Sparrow Counseling

Sparrow Counseling Helping couples and families heal, reconnect, and grow. Compassionate, clear, and experienced care.

Sparrow Counseling offers expert therapy in Birmingham, AL, and online across Alabama, specializing in marriage, co-parenting, families, and intensives. Sparrow Counseling is a place where individuals, couples and families can come to be strengthened, empowered and find hope again.

06/05/2026

One of the questions parents ask most often—but are sometimes afraid to say out loud—is:

"Is my teen okay?"

Not every mood change, withdrawal, or difficult season means something is wrong. But knowing the difference between typical teen stress and signs of a deeper struggle can feel overwhelming.

In this video, Sha Wortman, LPC, shares why this uncertainty is one of the hardest parts of parenting a teenager—and why parents don't have to navigate it alone.

During the final session of our Parenting Teens Summer Series, we'll discuss:
• The difference between normal teen stress and emotional concerns
• What warning signs to watch for
• How to respond in ways that build trust and connection
• When it may be time to seek additional support

Sha has spent more than 20 years working with teens and families and will provide practical tools, clear guidance, and an opportunity to ask questions in a supportive environment.

📍 Session 4: July 28
📍 Homewood Library
🕡 6:30–8:00 PM

Learn more and register:
👉 https://www.sparrowcounsel.com/parenting-classes

At Sparrow Counseling, we know how important community is within the counseling profession.As therapists and helping pro...
06/03/2026

At Sparrow Counseling, we know how important community is within the counseling profession.

As therapists and helping professionals, we spend so much time supporting others through difficult, emotional, and complex seasons of life. Having opportunities to connect with colleagues who understand the work matters too.

We’re excited to host a Counselors Happy Hour on Thursday, June 18th, from 5–7 pm at TrimTab Brewing Company in Birmingham!

This will be a relaxed evening for counselors, therapists, and other helping professionals to connect, build relationships, and simply enjoy time together outside the office.

Whether you’re in private practice, schools, churches, agency work, or another helping profession, we’d love for you to join us.

No presentations or formal agenda — just meaningful connection and good conversation.

We hope to see you there!

📍 TrimTab Brewing Company
📅 Thursday, June 18th
⏰ 5:00–7:00 PM

Most people think the biggest threat to a relationship is constant conflict.But according to decades of research by Dr. ...
06/01/2026

Most people think the biggest threat to a relationship is constant conflict.

But according to decades of research by Dr. John Gottman, the strongest predictor of divorce isn’t frequent arguing, incompatibility, or even infidelity.

It’s contempt.

Contempt is what happens when frustration slowly turns into superiority.

It can sound like sarcasm.
Eye-rolls.
Mocking tones.
Talking down to your partner.
The sigh that says, “You’ll never change.”

Over time, contempt changes the way couples see each other. Instead of viewing your partner as someone you love and care about, your brain begins filtering even neutral moments through criticism and disappointment.

And the research is sobering: contempt doesn’t just damage emotional connection — it can even impact physical health and stress levels over time.

The good news? Relationships can heal.

One of the strongest antidotes to contempt is intentionally rebuilding fondness and admiration:
• noticing what you appreciate
• expressing respect
• remembering what you genuinely like about your partner

Sometimes the smallest moments of warmth and kindness matter more than people realize.

What’s one thing you genuinely admire about your partner? Say it out loud today. 💛

May felt full in the best kind of ways. 💙This month at Sparrow Counseling, we celebrated growth, continued learning, mea...
05/30/2026

May felt full in the best kind of ways. 💙

This month at Sparrow Counseling, we celebrated growth, continued learning, meaningful conversations, and the privilege of walking alongside individuals, couples, teens, and families through both hard and hopeful seasons.

From strengthening relationships…
To helping parents better understand their teens…
To supporting clients through transitions, grief, conflict, anxiety, healing, and connection…

We’re continually reminded how brave it is to show up and do the work.

We’re also deeply grateful for the ways our community continues to support Sparrow Counseling — through referrals, sharing our posts, attending events, and trusting us with your stories.

As we head into summer, we hope you find moments for rest, connection, laughter, and slowing down a bit. And if this season feels heavy or complicated, you don’t have to navigate it alone.

Thank you for being part of the Sparrow Counseling community. We’re honored to walk alongside you. 🕊️

05/28/2026

One of the hardest parts of parenting teens is feeling like you can’t reach them anymore.

You ask a question and get one-word answers. You try to talk and they shut down, walk away, or become defensive — and many parents start wondering if they’ve somehow lost the connection they used to have.

In this reel, Sha Wortman, LPC, shares one of the biggest things she’s learned from working with hundreds of teens and families over the years:
Connection has to come before correction.

During Session 2 of our Parenting Teens Summer Series, parents will learn practical ways to improve communication through small shifts in timing, tone, and approach that help teens feel safer opening up.

