Family therapy and counseling in Birmingham, AL

I truly desire to my clients succeed in the counseling process.

Thank you for taking this step of therapy. I am here to support you in your journey to healing. I'd like to support you with managing individual and Family concerns. We will utilize healthier coping skills, problem-solving techniques, decision-making tools and individualized effective techniques that serves your unique goals for therapy. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Sharmen Rutherford is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Mental Health Service Provider, Internationally Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor, Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, and a Ketamine Integration Therapist. She is currently accruing hours to earn her Certified Eating Disorder Specialist credential through the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals and has completed Vital’s Psychedelics Assisted Psychotherapy and Ketamine Integration Therapy Program.

With more than 17 years of professional clinical experience in the counseling field, Sharmen has helped clients facing addiction and substance use disorders, anxiety, co-occurring disorders, depression, eating disorders, trauma, PTSD, self-harm, school pressures, relationship issues, loss and grief. It is her passion to provide college students, young adults, women, and men with the tools and resources that they need to cope and make a better life for themselves.

Sharmen holds a Master of Arts degree in Professional Counseling from Liberty University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Alabama. She has provided mental health services to adolescents and adults for numerous local mental health organizations, including an alternative school, the Alabama Department of Mental Health at Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility, two residential substance abuse treatment facilities, and a halfway house.

Sharmen is a former Advisory Board member and a Board of Directors member for 3 years for the Alabama School of Alcohol and other Drug Studies. She is also a former Board of Directors Hospitality Chair and Secretary of the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals for the Alabama Chapter.

Launched in June 2018, Sharmen is also the founder of All Things New Counseling Services, LLC located in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Welcome!

Seeking therapy takes a leap of courage to dare imagine that you are deserving of a more fulfilling life. Whether you are dealing with the grief associated with life transitions or working through persistent anxiety & depression, I provide a compassionate, warm, and judgment free space where you feel genuinely heard and validated and we can work together toward meaningful change.

Clients should know that I am deeply committed to creating a space where honesty, healing and emotional safety can exist without judgment. I understand that coming to therapy often requires courage, especially when life feels overwhelming, complicated, or uncertain. My approach is grounded in respect, authenticity, and clinical integrity. I value the therapeutic relationship and believe that meaningful change happens when clients feel seen, heard, and understood - not rushed, dismissed, or judged.

I bring both professional expertise and real-world understanding into my work. Due to having worked in a forensic psychiatric setting for over 16 years, I have experience working with complex emotional, behavioral, and trauma-related challenges. I approach each client with the belief that behavior is often a response to pain, and healing begins when we understand the story behind the behavior.

Clients should also know that I am direct, compassionate, and intentional in my work. I will support you, but I will also gently challenge patterns that may be keeping you stuck. My goal is not just to help you cope, but to help you grow, heal, and move toward a more grounded and peaceful version of yourself. I deeply respect each client’s pace and process. You are not expected to have everything figured out when you arrive. Therapy is a space for exploration, reflection, and growth.

Above all, I believe that healing is possible, change is achievable, and no one is too far gone to begin again.

I have been in the counseling field for 28 years. During that time I have worked with children, adolescents, and adults. I have both a master's and educational Specialist degrees from the University of Alabama. I am drawn to work with clients who struggle with anxiety, depression and life's transitions.

Sometimes life feels heavier than it looks on the outside. You may be carrying anxiety that never seems to quiet down, grieving someone you love, trying to hold a relationship together, or simply wondering why you don't feel like yourself anymore. Whatever brought you here, you don't have to pretend you're okay with me. My hope is that therapy becomes a place where you can finally exhale, make sense of what you're experiencing, and begin finding steady ground again.