- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
- Attachment-Based Therapy
About Susan
Susan Mahachi is an ACA counsellor in Australia with 16 years of experience helping people with stress, anxiety, relationships, parenting, self-esteem and depression. She speaks English and Shona and has worked across many life stages and settings. Susan’s practice centres on practical conversation and steady support rather than labels or jargon.
She works from an adaptable style that draws on several approaches. Sessions often focus on what feels most urgent for the person in front of her - reducing anxiety, managing low mood, or sorting through relationship and parenting strains. She also addresses issues like abandonment, attachment challenges, blended family tensions, body image and caregiver stress.
Susan uses methods such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, attachment-based work, client-centred principles and elements of the Gottman Method. In practice this looks like clarifying values, noticing patterns in thinking and behaviour, and improving communication in relationships.
Her approach is collaborative and practical. Conversations move between understanding how past experiences shape current feelings and trying small, concrete changes to daily routines and relationships. Sessions may include grounding exercises, thought-mapping, or communication practice aimed at making day-to-day life more manageable.
People consult her about forgiveness, family of origin issues, fatherhood concerns, divorce and separation, eating and food-related issues, control and communication problems, and feelings of emptiness. She asks new clients to use the online matching steps and schedule an initial session to begin.
Susan emphasises steady progress over quick fixes and works with each person to find what feels workable for them.
How her approaches translate to online work
Susan often draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in sessions. ACT helps people notice what matters to them and take small steps toward those values, which can be useful for guilt or shame linked to past actions. CBT looks at how thoughts and behaviours keep unhelpful patterns going and offers clear strategies to test and change them.She also uses attachment-based ideas to look at how early relationships shape current feelings, particularly when shame or abandonment are present. That work focuses on recognizing relational patterns and practising different ways of relating in day-to-day interactions.
Choosing the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with the person to decide which methods to try based on needs, goals and preferences. Sessions can shift direction as new issues come up and as small experiments are tried in life outside the sessions.
Please confirm which session formats are currently offered before booking, as the biography does not list specific options. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, allow for shorter check-ins when needed, or reduce travel time so appointments are simpler to keep. Therapists will discuss what will work best in practical terms during the first meeting.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
16+ years
Listed in
Australia
Languages
English, Shona
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she commonly help with?
Susan works with stress, anxiety, relationships, parenting, self-esteem and depression, and related issues such as abandonment, body image and forgiveness.
How would she describe her therapeutic style?
She uses a flexible mix of approaches and focuses on practical conversation, clarifying values and changing everyday patterns.
How much experience does she have?
She has 16 years of professional experience working with a wide range of concerns and life stages.
What credential does she hold and where is she based?
She holds ACA credentials and is based in Australia.
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English and Shona.
Can I work with her from outside Australia?
She is not accepting international clients at this time.
What session formats does she offer?
Please confirm current session options before booking, as the biography does not list specific formats.
How do fees and getting started work?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be cancelled at any time. To begin, select the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, use the crisis numbers.