Darlene Kelly, LCSW

Darlene Kelly is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) who uses practical, evidence-informed approaches to help people manage stress, anxiety, mood concerns, and relationship struggles. She leans on cognitive behavioral therapy as one key way to notice patterns of thought and try different behaviors. Her style is calm and accepting, with steady support for people facing big life changes.

Over 24 years of practice have given her experience with a wide range of issues. She helps people cope with trauma and abuse, addictions, grief, and chronic illness. She also works with concerns such as parenting strain, career stress, eating and sleeping problems, anger, and self-esteem challenges.

Darlene draws on several approaches to match what a person needs. Alongside CBT she uses acceptance and commitment therapy to build values-based goals, attachment-based ideas to look at close relationships, client-centered listening to hear each person’s story, and skills from dialectical behavior therapy when intense emotions need new tools.

Sessions focus on clear goals and practical steps the person can try between meetings. She encourages people to name what matters to them and to test small changes that fit their life. Conversations are straightforward and paced by the client’s comfort.

Darlene practices in Louisiana and works in English. She accepts international clients and offers multiple online session formats to fit busy schedules. To begin, a simple matching questionnaire is used to find a good fit before scheduling.

How therapy approaches translate to online care

CBT helps people notice unhelpful thought patterns and test small behavior changes. Online sessions make it easy to practice these experiments between meetings and review what worked. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy focuses on clarifying values and taking committed action even when feelings are difficult, which can guide simple, doable tasks between appointments.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with the person about goals, preferences, and what feels most useful, then try methods together and adjust as needed to find the best fit.

Online therapy offers flexible ways to connect. Video calls let people use body language and interact face to face. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or when a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging support frequent, brief contact and day-to-day coaching or follow-up. These options help fit therapy into work, caregiving, and busy schedules while keeping the focus on practical steps and progress.