Sharmen Rutherford, LPC-MHSP, LPC

Sharmen Rutherford approaches counseling with calm, practical support for people navigating difficult seasons of life. She recognizes that life can feel overwhelming, messy, and frustrating, and she focuses on offering strength, hope, and encouragement while equipping clients with tools to build a healthier future. With 16 years of clinical experience, she has worked with individuals facing addictions, co-occurring disorders, anxiety, depression, eating-related concerns, trauma, PTSD, self-harm, school pressures, and grief.

Rutherford is dually licensed as a professional counselor in Alabama and Tennessee. Her credentials include LPC-MHSP and LPC - both designations for licensed professional counselors, with LPC-MHSP indicating a licensed counselor authorized to provide mental health services. She also holds certifications as an Internationally Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor and as a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, and she is pursuing a specialist certification in eating disorders.

Her practice draws on a range of clinical approaches, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Mindfulness Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Solution-Focused Therapy, Somatic Therapy, Trauma-Focused Therapy, and client-centered techniques. Rutherford works with a wide array of concerns such as stress, relationship challenges, grief, ADHD, bipolar disorder, addiction, trauma and abuse, body image and eating issues, attachment and codependency problems, and first responder stress.

She maintains professional involvement through membership in relevant associations for substance use, trauma, and eating disorder work. Rutherford aims to build collaborative therapeutic relationships that prioritize practical strategies and compassionate care. She is not currently accepting new clients.