Darla Booker

I believe every person is created in the image of God and carries a dignity that circumstances cannot erase. Life can change around us quickly. Roles end. Relationships shift. Children leave. Careers come to a close. We lose people we love, and sometimes we lose versions of ourselves we thought would always be there. Yet even in these moments, we are still becoming.

Much of my work is with adults navigating the later chapters of life—retirement, the empty nest, caregiving, changing relationships, and the question that sometimes quietly follows: Who am I now? I also work with couples trying to find their way back to one another and with individuals healing from addiction or the aftermath of an unhealthy relationship.

I believe growth remains possible at every age. We may not get to choose everything that happens to us, but we can examine how we will meet what has happened and what kind of life we want to create from here.

Clients often tell me that I listen closely, including to what is not being said. I believe every person brings a story that deserves to be understood before it is interpreted. My work begins there—with curiosity, careful attention, and respect for the life you have lived and the life you still have ahead of you.

Life has a way of bringing us face-to-face with questions we would sometimes rather avoid. A retirement that leaves us wondering who we are without our work. A loss that changes the shape of our world. A relationship that forces us to confront what we need, what we fear, and what we have been willing to accept. Sometimes anxiety or depression is part of what brings us to therapy. But beneath the symptoms, there is often a deeper question: How do I want to live the life that is still mine to live?

My approach to therapy is grounded in curiosity about what lies beneath the surface. Together, we explore the experiences, unconscious patterns, defenses, fears, and old ways of protecting yourself that may once have served a purpose but now keep you from living as freely as you would like. Therapy becomes a place to understand not only what you do, but why—and what you may be protecting yourself from knowing, feeling, or choosing.

Existential therapy also asks us to consider freedom and responsibility. We cannot choose everything that happens to us, and we cannot rewrite what has already happened. But we do have a say in how we meet our lives now. That means examining our choices, recognizing where we have surrendered our will, and becoming more intentional about the person we are becoming.

For me, good mental health is about more than reducing symptoms. It is about becoming more awake to your own life—understanding yourself more deeply, accepting what cannot be changed, taking responsibility for what can, and finding meaning in the life you are still creating.

You do not have to have everything figured out before you begin. Therapy can be a place to slow down, speak honestly about what you have been carrying, and begin to understand what your life is asking of you now. In our first session, we will talk about what brought you here, what feels unfinished or unsettled, and what you hope might be different.

I bring warmth, directness, and steadiness to our work. I will listen carefully, ask the questions that help us go deeper, and walk alongside you as you make sense of where you have been and decide where you want to go from here.

When you're ready to begin, call or text me at 512-229-0913 to schedule.