Today we’d like to introduce you to Rodney Shepherd. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Rodney Shepherd is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Owner and CEO of Wisdom Counseling, LLC, and Founder of What the World Expects, LLC (Panel that presents practical life teachings for up-and-coming leaders). Rodney graduated from Texas Tech University with a bachelor’s degree in Family Studies, followed by a master’s degree in Professional Counseling from Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas. Rodney attended specialized training in Solution Focused Therapy, a post-modern therapeutic approach, at BRIEF, the Centre for Solution-Focused Practice in London, England. He also attended specialized training in Neuro-psychotherapy in Brisbane, Australia, and Human Sexuality in Sydney, Australia.
Rodney is a native of Southern Dallas and a product of Dallas ISD. He attended O.W. Holmes Classical Academy during his middle school years and finished out his secondary education at Skyline Career and Development Center. Rodney has worked in education for nearly 14 years serving adolescents by helping them prepare for life beyond secondary education. He left education in 2020 to pursue his private practice full-time. His standards and morals are rooted in biblical truth, and his willingness to love and relate to others correlates with his desire to love and relate to God.
What the World Expects was established in 2009 as a crash course for high school seniors seeking to know all that they can retain from various Professionals. It was birthed out of a dialogue between educators and students. That was when Rodney realized the lack of preparation many students displayed. Since then, the program is held yearly to prepare young people to be citizens of value in their respective community.
Wisdom Counseling was established in 2018 to provide a service to individuals, couples, families, and groups struggling to navigate life’s challenges. What separates Rodney from other therapists is his ability to tailor the counseling sessions to the client. He understands no one client is the same, so his empathetic approach is specific and targeted to ensure that the clients feel and understand their significance.
His Professional Affiliations Include:
Psychology Today
American Counseling Association
Texas Counseling Association
Black Men Therapists
Therapist Community
SonderMind Network
Headway
Lyra Health
Alignable Entrepreneurship Network
BizTV
Fort Worth Area Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would say it has been a progressive road, meaning I am constantly learning to become what God has predestined me to be. My experiences in education working as a college advisor and high school counselor prepared me for showing others how to properly relate to me by learning to properly relate to myself first.
Over time, my self-confidence has grown through personal growth and self-development. Having invested time and resources in me has given me the courage to gamble on me. There is no crash course post-graduation for mental health professionals. It’s difficult to locate a bridge between grad school, becoming fully licensed, and starting a practice. For me, there was some trial an error, but overall, the gamble was worth it. I now share and provide information and support for those up-and-coming professionals desiring to provide a well-needed service to communities all over the metroplex.
As you know, we’re big fans of Wisdom Counseling, LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
Wisdom Counseling provides services to individuals, couples, families, and groups. The focus is geared towards working with clients that struggle with life transitions, relationship conflicts, depression, and anxiety. I offer practical tools that aid clients in seeing the permanent truth to their stories versus the temporary facts and help them focus on the positive rather than the negative.
I specialize in couples therapy, both pre-marital and marital. I love to see the relationship system at work and help people navigate their differences so they can produce a conducive environment of love and respect. My brand is solely centered around application. Clients receive a lot of information, most of which they may never have heard before, or at least not in the way that it’s presented. I’m confident that principles work if you work them. Therefore, I challenge people to apply the principles discussed and not just sit on wise counsel.
My success stories are always the clients that chose to apply what we talked about. When you invest in you, it’s easy to gamble on you because you understand the investment. There is a payoff for patience and consistency.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is leaving people in a better state. I am a lover of people, and they are the treasures of the world. When we treat each other like we’re more important than silver and gold, we elevate one another, and success becomes more likely than failure.
Along with leaving people in a better state, I want my lasting impression to be a positive one. We’re taught that first impressions are important. I say lasting impressions are far more significant. You can bounce back from a first impression. There are no do-overs for lasting impressions.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.applywisecounsel.com
- Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/rodney-d-shepherd-grand-prairie-tx/403686
Image Credits
Jason Payne
BizTV