📍 “Why Won’t They Talk to Me?”
📅 Tuesday, July 14
📍 Homewood Library

Learn more and register:
👉 https://www.sparrowcounsel.com/parenting-classes

If your heart is racing during an argument, your body may already be in survival mode, and that changes everything.Dr. ...
05/26/2026

If your heart is racing during an argument, your body may already be in survival mode, and that changes everything.

Dr. John Gottman’s research found that once our heart rate climbs to around 100 beats per minute during conflict, the rational parts of the brain begin to go offline. We stop listening clearly. We struggle to think carefully about what we’re saying. Even the person we love can start to feel like the threat instead of our teammate.

This is called emotional flooding, and it happens faster than most people realize.

Sometimes it’s a tone of voice.
Sometimes it’s a phrase.
Sometimes it’s an old wound getting touched again.

One of the most important things couples can learn is this: taking a break during conflict is not avoidance when it’s done well. In fact, it can be one of the healthiest things you do for your relationship.

Research shows it takes about 20 minutes for the nervous system to fully calm down after flooding begins. Not 2 minutes. Not 5. Twenty.

Instead of pushing through and causing more damage, try saying:
“I care about this too much to continue right now. Can we take 20 minutes and come back?”

Healthy relationships aren’t conflict-free relationships. They’re relationships where people learn how to repair, regulate, and reconnect.

Have you ever noticed emotional flooding happening in yourself during an argument? 💬

In honor of Memorial Day, Sparrow Counseling will be closed on Monday, May 25th, as we pause to remember and honor the b...
05/22/2026

In honor of Memorial Day, Sparrow Counseling will be closed on Monday, May 25th, as we pause to remember and honor the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to our country.

We hope you and your family have a safe and meaningful holiday weekend. Our team will resume normal business hours on Tuesday.

At Sparrow Counseling, we believe in competency and continued education.We’re proud to share that Sara Hadgraft, Peyton ...
05/20/2026

At Sparrow Counseling, we believe in competency and continued education.

We’re proud to share that Sara Hadgraft, Peyton Richard, and David Teel have all completed Level 2 Training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy.

We believe relationships deserve thoughtful, evidence-based care from therapists who continue to learn, grow, and invest in their craft.

The Gottman Method is a research-based approach to couples counseling that helps partners improve communication, navigate conflict more effectively, rebuild trust, strengthen emotional connection, and better understand the patterns keeping them stuck.

At Sparrow Counseling, continued training matters because relationships are complex, and our clients deserve well-trained, intentional support.

Whether you’re dating, engaged, married, healing after hurt, or simply wanting to reconnect, we’re honored to walk alongside couples through every season of relationship growth.

05/18/2026

If you have a teenager right now… you already know how hard this season can be.

One minute they need you. The next they want nothing to do with you. Conversations turn into arguments — or silence — and many parents are left wondering:
“Is this normal?”
“Am I missing something?”
“Am I doing this right?”

At Sparrow Counseling, Sha Wortman, LPC, has spent more than 20 years working with teens, preteens, and families in schools, private practice, and homes navigating difficult seasons.

This July, she’s leading a 4-part parent workshop series designed to help parents better understand:
🧠 the teen brain
💬 communication breakdowns
⚖️ healthy limits and boundaries
❤️ emotional struggles and when to seek help

This is not a lecture or a parenting “rule book.” It’s practical support, real conversation, and tools parents can actually use.

📍 Homewood Library
📅 Tuesdays, July 7–28
🕡 6:30–8:00 PM

Register here:
👉 sparrowcounsel.com/parenting-classes

🎉 Three years. Countless breakthroughs. So much healing.Today we're celebrating THREE years with the incredible Peyton R...
05/15/2026

🎉 Three years. Countless breakthroughs. So much healing.

Today we're celebrating THREE years with the incredible Peyton Richard, LMFT! 🥂✨

Peyton joined the Sparrow Counseling family in 2022, and in that time she has poured her whole heart into helping individuals, couples, and families learn to relate, communicate, and reconnect in deeper, more meaningful ways.

From couples on the brink of separation finding clarity through Discernment Counseling, to partners rediscovering each other through Gottman-trained therapy, Peyton meets every client exactly where they are, with warmth, creativity, and zero judgment.

She believes healing doesn't stop with you. It ripples outward, to your relationships, your children, and your future.

And beyond her incredible work with clients? Peyton is the kind of coworker who makes this team better just by being in it. She's supportive, fun, and one of the most genuinely collaborative people we know. We honestly just love getting to do life and work alongside her. 🥹

Peyton, thank you for showing up with so much intention, insight, and heart every single day. Here's to you! 🐦❤️

Address

1736 Oxmoor Road, Ste 208
Homewood, AL
35209

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 8pm
Tuesday 9am - 8pm
Wednesday 9am - 8pm
Thursday 9am - 8pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+1 205-538-3978

Website

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