Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Darla Timbo PsyD, LPC.
Hi Dr. Darla, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Atlas Counseling Services began with a simple but deeply personal belief: people deserve a space where they can be seen, heard, understood, and supported without having to leave parts of themselves at the door. As a psychologist, licensed professional counselor, educator, and advocate, I spent years working within systems that taught me a great deal about mental health, but also showed me where those systems often fell short. I saw how culture, race, gender, family dynamics, professional stress, and life circumstances shaped the way people experienced mental health. I also recognized how often helping professionals were expected to care for everyone else while neglecting their own emotional and psychological well-being.
What started as a private practice grew into something much larger. Atlas became a place where I could bring together my clinical training, lived experiences, passion for culturally responsive care, and commitment to supporting communities that have historically been underserved or misunderstood. Over time, the practice expanded beyond my individual work to include other clinicians who shared that vision.
My work increasingly moved beyond the traditional therapy room. Through teaching, clinical supervision, speaking engagements, workshops, community initiatives, and organizational work, I found myself addressing the same questions from a different perspective: How do we create healthier people and healthier communities?
Looking back, I don’t see Atlas Counseling and Dr. Timbo Consulting as separate stories. I see them as different chapters of the same story. Atlas taught me the importance of caring for the individual. Consulting allows me to help care for the systems surrounding the individual.
The journey has not always been easy. Building a practice, navigating entrepreneurship, balancing academia and clinical work, leading others, and growing my family has required courage and a willingness to evolve. There have been moments when I questioned the direction, but each transition brought me closer to understanding what my work was truly meant to be.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There is a particular kind of pressure that comes with being a Black woman in professional and leadership spaces. I often found myself having to navigate the expectations of being competent, composed, nurturing, assertive, approachable, accomplished, and resilient, all at the same time, extremely overwhelming!
There were moments when I felt that I had to work twice as hard to be recognized for what I already knew I was capable of doing. I learned to navigate rooms where I was not always immediately seen as the expert, even when my education, credentials, experience, and results demonstrated otherwise. I learned that saying “no” can be interpreted differently depending on who is saying it. I learned that being compassionate does not mean being permissive, and being a strong leader does not mean I have to become disconnected from my values.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a creative, I specialize in turning ideas, emotions, experiences, and difficult conversations into meaningful experiences that connect with people. My creativity lives at the intersection of psychology, culture, storytelling, wellness, community, and human connection. I create to make people think, feel, and sometimes heal.
Whether I’m developing a workshop, creating an experience, facilitating a conversation, writing, developing a community initiative, teaching, speaking, or building a brand, I am always thinking about the story underneath the subject.
I specialize in creative mental health education and storytelling, taking concepts that can feel clinical, academic, or difficult and translating them into experiences that feel human.
I am particularly drawn to topics that people don’t always know how to talk about like identity, emotional labor, Black womanhood, caregiving, joy, rest, boundaries, sexuality, culture. I use creativity to give those conversations somewhere to go.
What sets me apart is that my clinical training allows me to understand the psychology behind what people experience. My academic background allows me to research, teach, and translate complex concepts. My entrepreneurial experience allows me to turn ideas into tangible programs and experiences. And my creativity allows me to communicate those ideas in ways that people can actually connect with.
I can sit in a room and think like a psychologist, an educator, a business owner, a storyteller, and a creative strategist, all at the same time. I am proud of everything lol and being a conduit for the spiritual work that sits at the center of it all!
What are your plans for the future?
Not sure yet……I am allowing life to take me on my own personal journey. I’ll find out where I am going and how I end up soon enough……
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.drtimbo.com/
- Instagram: @dr_dtimbo; @atlas_counseling
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-darla-timbo-psy-d-lpc-7a8b41234/
