About Darlene
Darlene Wilken draws on eight years in clinical settings to support people facing addiction and mental health challenges. She works with adults who are dealing with depression, bipolar conditions, anxiety, ADHD, grief, trauma, and stress. Darlene also helps people who are navigating relationship concerns, parenting strain, career transitions, and intimacy-related issues.
She is a Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC, and holds LPC-MHSP designation in Tennessee. Her background includes inpatient treatment and work in a methadone clinic focused on opiate addiction.
Background and approach
That experience brought regular contact with people who have co-occurring mental health and substance use concerns. She has worked with a wide range of issues, including trauma, emotional abuse, and serious mood disorders. Darlene uses a warm and interactive style in sessions.
She aims to treat each person with respect, sensitivity, and compassion. Sessions are practical and collaborative, with an emphasis on clear goals and doable steps. Her approach draws from several methods that fit different needs.
She uses Client-Centered techniques to center the person's own values and choices. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps identify thinking patterns that affect mood and behavior. Dialectical Behavior Therapy and mindfulness strategies are used to build coping skills and emotional regulation.
She also applies Motivational Interviewing and solution-focused ideas to support change and set achievable goals. Treatment plans are tailored to each person's situation and goals. Darlene works in Tennessee and offers sessions in English, and she is available to international clients as well.
Approaches for online care and practical skill building
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on the person's own goals and values and aims to create a respectful, listening space where the client leads decisions about change. This approach helps when someone needs support finding their own direction and solutions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the link between thoughts, feelings, and actions and uses practical exercises to change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns; it is often used for anxiety, depression, and stress. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, DBT, teaches concrete skills for regulating emotions, tolerating distress, and improving interpersonal effectiveness, which can be helpful for intense emotions and relationship strain.Finding the right approach is part of the work and happens together. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences, and what has or hasn't helped in the past. From there she will suggest methods to try and adjust the plan as progress is made, keeping the person involved in every step.
Online sessions can fit into busy lives. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation when visual cues are helpful. Phone sessions can be a good option when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging let people send messages between sessions or use written check-ins for ongoing support. These options make it easier to keep therapy consistent and flexible around work, parenting, or travel.
Questions people ask
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What this counselor works with
Most often
Also listed
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- Intimacy-related issues
- LGBT
- Parenting issues
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Stress, Anxiety
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 8 years
- Licensed
- Wisconsin, Tennessee
- Languages
- English