About Barbara
Barbara "Barb" Kroening offers straightforward, caring support for people facing stress, grief, trauma, and relationship struggles. She aims to make it easier to ask for help and creates an honest, nonjudgmental space to talk through hard things. Barb understands how overwhelming life changes can be and focuses on small steps that move people toward what matters to them.
Barb is an LISW - Licensed Independent Social Worker - practicing in Iowa with 12 years of experience.
How Barbara works
She prefers to meet people where they are and uses encouragement alongside practical strategies. Her work includes addressing addiction, anxiety, depression, bipolar concerns, and sleep or anger problems. She also helps people with parenting challenges, caregiver stress, blended family issues, and attachment concerns.
Trauma, abuse, and grief are additional areas of focus, and she supports those dealing with guilt, shame, or forgiveness. Barb has professional familiarity with immigration-related issues and first responder stress. In sessions she draws on client-centered methods, mindfulness, motivational interviewing, solution-focused techniques, and trauma-focused therapy.
That mix lets her adapt to each person's needs, pairing listening with goal-focused work. Sessions aim to be practical and respectful of each person's pace. Barb communicates in English and sees clients in Iowa.
She offers a calm, steady presence for people navigating life transitions, grief, addiction recovery, or relationship and intimacy-related concerns.
Barbara lists 5 ways of working on the entry:
What Barbara works with
The areas below are the ones Barbara selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
Also listed
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Domestic violence
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sleeping disorders
- Stress, Anxiety
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Training and background
| Register | LISW |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 12 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | Iowa |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
How therapeutic approaches translate to online care
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and responding to each person's experience. It helps people feel heard and understood while they identify what matters most. Mindfulness Therapy teaches simple ways to notice thoughts and bodily signals so stress, anxiety, or grief feel more manageable. These methods are useful for coping with life changes, sleep problems, and emotion regulation.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to pick methods that match their goals and preferences. That means trying things, checking what helps, and adjusting the plan over time so sessions stay relevant and useful.
Online therapy offers practical flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video calls let people read facial cues and have in-depth conversations. Phone sessions use less bandwidth and can be easier when someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text messaging are helpful for shorter check-ins, coaching-style support, or fitting therapy into a busy day. These options make it easier to keep continuity in care and to use approaches like mindfulness or solution-focused work in ways that fit daily life.
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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