma processing when appropriate.

Confirm which session formats are currently offered before booking, since the biography does not list formats. In general, online therapy can make it easier to fit appointments into a busy schedule, reduce travel time, and allow for shorter check-ins when needed. Some formats also let people choose audio-only meetings to reduce bandwidth or skip video on days they prefer not to be on camera.