Meet Susan Ortolano

My Path to a Conscious Marriage

My Personal Story

Yes, I was one of those little girls dreaming about love, weddings, marriage, white picket fences, and the handsome guy on the white horse (or perhaps a Mercedes). When I was eleven, I even dreamt of my true love arriving in a lovely carriage, but I could never see his face. This dream repeated several times, always with the same faceless figure.

After enduring decades of painfully miserable relationships with several narcissistic type men, a broken engagement, and a highly toxic, painful marriage that crashed and burned, I figured being alone and single had to be better than all that! I was just about ready to give up on the dream of being happily married, which would have been a crushing blow.

Instead, I took my sadness and frustration about love and marriage and made it my mission to uncover why I had been through so many devastating relationships, most of them marred by infidelity and betrayal. I unearthed hidden issues in my consciousness that I hadn’t even admitted to myself—issues that were holding me back from real love and trapping me in toxic relationship cycles with the same type of men over and over again. I also needed to understand marriage—what kind of marriage I wanted, who I needed to be, and what I needed to know to have an extraordinary one.

My Quest

I embarked on a quest to discover the mindset, knowledge, tools, and skills I needed to create a healthy, lasting marriage. I did the inner work, realigning myself and healing much of my past, so I could meet the right, conscious partner and build the kind of marriage I truly desired. Through deep personal breakthroughs, that vision became real. In 2001, I married my husband, Rick. From the beginning, we were intentional about doing premarital work because we understood its value and necessity.

Having both experienced the pain of struggling marriages in our past, we knew there had to be something different. Through the work we each did before coming together, we began to see what was truly possible. We’ve both lived and continue to practice these principles in our own marriage, and they truly work. Today, we share a deep friendship, mutual respect, and a connection that continues to grow. It’s something we’ve built together, one intentional step at a time. Our marriage holds a depth of intimacy that goes beyond the surface, emotional, intellectual, and soulful. It’s a closeness that feels steady, expansive, and real. A marriage that feels like home, honest, connected, and deeply alive.

My Approach to Creating a Conscious Marriage

Marriage isn’t just about finding the right person. It’s about learning how to build a partnership that can grow, adapt, and deepen over time.

Whether a couple is preparing for marriage or working to repair a marriage that has been strained by conflict, the same truth applies- lasting change begins within each partner.

Many relationship programs don’t just focus on communication techniques or strategies for resolving disagreements. Those tools are helpful and essential, but they often address only the surface aspects of what is happening in a relationship.

In my work with couples, we go deeper. I help partners recognize the emotional patterns, beliefs, old wounds, and protective responses underneath the surface that shape how they show up with one another -especially during moments of stress, misunderstanding, or conflict.

This work is guided by my Sacred Integration Method™, the framework that supports all of my programs within the Conscious Marriage Academy. Through this approach, couples learn how to develop greater awareness, take meaningful ownership of their responses, and communicate with greater clarity, emotional responsibility, heal old patterns still living internally that impact the marriage, as well as learn new ways to communicate, resolve conflict, build trust, align together, and create an unshakeable foundation. As well as a clear vision of their marriage.

As couples begin practicing these shifts, they move away from blame, defensiveness, and emotional distance, and toward deeper understanding, trust, emotional safety, and connection.

Because a conscious marriage is not something that simply happens – it is something two people learn to create and recreate together as their marriage grows and evolves over time.

Credentials & Professional Background

In addition to my personal journey and decades of experience working with couples, my work is supported by extensive education and professional training in psychology, coaching, and relationship development.

Education

  • Master’s degree in psychology — University of Santa Monica
  • Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish Language & Literature—University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
  • Two Teaching Credentials- Cal State Dominguez Hills (CSUDH)

Professional Coaching Credentials

  • Professional Certified Coach (PCC) — International Coach Federation
  • Master Relationship Coach Certification — Relationship Coaching Institute
  • Master Certified Life Coach — Certified Life Coach Institute
  • Certified Trauma-Informed Coach — Coach Training World

Specialized Training

  • Conflict Mediation Certification — Center for Dispute Resolution
  • Release Coach Training — Sedona Training Associates
  • Group Coach Facilitator Certification — Coach and Grow R.I.C.H.
  • Transformational Coaching Academy— Janye Jewell/ COD

** As a holder of an International Coach Federation Credential, I am required to complete
and report 40 hours of Continuing Coach Education ( CCE) hours to renew my credential to
stay current, ethical, and aligned with the highest coaching standards.

Leadership & Professional Development

  • Leadership Training — Landmark Education
  • Leadership Training — Ascension Leadership Academy

Author – Remarrying Right – Creating Everlasting Love with your True Soul Mate.

My personal experiences, education, training, and professional background have all shaped my core philosophy- Marriage Success is an Inside Job

The Love Story That Changed Everything

My husband Rick occasionally joins me in working with couples, bringing a grounded presence and a deep focus on the inner healing work that often supports lasting relationship change. His perspective helps couples recognize how personal healing, emotional awareness, and conscious communication work together to strengthen a partnership. Together, we continue practicing these principles in our own marriage every day.