Shirley Richards, D.MIN, LPC

Community Therapist

Shirley holds a Bachelor of Arts from East Texas Baptist College in Marshall, Texas; a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky; and a Doctor of Ministry from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. She completed a Residency in Pastoral Counseling at the Baptist Medical Centers in Birmingham. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor.

Shirley is in private practice, offering counseling to individuals, couples, families, and groups of all faiths and beliefs. She is also a Pastoral Care and Counseling Consultant providing services to organizations such as The Resource Center for Pastoral Excellence at Samford University and Community Grief Support Service.

An ordained Baptist minister, Shirley was with the Samaritan Counseling Center, formerly known as the Pastoral Counseling Center, for a total of 23 years, first as Pastoral Counselor and the last 11 years as Executive Director.

Shirley offers clients at the ACED a safe, accepting place to work through all their issues, but especially those of a spiritual nature. Her focus is not religion. Rather, Shirley helps clients “experience their spirituality in a positive way.”

“The uniqueness of pastoral counseling is the ability to integrate both the spiritual and psychological disciplines in the counseling process, meeting people where they are, ‘be-ing’ present with them and working with them wherever they may be.”

Shirley finds her own therapy in the garden, where she can work until dusk, “planting many flowers in the name of reclaiming sanity.” She’s prone to losing things – her keys, her calendar – and then discovering she’s actually holding them. One wish? Shirley would love to learn how to dance.