Testimonials

"I could not believe how unpleasant my 15-year-old daughter had become. She could clear a room just by entering it. We tried to talk to her, but it was like she had started speaking a different language. Luckily, we found Darlene. She was able to communicate with our daughter (she must know this new language). After just a short period of time, we enjoy our daughter again."
-M. Williams

"We bring our 8 year old son to see Darlene and we are both very pleased with the profound progress she has helped him make. Darlene brings useful and realistic problem-solving ideas and goals to every meeting. It is extremely difficult to find someone your children feel completely comfortable with and Darlene is that person for my son. In short...she is wonderful and I would recommend her to anyone."
-M. Kelly
San Diego, CA

"My experience with Darlene over the last 3 years has only been positive. She has helped me get an accurate diagnosis of my eldest son and has also explained the impact of having a child with Asperger’s Disorder on the family. Her straightforward nature has helped me and my other son deal with having a child with a disability. Also, she is working with both boys preparing them for the possibility of frequent deployments and long periods of not being able to communicate with their father who is currently active duty military. I would gladly recommend (and have in the past) Darlene’s services."
-A.D.

"The first time I walked into Darlene's office I was a bundle of nerves not knowing what to expect, but within minutes of meeting her this ball melted completely away. Since then things have been smooth sailing. I approached Darlene with an issue that had been heavily weighing on my shoulders for years, and she helped me find the courage to face what I needed to in order to make myself happy. Almost a year later I sit here, happier than I have been in ages. As a client, I feel that the support Darlene offers is amazing. She is so easy to talk to that it really does seem like a friend is sitting across from you. If I had to pick one thing that stands out about her I would say this: Darlene loves what she does, her work is not work for her it is a passion. She genuinely touches the lives of the people she works with, and I personally am grateful that I have had the opportunity to work with her."
-K.D.
Age 26

"One thing I noticed immediately about Darlene was that she was very accessible and responsive about setting up appointments and outlining a plan that would be most supportive to my needs as a client. As a therapist I found Darlene to be personable, honest and attentive to keeping track of my progress during our time together. This helped me build trust, stay focused on my goals and get the most out of each session. During each step of the process I felt like Darlene affirmed my strengths and positive qualities while challenging me to examine the places where I needed to grow and become more aware of myself. I would recommend Darlene as a therapist to other transgender people like myself and other adults in general."
-Nico A.

My son Ari has been in the Social Skills Group since 11/21/06. When my son entered he had severe social/coping issues. Now, my son is no longer in therapy and only attends this group. I feel the way Darlene interacts with the children helps them really understand. All the topics are great and much-needed; they have to do with the everyday life of a child. I have referred Darlene to many people and in fact, I have Ari’s past teachers calling me for information on the group. They saw how much my son Ari improved and wanted to share it with others. It has almost been a year and my son has improved so much. He copes better with other kids and I even catch him saying things he has learned in group. Just the other day he told a boy who was being mean to him, "You need to stop and think how it feels for someone to say that to you!" The boy said, "That would not be nice and I would not like it". Then Ari said, "Then don't do it to me". The boy said, "OK!" and off they went to play. I know for a fact that he has learned a lot from this group, because I can sit back and look at my child socially now and he is so on task. I always wanted a group like this and never could find one. I am so glad that Darlene saw the need and did it. I will be forever grateful of Darlene's services.
-C. Evans