Daryl Austin, LMFT

Daryl Austin is a licensed marriage and family therapist who helps people manage anxiety, stress, depression, relationship strain, self-esteem concerns, and effects of past trauma. He keeps language simple and practical so worried parents and individuals can understand what to expect. Sessions focus on concrete skills and clear next steps rather than long theory discussions.

He has 12 years of clinical practice as an LMFT and more than four decades working in mental health in varied roles. Earlier work included case management in a county mental health outpatient clinic and four years in an acute inpatient setting. He returned to school later in life and earned a master’s degree in professional counseling to reshape his clinical career.

His approach is client-centered and adaptable. He draws on cognitive behavioral ideas to challenge unhelpful thoughts and DBT skills to improve emotion regulation and distress tolerance. He also integrates personal faith into care when clients want a faith-informed path, but faith-based work is offered only when the client prefers it.

In practice he aims to build an open, nonjudgmental space where thoughts, feelings, and matters of faith can be discussed. Much of his earlier work involved helping people impacted by trauma and abuse, so trauma-informed pacing and attention to safety guide his methods.

Sessions are practical and collaborative. He works with each person to set small goals, practice skills between meetings, and track progress over time.

Practical therapy approaches for online care

CBT, or cognitive behavioral therapy, focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. It is used to address anxiety, depression, and stress by breaking problems into small, manageable steps and practicing new skills between sessions.

Dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT, teaches specific skills in emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. Those skills can help people who get overwhelmed by intense emotions or who struggle to keep relationships steady.

Client-centered therapy emphasizes a supportive, nonjudgmental relationship where the client’s goals guide the work. The therapist listens, reflects, and helps people discover their own answers rather than prescribing solutions.

Finding the right approach is collaborative. The therapist will talk with each person about their needs, goals, and preferences and then try methods that fit. Adjustments are made as work progresses so the plan stays useful and realistic.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to make care easier to fit into daily life. Video calls are helpful for face-to-face conversation and teaching skills, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited, live chat is useful for brief check-ins, and messaging allows ongoing support and reflection between meetings. These options give flexibility for different schedules and communication styles.