About Me
Susan Holley, PhD is a California Licensed Clinical Psychologist with over 30 years of therapy experience, treating a wide variety of issues and populations.
Dr. Holley worked in alcohol and drug rehabilitation for many years (post-master’s degree) conducting individual, group and family therapy. She was in the addiction treatment field during the years when the stigma of alcohol treatment was so negative patients hesitated to inform their own family where they were. She enjoyed the incredible changes people made as they became clean and sober (from feeling hopeless, to becoming whole again).
Dr. Holley, also, has many years experience conducting family interventions to encourage an addicted loved one to enter a treatment program. She has worked with individuals and their families in inpatient as well as intensive outpatient treatment settings.
While Dr. Holley began her doctorate program (California School of Professional Psychology, LA) she worked as an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Counselor for the aerospace and entertainment industries. She was active in the EAP Association. She enjoyed working with CHILDREN at the Switzer Center of Educational Psychology, in Torrance, conducting individual therapy, family therapy, and psychological testing for many behavioral and emotional difficulties.
During her internship at the Veterans Administration, Westwood she worked with adults with various psychiatric diagnoses using individual, family and psychological testing modalities. As a post-doctoral fellow at the UCLA Family Project, she participated in a research treatment project for individuals with bipolar disorder (and their families).
Dr. Holley has conducted numerous community and professional presentations on various topics within her specialties, such as family interventions, the treatment of patients with duel diagnoses, stress management, Family Behavioral Therapy in the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and the use of an employee assistance programs for small and large corporations.
Dr. Holley has had the pleasure of combining her avocational activities with her vocational by conducting equine assisted psychotherapy for women and couples. These groups combine an equine activity from the ground (ie., not riding) with the equine specialist’s stallions and Dr. Holley’s mares (female horses). Relationships between men and women are explored in a comparative psychology point of view in a fun outdoor workshop activity. She also uses the horses in her corporate team building workshops.
Dr. Holley is, also, enjoying writing a book! She is weaving her equine assisted psychotherapy with her psychological practice that can be used in conjunction with therapy or, alone, as a self-help book.
She lives and practices in the northern part of Los Angeles County, in the Mojave Desert area where the skies are blue and there are still places to ride. She has a daughter, and a collie, who keep her on her toes!
