as quoted in Psychology Today…

About Me

Susan M. Pava, LMFT

A Psychotherapist with Much Life Experience

I’ve traveled a circuitous route to become a Psychotherapist, stopping several times along the way. As wisemen say, in life it’s the journey and not the destination.

Like everyone everywhere I’ve experienced some unexpected and overwhelming challenges–the loss of my mother when on the cusp of adulthood and a vicious, scorched-earth divorce that left me reeling. So I get it. Life’s a rollercoaster ride of emotional ups and downs. It wouldn’t be life otherwise.

This is where I come in. My aim is to teach you the skills that will allow you to handle those painful feelings and thoughts causing anxiety, depression and other mood disorders more effectively so they have much less influence and impact over your life.

My Background

Born and raised in New England, I received a BA from Union College in Sociology and a MA from Syracuse University in Communications and Film. I worked for many years in New York City until I moved to Westchester County where I raised my three children who are now well on their way.

After successful careers in advertising and marketing, along with training in the culinary arts, I embarked on my final career, one I believe suits me best. Psychotherapy.

Due to the experience of a highly litigious divorce I was compelled to go back to school with the goal of helping others through overwhelming and emotionally debilitating times. With a masters degree and license in Marriage and Family Therapy, I then earned extensive certifications in various forms of Cognitive Behavioral Therapies.

These two different types of therapies, Systemic and Behavioral, allow me to look at individuals according to the family/systems they inhabit and the thoughts, feelings and behaviors that are a product of these environments. This affords a more complete picture of challenges faced.