Darlene Wilken
Compassionate counseling for practical recovery
- Credentials
- LPC, LPC-MHSP
- Experience
- 8 years
- Licensed in
- Wisconsin, Tennessee
- Languages
- English
- Format
- Online sessions
About Darlene
Darlene Wilken is a licensed professional counselor with experience in both mental health and substance use care. She holds LPC and LPC-MHSP credentials and has spent eight years working with adults in various treatment settings. Her background includes inpatient work and ongoing practice in a clinic serving people with opiate addiction.
She offers straightforward, respectful care and focuses on practical steps people can use right away. Her style is warm and interactive.
Background and approach
She centers sessions on listening first, then helps clients set clear, doable goals. Common concerns she addresses include addiction, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, stress, and grief, as well as relationship and intimacy issues and parenting challenges. She also has experience with trauma and emotional abuse.
Darlene blends several approaches to shape each plan. She uses client-centered listening alongside cognitive behavioral tools and dialectical behavior strategies. Mindfulness and motivational interviewing also appear in her work to support change and emotional regulation.
In sessions she focuses on simple skill building and problem-solving. That might mean practicing coping skills, identifying unhelpful thinking patterns, or setting small steps toward recovery from substance use. She aims to make therapy practical and respectful of each person’s situation.
Her practice operates from Tennessee and offers services in English. She works with people who seek help for drug and alcohol addiction and related mental health concerns, tailoring the pace and techniques to individual needs.
Therapeutic approaches adapted for online care
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening carefully and accepting each person's experience without judgment; it helps people feel heard and guides them to find their own solutions. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at thoughts and behaviors and teaches concrete skills to reduce anxiety, depression, and unhelpful patterns. Dialectical behavior therapy, DBT, combines acceptance and change strategies and includes skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and improving relationships.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with each person about their needs, goals, and preferences and then collaboratively choose methods to try. Sessions may combine techniques so the plan fits the individual's situation and changes over time as progress is made.
Online therapy makes these approaches more convenient. Video sessions allow face-to-face interaction for skills practice and coaching. Phone calls work when video isn't possible, and live chat or text messaging can support brief check-ins, homework prompts, or coaching between sessions. These options give flexibility for busy days and different comfort levels while keeping the focus on clear steps and supports that help people move forward.
Client-Centered Therapy
The direction comes from you rather than from a set programme. The therapist offers a warm, non-judgemental space to think out loud and work at your own pace. Online, this rests on the relationship rather than on being in the same room.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT looks at the link between what you think, how you feel, and what you do. You work on noticing unhelpful patterns and practising steadier responses. It suits online sessions well, because much of the work happens between appointments and can be talked through from anywhere.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Concrete skills for riding out strong emotion, tolerating distress, and handling relationships without things escalating. The skills are practised in daily life, so between-session support by message or phone fits naturally.
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she address?
What is her therapeutic style?
How much clinical experience does she have?
What are her credentials and where is she based?
Can I work with her if I live outside the United States?
What session formats are available?
How much do sessions cost?
How do I begin working with her?
Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- 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
Next step
Talk to Darlene
- Takes a few minutes
- Nothing to set up just to look
- Stop at any point