Darlene Tando
Support for families navigating identity and stress
- Credentials
- LCSW
- Experience
- 25 years
- Licensed in
- Virginia, California
- Languages
- English
- Format
- Online sessions
About Darlene
Darlene Tando is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 25 years of clinical experience. She focuses on family and parenting concerns along with stress, anxiety, depression, and LGBT issues. Her manner is warm and empathetic, and she aims to make conversations feel honest and down-to-earth.
She believes connection and moments of lightness can help when things feel heavy. She brings long experience supporting people through gender questions and relationship challenges.
Background and approach
She has worked with transgender and gender nonconforming individuals and also aids families navigating those journeys. Her background includes training professionals and parents, and she has written a book intended to help parents who choose affirmation. In sessions she offers practical coping strategies alongside chances to build insight.
She listens for patterns in family dynamics and helps identify small changes that can ease stress at home. When needed she helps people sort through next steps for accessing medical and mental health care. Teletherapy is part of her practice, and she offers a range of remote formats for ongoing support.
Frequency of sessions can be adjusted to fit life rhythms, with less frequent meetings available when weekly visits are not possible. Her licensure spans California and Virginia as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She works in English and focuses on creating a respectful, nonjudgmental space for parents and their families to talk through hard things.
Therapeutic approaches and flexible online care
Evidence-based techniques often used in her work focus on practical skills and affirming identity. One approach emphasizes building concrete coping strategies to manage stress and mood disruptions. This helps people develop daily habits and tools to reduce anxiety and improve mood.Another common focus is gender-affirming support, which centers listening, informed guidance about next steps, and help with family communication. This approach supports people through coming out, relationship conversations, and connecting with appropriate medical or mental health resources when needed.
Finding the right method is collaborative. The therapist helps clients identify what feels most useful based on their goals, needs, and preferences. Together they adjust the plan over time so the approach fits the person and the family situation.
Online therapy offers practical benefits for busy families. Video calls let people meet face to face from home, while phone sessions provide a simpler audio option. Live chat and text-based messaging allow ongoing reflection between sessions and flexible check-ins. These formats make it easier to fit care into a family schedule and to maintain continuity when life gets busy.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- LGBT
- Family conflicts
Also works with
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Depression
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- Mood disorders
- Parenting issues
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Experience
- 25 years
- Licensed
- Virginia, California
- Languages
- English
Next step
Talk to Darlene
- Takes a few minutes
- Nothing to set up just to look
- Stop at any point