Professional Bio

Susan Stuntzner

PhD, LPC, LMHP, LCPC, LMHP, ACS, CRC, NCC, BC-TMH

Rehabilitation Professional & Educator / Trainer / Part-time Lecture / Counselor /Counseling Supervisor

Coos Bay, OR

Email: susan.stuntzner@yahoo.com

Dr. Stuntzner earned her doctorate in Rehabilitation Psychology from University of Wisconsin – Madison. She a master’s degree in Counseling/Rehabilitation Counseling from Portland State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Linfield College. Dr. Stuntzner has much applied and practical experience prior to teaching at the collegiate level. She has worked with individuals with disabilities in a variety of capacities including being a director of accessible education, counselor, psychology staff member at a state residential facility, rehabilitation counselor, vocational evaluator, assistant vocational evaluator, and a behavioral skills coach. Such experiences provide her with a diverse array of situations that have broadened her understanding of people with disabilities and their needs in numerous societal contexts.

Dr. Stuntzner is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) for the State of Oregon, Nebraska, and Idaho. She is also a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) for the State of Washington, a Licensed Mental Health Professional (LMHP) for the State of Nebraska, a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC), a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), an Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS), and a Board Certified Tele-Mental Health Professional (BC-TMH). In addition, Dr. Stuntzner is a board approved LPC supervisor for the State of Oregon and the State of Idaho. Her clinical passions center around assisting people with disabilities and their families in learning to cope and adapt to the disability, helping them learn about the disability and its associated changes, and assisting them in seeking and developing the life they seek. Embedded within this work is her interest in exploring and incorporating forgiveness, resilience, and self-compassion (AKA: the Therapeutic Triad) as therapeutic and healing strategies individuals and families can use to assist them with the coping and adaptation process.

Dr. Stuntzner has presented and published on forgiveness, self-compassion, resilience, the therapeutic triad of disability, and coping and adaptation to disability. She has published a number of articles on forgiveness, self-compassion, and resilience within the context of disability and has given over 60 trainings. Dr. Stuntzner is the author of three books, Living with a Disability: Finding Peace Amidst the Storm, Reflections from the Past: Life Lessons for Better Living, and Resiliency and Coping with Disability: The Family After. She is the developer of a 7-module forgiveness intervention and a co-developer of a 10-module resilience intervention for persons with disabilities. She is the creator of four online courses, offered as a part of the Commission on Rehabilitation Counseling Certification e-university program. The e-university courses address forgiveness and resilience among people with disabilities and throughout the rehabilitation process, and self-care, resilience, and well-being for the counseling professional, and self-compassion as a part of our daily lives.  

Susan has been interviewed on a number of occasions on topics related to disability, resilience, forgiveness, and the therapeutic triad of disability. A number of these interviews with access to the articles, podcasts, or interviews are provided below:

April 2019 – Interview by American Counseling Association, Laurie Meyers: “Grieving Everyday Losses” for Counseling Today.

• Article is a composite of interviews with counseling professionals who work with people on grief and loss. The contributions I was interviewed for focused more on how grief and loss relates to disability.

https://ct.counseling.org/2019/04/grieving-everyday-losses/

 July 2018 – Stuntzner, S., Dalton, J., & MacDonald, A. (2018, July). The therapeutic triad of disability. Counseling Today, 46-51.

• Article introduces the concept of the therapeutic triad and the interconnectedness of forgiveness, self-compassion, and resilience as it relates to the experience of disability

https://ct.counseling.org/2018/07/the-therapeutic-triad-of-disability/

February 21, 2018 – Interview by Mike Shook for International Podcast, The Thoughtful Counselor. “The Therapeutic Triad of Disability” (Part 2) Beijing, China.

• This interview (podcast) is a continuation about the therapeutic triad (AKA: forgiveness, self-compassion, and resilience and how these three intersect with one another as a part of healing), barriers people may encounter, and strategies people and professionals can use to cultivate them.

https://thethoughtfulcounselor.com/2018/02/the-therapeutic-triad-of-disability-forgiveness-self-compassion-and-resilience-with-susan-stuntzner-and-angela-macdonald-part-2/

February 17, 2018 – Interview by Mike Shook for International Podcast, The Thoughtful Counselor. “The Therapeutic Triad of Disability” (Part 1) Beijing, China.

• Interview (podcast) is about the therapeutic triad (AKA: forgiveness, self-compassion, and resilience and how these three intersect with one another as a part of healing), barriers people may encounter, and strategies people and professionals can use to cultivate them.

https://thethoughtfulcounselor.com/2018/02/the-therapeutic-triad-of-disability-forgiveness-self-compassion-and-resilience-with-susan-stuntzner-and-angela-macdonald-part-1

January 2017 – Interview by American Counseling Association, Lindsey Phillips “The Selfish Act of Forgiving” for May’s Issue of Counseling Today.

• Forgiveness is powerful, not always easy to do, and is a topic and approach that is often misunderstood. In this article, counselors were interviewed to help shed insight into the meaning of forgiveness, resistance to forgiveness, becoming ready to forgive, learning to forgive, and models, strategies and approaches people can use to work on forgiveness. 

https://ct.counseling.org/2017/04/self%E2%80%8Aish-act-forgiving/

August 2015 – Interview by American Counseling Association, Laurie Meyers: “Retaining Family Focus” for Counseling Today.

• Disability is an experience that affects both the individual and the family. A number of professionals were interviewed to share their thoughts and experience pertaining to issues that arise behaviorally and within the family, the importance of personal and familial support, and changes that may occur within the family.

https://ct.counseling.org/2015/09/retaining-family-focus/

May 2014 – Guest Speaker for Peace Talks Radio: “How Persons with Disabilities can Make Peace with Society and Persons Without Disability.” Radio can be found at the following links:

• Interview is about how people living with a disability can make peace with society and some of the issues they encounter.

http://www.goodradioshows.org/peaceTalksL133.htm

http://www.prx.org/pieces/118391-making-peace-with-disability