Meet Darleen
Counsellor, mediator and coach. I founded DIPAC in 2009, and I have spent my working life helping people find their way back to each other, and to themselves.
Where DIPAC began
I established DIPAC in 2009 with a simple vision: compassionate, professional and practical support for individuals, couples, families and organisations navigating life’s more complex challenges.
Before private practice, I held leadership roles within multinational healthcare environments. That grounding shaped how I work today. Care first, but always practical. Since then my focus has been family dynamics, trauma informed care, mediation and relationship wellbeing, and over many years I have supported countless individuals, couples and families through emotionally challenging periods, helping them build greater understanding, cooperation, healing and meaningful long term change.
I am also a published author, sharing practical insights drawn from years of direct client work and lived experience. What I write comes from the same place as what I practise. Real rooms, real conversations, real change.
A practice, not just a practitioner
I do not work alone. DIPAC is a multidisciplinary practice, and I collaborate with Clinical Psychologists to support comprehensive assessment, case formulation and coordinated care where it is needed.
This includes the preparation and coordination of independent witness reports for Family Law matters where appropriate, so that clients receive thorough, professional and context informed input tailored to their circumstances.
The training behind the work
Qualifications sit behind the work, not in front of it. For those who like to know, here is mine.
Fully insured, with current CPR, First Aid, Working With Vulnerable People and Police Checks.
Life outside the practice
I value balance. Time with my best friend and husband of almost forty years. Moments with my daughters and their families. And our dogs, who are very much part of the family, and who offer comfort, companionship and peace after long days in practice.
In Canberra, or online across Australia
I see clients face to face at The Realm in Canberra, and secure online appointments for clients across Australia and internationally.