About Dolores
Dolores "Del" Larkin is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) with 20 years of experience helping people navigate intense emotions and persistent self-criticism. She emphasizes evidence-informed methods and blends approaches to address perfectionism, low self-worth, anxiety, depression, and substance concerns.
Background and approach
Her practice focuses on creating a collaborative space where clients and therapist work together to identify patterns that undermine wellbeing and build practical skills for change.
Del has a particular interest in supporting people who struggle with feeling "not good enough" and with perfectionism, alongside treatment for panic, relationship difficulties, grief, trauma, and mood concerns such as bipolar issues. She draws from cognitive behavioral techniques, dialectical behavior strategies, emotionally focused work, and attachment-informed perspectives to tailor interventions to each person's needs.
Her style centers on attentive listening, gentle curiosity, and partnering with clients to remove barriers that keep them from becoming the person they want to be.
Approach-Focused Online Therapy for Life Transitions
Delores "Del" Larkin uses attachment-based ideas to explore how early relationship patterns affect current connections and emotional responses; this approach helps people understand trust, closeness, and recurring interaction patterns. She also employs cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which examines the links between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and teaches practical strategies to reduce anxiety, manage mood symptoms, and change unhelpful habits. Emotionally-focused elements are used to increase emotional awareness and improve how people express and respond to feelings in relationships.Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist partners with clients to assess goals, personal history, and preferences and then tailors methods to fit what the client hopes to accomplish. This collaborative planning helps ensure therapeutic work aligns with each person’s needs and evolves as progress is made.
Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels. These formats make it easier to maintain continuity of care during life changes and allow clients to access licensed professionals from their home or other convenient locations.
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Postpartum depression
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-love
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 20 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English