I'm here to help your:
Individuals (ages 18+)
- Anxiety
- OCD
- Relationship and Family Challenges
- Life Transitions (College, Marriage, Career Change, Children, Retirement, Etc.)
- Financial Stress and Money-Related Concerns
- PTSD and Trauma-related Symptoms
- Chronic Pain Management
- Depression
- Military and Veteran-Specific Issues
- First Responder-Specific Issues
- Blended Family Dynamics
- Career and Educational Transitions
Couples
- Communication and Conflict Resolution
- Financial Harmony in Relationships
- Blended Family Adjustment
- Relationship Satisfaction
- Military/Veteran Couple Challenges
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for Trauma
Existential-Humanistic Therapy
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
Financial Therapy
Integrative Behavioral Couples Therapy (IBCT)
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
Diane Darling,
DR - PhD
Background:
Dr. Darling is a faculty member at Southern Utah University and a licensed psychologist in private practice in Cedar City. She is passionate about helping people become their best selves, finding this calling fulfilled through both her teaching and clinical work. Dr. Darling specializes in helping individuals and couples navigate complex life transitions, particularly those involving financial stress and blended family challenges.
When she's not working, Dr. Darling enjoys spending time with her husband and their cat, Juniper. She loves biking, weightlifting, reading fiction, and exploring Southern Utah's beautiful landscape.
Education and Work Experience:
Dr. Darling holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology and completed her clinical internship at the Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System. She serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Southern Utah University, where she teaches both undergraduate and graduate classes and provides clinical supervision to graduate students in the PsyD program. A proud U.S. Air Force Veteran, her clinical experience spans multiple settings including VA medical centers, university counseling centers, military mental health clinics, and community mental health organizations, giving her broad exposure to diverse populations and treatment approaches.
Therapy Approach:
Dr. Darling works from an integrated existential-humanistic and cognitive framework that emphasizes individual freedom and responsibility. She views freedom as each person's intrinsic agency to shape their paths, attitudes, and reactions, while responsibility involves accepting the consequences of these choices. By integrating cognitive theory with these existential themes, she helps clients understand how their thoughts impact their emotions and behaviors, empowering them to restructure patterns that no longer serve them.
Central to Dr. Darling's work is the belief that humans don't do things for no reason; thoughts and behaviors serve us in some way, and we have the agency to decide when change is needed. Rather than pathologizing struggles, she explores with clients what their behaviors provide and what they might cost. She believes that showing up to therapy demonstrates the capacity for change, helping clients recognize their innate "response-ability" - their ability to shape not just external goals, but internal freedom with far-reaching effects.
Dr. Darling's approach is both curious and direct. She uses evidence-based interventions like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and integrative behavioral couples therapy (IBCT), while maintaining genuine human connection. She's known for her authentic presence, use of humor, and willingness to be fully engaged in difficult moments. Her approach honors both the complexity of human experience and each client's expertise in their own life.