Helping Families Cope Comes from the Heart

If you could capture the essence of Darcia Tudor in just one word, that word would have to be “compassionate.” Part therapist, part mediator, part mother hen, Darcia is sensitive to the needs of the people she helps and is truly protective of their well being.

Whether she’s counseling a family going through a divorce, or mediating a situation with an at-risk child or even serving as a court appointed guardian to help an elderly client struggling with the loss of independence, she holds every one of her clients in her heart. That’s not so surprising. Darcia understands that her clients are all experiencing heartache and loss in some form or another.

Even Winners Feel the Loss

Take divorce, for example, which she likens to going through open-heart surgery without the anesthetic.

As a trial attorney for 20 years, Darcia played hardball in the courtroom, getting the results her clients sought. What she observed in divorce cases time and again was that even when her clients won the fight, they didn’t walk away happy. They were left feeling a tremendous sense of loss, because the underlying problems had never been resolved. She knew the real issues were seldom about the house, or the back payment or even something as trivial as a fight over a spatula. Those were just symbols for the control issues, financial issues and past relationship issues that were never resolved.

Making a Shift to Focus on Healing the Hurt

Darcia returned to school to get her Masters in Clinical Psychology. She wanted to be able to help families cope with the emotional side of the issues they were facing and help them to communicate better with each other. Instead of simply trading in one professional hat for another, she decided to wear both, seamlessly blending two areas of professional expertise to create one unique service. Today Darcia is one of the few practicing therapists with a law degree in the Seattle area. She focuses her practice on helping families cope with conflict, crisis and change throughout all stages of life—from children and adolescents to divorcing and blending families to elderly parents.On the legal side, Darcia shifted her focus from trial work to mediation, allowing her to create a practical course of action for clients that would hold up in court. Her legal experience greatly benefits her clients, as she can anticipate the different transitional stages a family will experience as the children develop, and they plan for these changes without having to go back to court to address future issues.

Values Drive Her Life

It is impossible to sum up Darcia in one word. Laughter, love and generosity come naturally to this former dancer, wife, mother of four and soccer coach. She credits many life experiences—especially her long-term marriage, raising an at-risk child and caring for an elderly parent—as shaping this newest stage of her career as much as her professional interests have.This vibrant and multi-faceted woman includes among her heroes both Whoopi Goldberg and Mother Theresa. Darcia has a deep, strong belief in what she’s trying to accomplish. Every day she lives her values and her sense of family is as equally important as her drive to bring justice to the people she serves. Deeply passionate about the work she does, she sums it up simply: “I can’t imagine anything I’d rather be doing in my life than what I’m doing right now.”