About Susan Maguire, LCSW
If you’ve always been the capable one — the one who holds it together, shows up, and keeps everything on track — you may have arrived at a point where that’s no longer working the way it used to.
You may be carrying responsibilities you never imagined, navigating hard transitions you didn’t choose, or noticing emotional patterns that no longer feel okay.
I’m Susan Maguire, a licensed therapist and certified coach based in Oldtown, Alexandria, Virginia. I work with women - many in midlife - who are carrying more than they let on — and are ready, maybe for the first time, to make time and space for themselves to feel better. While much of my work is with women in midlife, I also work with adults of any age who are drawn to reflective, insight-oriented work and are genuinely seeking to grow.
My Approach
I work from a relational, attachment and insight‑oriented therapy approaches. In practice, that means we pay attention to the relationships and patterns that have shaped your life, the emotions and needs you’ve learned to push aside, and the pressures you’ve been carrying — often for years.
We go at your pace. My role isn’t to offer quick fixes or surface‑level strategies. It’s to help you explore what’s beneath the surface and the overwhelm — the expectations, beliefs, and long‑standing ways of coping that may no longer serve you.
Together, we look at what feels heavy, what feels unclear, and what might support a more grounded and sustainable way forward.
Therapy in midlife isn’t about reinventing yourself. It’s about reconnecting with yourself — with clarity, compassion, and steadiness.
Who I Work With
Many of the women I work with are high‑functioning — capable, accomplished, dependable. They may have spend years holding things together for everyone else. From the outside they look fine. On the inside they’re anxious, depleted, or quietly wondering why life doesn’t feel the way they expected it to.
They’re often navigating:
• Anxiety or chronic stress that won’t let up
• A low mood, emotional fatigue, or a flatness they can’t explain
• Grief, loss or other major life transitions (or disruptions)
• Perfectionism and relentless self‑pressure
• Questions about identity, purpose, or what they actually want now
If any of that resonates, you’re in the right place.
Training & Credentials
I am licensed in Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC,
and have completed post-graduate training in the approaches
most relevant to the clients I work with:
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) & Mindfulness-based CBT
Attachment & Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapies
Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)
M.S.W., Masters Social Work, Catholic University / M.A., American University / B.S., University of Colorado
Ready to Take the First Step?
You don’t have to have it all figured out. A brief consultation call gives us a chance to talk about what’s been going on and whether
working together feels like a good fit.
A Little About Me
Like many of the women I work with, my own life in midlife has included shifts, questions, and moments of rethinking things. I’ve done my own personal work and continue to. I’ve sat with uncertainty and navigated transitions I didn’t choose. All of that has shaped how I show up for y clients — with genuine respect for the courage it takes to slow down, look inward, and grow.
It’s a big part of why this work continues to feel meaningful to me every day.
My company’s name, Clear Skye Counseling, was inspired by the beauty and spaciousness of the Isle of Skye in Scotland — a place that embodies exactly what I hope therapy can offer: clarity, room to breathe, and seeing a longer view.
