Sharmen RutherfordLPC-MHSP, LPC

Sharmen Rutherford is a Licensed Professional Counselor with 16 years of clinical experience. She aims to stand alongside people during hard seasons and offer steady support, practical tools, and encouragement. Her approach focuses on helping people move from feeling stuck to making manageable changes in daily life.

She uses methods drawn from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, and Mindfulness Therapy. These approaches guide brief skills practice, values clarification, and coping strategies tailored to each person's situation. Sessions are calm and focused on what will help most right now.

Sharmen works with a wide range of concerns including stress, anxiety, addictions, trauma and abuse, eating problems, depression, grief, sleep issues, anger, and self-esteem. She also addresses ADHD, bipolar concerns, relationship strain, career stress, and coping with life changes. Additional focuses include attachment issues, body image, codependency, and forgiveness.

She holds LPC-MHSP and LPC credentials and practices in Alabama. Her background includes extensive work with co-occurring disorders, trauma, and substance use challenges. Sharmen draws on her experience to tailor concrete next steps and realistic goals.

To begin a conversation she asks people to describe what matters most to them and what they hope to change. From there she helps set short-term goals and practical strategies that fit everyday life.

How therapy approaches translate to online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice painful thoughts without getting stuck in them, then choose actions that match their values. It is useful for anxiety, stress, and coping with life changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on spotting unhelpful thinking patterns and testing small behavior changes to reduce symptoms like low mood or sleep problems.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose methods that match their goals and preferences. That means trying a strategy, checking how it feels, and adjusting as needed rather than committing to one path upfront.

The original biography does not list specific online session formats, so please confirm available options before booking. In general, online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, allow for shorter check-ins when needed, and remove travel time. They also let people use audio-only if they prefer less bandwidth or a quieter check-in. Talk with the therapist during intake to decide how to shape sessions in a way that works with daily routines and responsibilities.