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Rodric McClainCounseling

Who I help

Working with a Black therapist

If you have been looking for a therapist who shares part of your background, that may be what finally makes starting feel possible. Or you may simply want to know the option is there. Either way, here is how I think about it.

Two armchairs facing each other across a small round table in a warm, sunlit room

Why might it matter who my therapist is?

Because so much of therapy depends on feeling understood, and it is hard to settle into a conversation while part of you is busy explaining, translating, or defending your own experience. If you have ever described being treated differently and watched the listener look doubtful, you know how quickly that closes a door.

Not having to start from the beginning can matter a great deal. It frees the hour for what you actually came to talk about, and the small details that are hard to explain to someone who has never lived them do not need footnotes.

What do you bring to this personally?

I am a Black therapist, and I grew up in the South. As a child I experienced racism and prejudice, and there were times I felt I was not good enough. Living through that taught me something I still believe: what we go through does not have to set the limits of who we become.

I know what it is like to question your own worth, and how experiences like those can shape a child, a teenager, or an adult still working out where they belong. You can bring all of that into the room and be heard.

What can I bring into the room?

Anything that is part of your life. The weight of being the only one in the room at work or at school. Racism that is open, and the quieter kind that is harder to name. Growing up in a home where problems stayed inside the family. Poverty, rejection, or the long habit of having to be extra careful about how you come across.

Not every session needs to be about race, and race need not be the reason you came. It is simply welcome whenever it is part of the story, and it will never be treated as a side issue or an exaggeration.

Do I need to be Black to work with you?

No. Serving for 27 years put me side by side with people from every kind of background, and it taught me that underneath very different circumstances, people want many of the same things: to be heard, to be valued, and to be themselves without bracing for it.

You do not need to share my history for me to understand yours. What matters is that I listen, learn your story, and meet you where you are. Couples, individuals, and families from any background are welcome here.

Can I see you if I live in Rhode Island?

Yes, by telehealth. I hold a Rhode Island license and meet with people there by video only. In Nebraska, sessions are in person in Omaha or online anywhere in the state.

If you have been looking for a therapist who shares part of your background and the options near you felt thin, distance does not have to decide it for you. Therapy starts with a conversation, and ours can begin from wherever you are.

Things you can bring here

  • Experiences of racism, open or subtle
  • Being the only one in the room, at work or at school
  • Questions about identity and where you belong
  • The pressure to stay strong and keep it to yourself
  • Feeling that you have to prove yourself twice over

Questions people ask

Will we only talk about race?

No. You decide what we focus on. Race may be central to what you want to work on, or it may be one part of a bigger picture that also includes work, relationships, grief, or stress. Either way, it is welcome whenever it is relevant, and never required.

Is it all right to want a therapist who looks like me?

Yes. Wanting to feel understood is a reasonable thing to look for in a therapist, and a shared background can be part of that. Fit matters more than anything on paper, which is why the free consultation exists: you hear how I talk, and you decide whether this feels right.

Do you also work with couples and families?

Yes. Individual, couples, and family therapy are all available, in person in Omaha and online across Nebraska and Rhode Island. I am best known for couples work, and culture and family background can be part of that conversation too.

Where to go from here

Ready when you are.

Therapy starts with a conversation. Send a short message and tell me what is going on, in your own words. We meet in person in Omaha, and online across Nebraska and Rhode Island.

Start a conversation