About Rodney
Rodney Black brings over three decades of social work experience to his practice. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and a Licensed Independent Social Worker (LISW) based in Iowa. Rodney speaks plainly about recovery, having navigated addiction and mental health challenges in his own life.
He draws on that lived experience alongside long years in community settings to help people facing hard transitions. Rodney spent much of his career in community-based work because he wanted to give back to people and places that shaped him.
Background and approach
He grew up in the Midwest, served in the US military with a deployment to Afghanistan, and has lived in several states. Those life chapters inform how he listens and responds to stress, trauma, and role changes. He offers support for a wide range of concerns, including addictions, trauma and abuse, gender dysphoria, and issues related to self-esteem and career.
He also addresses aging and geriatric questions, family of origin wounds, fatherhood concerns, and feelings of emptiness or isolation. Rodney names veterans and military issues among his focus areas as well. In sessions he aims to create a steady, respectful space where people can be heard and begin to sort things out.
He uses practical methods alongside relational work to help people build skills and make meaningful changes. He talks with clients about goals and steps that fit their life circumstances. People who connect well with Rodney often want a therapist who combines life experience with clinical perspective.
He sees therapy as a collaborative process and values honesty, humility, and steady support while people work toward recovery and clearer direction.
Therapeutic approaches that translate well online
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on clarifying what matters most and taking small steps toward those values. It helps with ongoing struggle like addiction, emptiness, and life transitions by teaching simple practices to notice thoughts and choose actions that match goals.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions connect and teaches practical skills to change patterns. It is often used for anger, mood challenges, and coping with life changes by building new habits and problem-solving strategies.
Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Rodney will talk with each person about goals, try methods that fit their situation, and adjust as needed. The first few sessions are often used to see which mix of skills and relational support feels most helpful.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to connect. Video calls let people work face-to-face when they want that interaction, while phone sessions can be a good option when bandwidth or camera use is limited. Live chat and text-based messaging make it possible to check in between sessions or use shorter, focused exchanges during a busy day. These options help people keep therapy consistent and fit it into real life.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Codependency
- Coping with life changes
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Fatherhood issues
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Personality disorders
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Existential Therapy
- Jungian Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Experience
- 31 years
- Licensed
- Nebraska, Iowa, Oregon
- Languages
- English