Suzanne Santos LPC, ACS Founder/ Therapist
Suzanne Santos is the founder of Guided Hope Center and has over 15 years of experience in the mental health field. Her background includes outpatient counseling, Intensive In-Home Community Counseling (IIC), trauma work, parent coaching, and working with children, teens, adults, couples, and families. She earned her Master’s degree in Counseling from Centenary University in Hackettstown, NJ.
Suzanne has advanced trauma training and is Gottman Level 2 trained in couples counseling. She is also continuing to expand her training to better support couples, intimacy concerns, and the LGBTQ+ community.
Clients often describe Suzanne as direct, honest, and approachable. She is known for her no-nonsense style while also creating a warm, supportive environment where clients feel safe enough to do meaningful work. She believes therapy should be collaborative, genuine, and focused on helping people create real change in their lives and relationships.
Suzanne founded Guided Hope Center after seeing the increasing need for quality mental health care and the long waitlists many people face when reaching out for support. Her vision for the practice is to provide compassionate, effective care in a space where clients feel understood, respected, and supported from the start.
Through Guided Hope Center, Suzanne and her team support clients navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship issues, family stress, parenting challenges, and life transitions. The practice currently offers telehealth sessions and with in-person services.
Katie Cautero, LAC, NCC
Katie Cautero is a Licensed Associate Counselor (LAC) at Guided Hope Center and a National Certified Counselor (NCC). She earned her Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. Through her clinical internship, Katie gained experience supporting clients through a range of trauma-related behavioral and mental health challenges, including crisis intervention. This experience deepened her commitment to meeting people in their hardest moments with steadiness, compassion, and care.
Katie believes that seeking support is a courageous step toward growth and feels honored to be part of each client's journey. Her approach is person-centered and strengths-based, drawing from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), somatic-informed approaches, creativity, and emotion-focused interventions. She tailors each session to her clients' unique goals, helping them build self-awareness, healthier coping skills, and lasting change.
Katie works with adolescents, young adults, and adults experiencing stress, anxiety, life transitions, relationship concerns, identity development, self-esteem challenges, trauma, and women's issues. She is passionate about empowering clients to reconnect with their strengths, build resilience, and gain confidence while navigating life's challenges.
Clients are welcome to show up exactly as they are. Recognizing that safety looks different for everyone, Katie strives to create a warm, collaborative space grounded in curiosity, trust, and genuine connection. Her hope is that clients leave each session feeling more empowered, understood, and equipped with the tools they need to move forward with greater confidence and self-compassion.
Katie may be a great fit if you are:
- Feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, or the demands of daily life
- Healing from trauma or difficult life experiences
- Navigating a major life transition or identity changes
- Wanting to build healthier relationships and improve communication
- Looking to strengthen your self-esteem and self-compassion
- Seeking a therapist who provides a warm, collaborative, and creative approach to therapy