Rodney Black , LCSW, LISW

Rodney Black is a licensed social worker with 31 years of professional experience who brings both personal insight and clinical skill to his work. He has spent much of his career in community-based settings where he found meaningful opportunities to give back to others and to the communities that supported his own family. His early life included growing up with a mother who lived with bipolar disorder and significant borderline personality disorder - experiences that shaped his interest in mental health and in compassionate, long-term support for people and families.

He has lived in the Midwest and has also spent time in California and South Carolina. Rodney served in the US military and completed one deployment to Afghanistan, where he served as the highest-ranking enlisted member of the Human Intelligence component of a Brigade Combat Team. He is a father to a grown gay son and credits friendships in the queer community with helping him through parts of his own healing process, expressing deep gratitude and respect for that community.

Rodney has navigated divorce, struggles with addiction and codependency, and has lived with various mental health diagnoses at different times in his life. He approaches therapy as an artful process that combines learned skills and techniques with the unfolding work of personal growth. He hopes to use his life experience and professional background to support others on their journeys. He holds an LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) and an LISW (Licensed Independent Social Worker).

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) emphasizes values-guided action and mindfulness. It helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, and supports building a meaningful life even while managing ongoing challenges - useful for issues like addiction, low self-esteem, and coping with life changes.

Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on relationships and early bonds that shape how people connect with others. It explores patterns that may underlie difficulties with intimacy, family of origin issues, fatherhood concerns, and feelings of isolation or loneliness, helping clients develop more secure ways of relating.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) teaches practical skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. It is often helpful for managing intense emotions, anger, substance use struggles, and mood dysregulation.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic work. Rodney collaborates with each person to identify which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences, adjusting the plan over time as progress and challenges emerge.

Online therapy offers flexibility and accessibility - sessions by video, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging make it easier to fit care into daily life and to maintain continuity even when schedules or locations change. These options allow licensed professionals to deliver therapeutic support in ways that suit each person’s routine and comfort level.