Works with
- Anger
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Grief
- Eating disorders
- Depression
How Dara works
Practical facts
- Credentials
- LCSW
- Licensed in
- California, Oregon
- Years in practice
- 20
- Languages
- English
- Session format
- Online, through our partner platform
About Dara
Dara Charlton is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 20 years of experience helping adults manage anger, stress, anxiety, depression, and relationship problems. She works with people who are exhausted by emotional overload and want practical tools to feel steadier day to day. Her style is direct and compassionate, focused on what will make a difference now.
Dara uses straightforward methods to help people notice thought patterns and change unhelpful habits.
Background and approach
She draws on cognitive behavioral ideas to tackle negative thinking, and on dialectical behavior skills to teach emotional regulation and better coping. Mindfulness practices are woven in to help calm the nervous system and improve sleep. She also uses client-centered and emotionally-focused approaches to strengthen communication and intimacy.
That means sessions often focus on what matters most to the person in front of her, and on building clearer, kinder ways of relating. Many people bring issues like grief, addiction, body image, or caregiver stress, and Dara helps break those concerns into manageable steps.
Over two decades she has worked with a wide range of life changes including chronic illness, aging concerns, blended family dynamics, and trauma recovery. She emphasizes simple skills for coping with intense feelings, and ways to rebuild trust in relationships and in oneself. Dara offers video, phone, live chat, and text-based messaging sessions to fit different schedules.
She aims to help people gain steady routines, clearer communication, and more control over intense emotions like anger.
What Dara works with
Everything Dara lists, in the therapist's own terms. Anger is the reason this directory exists; the rest tells you what usually sits alongside it in Dara's practice.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Grief
- Eating disorders
- Depression
- Addictions
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Intimacy-related issues
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Coping with life changes
- Compassion fatigue
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family problems
- Fertility issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Personality disorders
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trichotillomania
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Dara lists
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
How Dara's Approaches Work Online
Client-centered therapy focuses on the person's needs and values. In practice this means sessions start with what matters most to the client and work at their pace, helping them make choices that feel right. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts and behaviors keep problems going and teaches concrete steps to change those patterns; it often helps with anxiety, depression, and sleep issues.Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, emphasizes emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and clearer communication. Those skills are useful when anger or intense emotions make life feel chaotic. Dara uses these approaches together so treatment fits the person's goals rather than forcing a single method.
Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with the client about goals, try a few strategies, and adjust based on what works. Clients are invited to give feedback and shape how sessions proceed so the work stays relevant and practical.
Online sessions are offered by video, phone, live chat, and text-based messaging to provide flexibility. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone calls can be lower bandwidth and work well on the go. Live chat and messaging are useful for short check-ins, skill practice, or when writing feels easier than speaking. These options make it simpler to fit therapy into a busy life and to keep progress between sessions.
Questions people ask about Dara
What kinds of concerns does Dara help with?
She helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, anger, relationship issues, grief, addictions, and sleep problems, among other concerns listed in her specialty areas.
How would you describe Dara's therapy style?
Her approach is warm and direct. She uses practical tools from cognitive and behavioral methods combined with emotion-focused listening.
What is her professional background?
Dara has 20 years of clinical experience and practices as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, bringing long-term experience working with adults across many life challenges.
Where is Dara licensed and located?
She is licensed in Oregon as an LCSW and bases her practice there.
Which languages are supported in sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are available?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to match different preferences and schedules.
How are costs handled for sessions?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with Dara?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.