Rodney Black

Rodney Black is a licensed clinical social worker with over 31 years of experience. He is an LCSW and an LISW who practises in Iowa and draws on a long career in community settings. He describes his path through personal recovery and military service as central to how he relates to others.

He grew up in the Midwest and served in the US military, including a deployment to Afghanistan. Much of his work has been in community-based programs where he says he could give back to people who supported him and his family. Personal experiences with a parent’s serious mental illness, addiction, divorce, and recovery inform his perspective.

Rodney sees therapy as a collaborative process. He listens and helps people name what matters to them. He emphasizes real conversation over jargon and wants clients to feel heard as they work through problems like anger, addiction, or life transitions.

His approach combines practical skills and relational listening. He uses methods drawn from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Attachment-Based Therapy, and Client-Centered Therapy to help people manage emotions, build coping skills, and clarify values.

Clients often come for help with anger, addictions, trauma and abuse, self-esteem, career questions, and coping with change. He also addresses a wide range of related concerns such as codependency, isolation, fatherhood issues, and veteran-related topics. Rodney aims to walk alongside people as they work toward clearer choices and steadier days.

How his approaches translate to online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on clarifying what matters to you and taking small steps toward those values while learning to live with difficult feelings. It can help with anger, addiction patterns, and major life transitions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, CBT, looks at unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns and teaches practical techniques to change them, which many people find useful for mood, anxiety, and coping skills. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, DBT, emphasizes emotional regulation and distress tolerance skills to manage intense feelings and reduce impulsive behavior.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about goals and preferences and will adapt methods based on how someone responds. That means techniques may shift over time as needs and goals become clearer.

Confirm the exact session formats before booking, since the biography does not list specific online options. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, allow for shorter check-ins when needed, and remove travel time. Many people find virtual sessions help maintain continuity of care when schedules or location make in-person visits difficult. Licensed professionals can guide how to make online sessions practical for your daily life.