“Your notion of “fierce love” directly suggests protection, the protectiveness, of a parent for his or her loved young ones. The parent is charged, by evolution, species memory, to guide the young one towards maturity and adulthood, to instill hope, to nurture the uniqueness of the other, the born and as yet unborn aspects of the core self...and you, SueAnne, are not just guiding, you are championing, in the most active of ways, the core self as it moves into the light...” You are swatting away the shamers of the self, you are proclaiming loudly and clearly the integrity of the core self, you are defending it against detractors and those who would injure it or who have tried to injure it. You are always on the patient’s side, not only the sidelines. Every utterance you make carries with it a sense of the patient’s inherent goodness, resilience, right to be and to thrive, etc. You are always saying, ‘Not on my watch.’”
Matt Fried, Ph.D.
"SueAnne's Fierce Love was in full bloom in her presence with
us and with the unbelievable transformative power of her clinical work.
I was amazed at the numerous ways SueAnne championed her patient's
younger and Core selves and the powerful way she modeled allowing her
patients to fully impact her - this literally took my breath away again
and again. I feel so extremely fortunate to have the privilege of
learning this model from SueAnne.”
Michael Berman
“I am currently on my journey home to Los Angeles and am feeling so full. I wanted to thank you for absolutely everything this weekend: your bravery, your vulnerability, your honesty, your authenticity, your infectious laugh, your compassion, your humanity, and of course, your love. I have been to many psychotherapy trainings and yours was, without a doubt, my favorite one. Your loving presence (in the therapy room and in the training room) feels like a warm, safe home I’ve never known and always yearned for.
I, too, am quite fierce in my love and have been given that feedback over the years. My wonderful grandmother, who survived Auschwitz, instilled in me the importance of loving with abandon at a very young age. Giving that whole-hearted, unconditional love to myself came a little later in life :) The way you are able to intentionally and steadfastly infuse your love into your clients feels like a true act of love and presence toward yourself as well. I can feel your commitment to your relationship to yourself in your work with patients.”
Javanne Golob, LCSW