Therapist profile
Dr. Darlene Viggiano, LMFT
California
LMFT - Relationships and Anger work
Continue with DarleneKey details
- CredentialsLMFT
- LicenseLMFT, California / 35420
- NPI1679632491
- Experience18 years
- LanguagesEnglish
- LocationCalifornia
About
- Attachment approaches
- CBT techniques
- Clinical hypnosis
About Darlene
Dr. Darlene Viggiano is a California LMFT with 18 years of clinical experience. She holds a PhD in Psychology and has provided clinical care and supervision in outpatient and intensive outpatient settings since the late 1990s. Her practice addresses relationship strain, family conflict, trauma and abuse, grief, intimacy concerns, stress, anxiety, addictions, sleep problems, parenting stress, anger, self-esteem, and mood disorders such as depression and bipolar issues.
She draws on approaches that emphasize how attachment patterns and present interactions shape feeling and behavior. Sessions often focus on concrete communication changes, recognizing emotional triggers, and developing more workable strategies for stressful moments. Cognitive techniques are used to identify unhelpful thought patterns and test them against daily experience.
Her background includes work with people who experienced childhood molestation, dual diagnosis presentations, perinatal substance issues, and those involved in batterers' intervention programs. She has taught paraprofessionals and students and served as a clinical lead and case manager in program settings. She has also facilitated anger management, couples communication, hypnosis, and mindful movement groups.
She holds certification in clinical hypnosis from the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis and earlier certification in the Duluth Model batterers' intervention. She has published two books related to dreams and pregnancy loss and has presented on Jungian and transpersonal topics. Her professional memberships include the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis.
Practical work in her sessions centers on improving communication, reducing escalation, and building clearer coping steps for anger and related stress. People who want to start are asked to complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule a first session through the listed online therapy options.
How sessions work
How her approaches translate to online work
Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on patterns in close relationships and how they shape reactions. Online sessions use conversation and guided exercises to notice those patterns, practice different responses, and improve communication in real situations.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. In video or phone sessions she helps identify unhelpful thinking, tests it against daily life, and builds small behavioral experiments to reduce reactivity and anger spikes.
Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) helps name and work with core emotions that drive conflict. Through structured dialogue she guides people to access deeper feelings, shift defensive patterns, and try new interaction moves with partners or family members when appropriate.
Finding the right approach is part of the process. She will collaboratively assess needs, goals, and preferences to decide which methods to emphasize. That choice can shift over time as skills are practiced and new challenges arise.
Session formats are not specified in the biography, so please confirm current online session options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a weekday break, reduce commute time, allow shorter check-ins by phone, or enable participation even when travel or work schedules are tight.
Areas of focus
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
18+ years
Listed in
California
Languages
English
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she help with?
She helps with relationship and family problems, trauma and abuse, grief, intimacy issues, stress, anxiety, addictions, sleeping problems, parenting strain, anger, mood disorders, and related challenges.
How would she approach anger issues in sessions?
She uses attachment-informed work, cognitive techniques, and emotionally-focused methods to identify triggers, practice communication, and develop step-by-step coping strategies for high-intensity moments.
What is her clinical experience?
She has 18 years of practice and experience as an intensive outpatient clinician, case manager, and clinical lead supervisor, plus work teaching paraprofessionals and students.
What are her credentials and location?
She is a California LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist) practicing from California with a PhD in Psychology.
Does she offer sessions in languages other than English?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people outside the US work with her?
She does not accept international clients at this time.
How does billing and cost work?
Cost varies with location and sessions operate through a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
What do I do to get started?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. A license can be checked with the state board.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If anyone is unsafe, use the crisis numbers.