Sharmen Rutherford, LPC-MHSP, LPC
Compassionate counselor focused on practical change
Book with SharmenWorks with
- Anger
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Trauma and abuse
- Eating disorders
- Depression
How Sharmen works
Practical facts
- Credentials
- LPC-MHSP, LPC
- Licensed in
- Alabama, Tennessee
- Years in practice
- 16
- Languages
- English
- Session format
- Online, through our partner platform
About Sharmen
Sharmen Rutherford is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a focus on practical, hands-on strategies. She uses approaches like acceptance and commitment therapy, cognitive behavioral methods, and mindfulness to help people manage anger, stress, anxiety, and addiction. Her style is straightforward and supportive, aimed at helping people make changes they can keep.
She has sixteen years of experience working with a wide range of concerns including depression, grief, sleeping problems, bipolar symptoms, and challenges related to self-esteem and career stress.
Background and approach
Sharmen also helps people facing trauma and abuse, compulsive behaviors around food, and substance use issues. Her work includes attention to attachment patterns, body image, codependency, and control issues. In sessions she blends client-centered listening with practical skills from CBT and DBT when helpful.
She teaches mindfulness exercises that people can use between sessions. Motivational interviewing ideas are used to support commitment to change when needed. Sharmen holds the LPC-MHSP credential and is licensed as an LPC in Alabama.
She also has licensure ties to Tennessee. Her approach is collaborative – she listens first, then helps set small, achievable goals. Many people use her support to manage intense feelings, reduce compulsive behaviors, and improve day-to-day functioning.
She offers therapy in English and provides sessions by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging. To begin, a person completes a short questionnaire and schedules an appointment based on availability.
What Sharmen works with
Everything Sharmen lists, in the therapist's own terms. Anger is the reason this directory exists; the rest tells you what usually sits alongside it in Sharmen's practice.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Trauma and abuse
- Eating disorders
- Depression
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Grief
- Sleeping disorders
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Attachment issues
- Body image
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Control issues
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Sharmen lists
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Somatic Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Therapeutic approaches for online care
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, then choose actions that reflect their values. ACT can support someone working through anger, anxiety, or life changes by focusing on what matters most. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns and replacing them with more useful habits. CBT is often used for anxiety, depression, sleeping problems, and binge or restrictive eating behaviors.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist listens to the person’s goals and tries different tools to see what helps. Together they set small, practical goals and adjust methods based on progress and preferences rather than assuming one method will fit everyone.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation for skill practice, phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited, live chat is useful for brief check-ins, and text messaging supports ongoing reminders and short updates between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy days and to continue work even when travel or scheduling is difficult.
Questions people ask about Sharmen
What concerns does this therapist address?
She works with anger, stress, anxiety, addictions, trauma and abuse, eating concerns, depression, grief, sleeping problems, self-esteem, bipolar symptoms, ADHD, and related issues.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Her style mixes client-centered listening with practical techniques from CBT, DBT, and mindfulness to build skills and reduce distress.
How much experience does she have?
She has sixteen years of clinical experience working with addictions, co-occurring disorders, trauma, eating concerns, depression, and related challenges.
What credentials and location are listed?
She holds LPC-MHSP and LPC credentials and practices in Alabama, with ties to Tennessee licensure noted.
Which languages are supported and are international clients accepted?
Sessions are offered in English. International clients are not currently accepted.
What session formats are available?
Sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different schedules and needs.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Click the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to therapist availability.