Dr. Susan Rangitsch is a gifted therapist with exceptional intuition and skill. She is not only a therapist, she is a teacher, guide, coach, and mentor. Susan’s willingness to share her own life experience, including recovery from severe depression, offers hope and inspiration.

Susan holds a masters degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Oregon and a doctorate in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Montana. She is a licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in the state of Montana and a second level EMDR practitioner.

Susan’s theoretical background is rooted in transpersonal psychology which incorporates humanistic psychology, therapeutic models that focus on ego development and self actualization, and models of consciousness development that extend beyond the “self”. These models are found in most spiritual traditions. Susan draws from Buddhist psychology and practice, the contemplative traditions of Christianity including those of Thomas Merton and Thomas Keating, and the fundamental traditions of the 12 step programs. In addition, Susan’s work is influenced by years of shamanic training and the study of mythology and indigenous religious traditions. This adds a wealth of knowledge to Susan’s practice including feminine divinity, personal power, and Gaia consciousness.

Susan’s style of therapy is not the traditional “talk therapy”. Dialogue flows from her heartfelt interest in others. Her process is highly interactive and can involve movement, music, journalling, storytelling, ritual or ceremony, meditation, and any of the creative arts. It can take place in an office, on a walk along the river, or in the wilderness. She believes that therapy is useful only to the extent that it can be taken out of the session to affect positive change in one’s life. Ultimately, the goal is not to merely “fix” a problem, but to see problems or issues as challenges and opportunities to transform one’s life.

Over the past 30 years, Susan’s passion for the healing arts, has led her to study with distinguished teachers including Michael Harner, Prem Das at the California Center for Shamanic Studies, Sandra Ingersol, Sun Bear, Marcel Vogel, Stan and Christina Grof and other founders of the Association of Transpersonal Psychology including Roger Walch, Frances Vaughan, John Welwood and John Perry. Richard Moss and Roshi Joan Halifax have been her most influential mentors. In 1993, Susan took the Bodhisattva vow of compassion with the Dali Lama.

Through Susan’s understanding of human nature and her commitment to the transformational process, she has touched the lives of many. Susan lives in Missoula with her husband, Christopher, and daughter, Katherine.