Dara Charlton

Dara Charlton is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Oregon with 20 years of experience. She focuses on helping adults manage depression, anxiety, relationship strain, grief, and the fallout from trauma in straightforward, practical ways.

Dara uses a person-centered style that centers the client's goals. Sessions aim to clarify what matters most, build better communication, and reduce stress. She also draws on cognitive behavioral tools to spot unhelpful thoughts and DBT skills for emotional regulation when needed.

Clients often come for help with life changes like caregiving, chronic illness, shifts in family roles, or recovery from abusive experiences. Dara also supports work on intimacy-related concerns, body image, and issues connected to kink and alternative sexual cultures. She approaches these topics without judgment and with attention to each person’s context.

Her sessions are practical and steady. She helps people learn simple skills for sleeping better, managing anger, and coping with overwhelming emotions. She also addresses addiction, eating concerns, and compassion fatigue with a focus on day-to-day strategies.

Dara emphasizes collaboration. Together with clients she looks for realistic steps forward, practices that fit everyday life, and ways to strengthen resilience. People who want clear, experienced guidance through difficult emotional work often find her approach direct and respectful.

How Dara’s Approaches Translate to Online Work

Client-centered therapy focuses on the person’s goals and values. It creates space for people to describe what they want to change and choose steps that feel doable. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at the link between thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches practical skills to change patterns that cause distress. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) offers concrete tools for managing strong emotions and improving interpersonal effectiveness.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work. Dara will collaborate to decide which methods match a person's needs and preferences. That means trying techniques, checking what helps, and adjusting the plan together rather than imposing a single method.

The practical benefits of online therapy can include easier scheduling around work and caregiving, less travel time, and the ability to fit short check-ins into a busy day. Specific session formats are not listed here, so confirm current options before booking to know what is offered. Many people find that remote sessions make it simpler to attend regularly and apply new skills between meetings.