T.ruth & Muse: Creativity, Self Discovery, Healing & Resistance

— T.ruth & Muse Creative Consulting was born in response to Tina's extreme burnout and exhaustion with the "business as usual" narrative. Although no stranger to hard work, the COVID-19 pandemic sent her into overdrive; as a psychotherapist, she felt the heaviness of her own lived experience and those of her clients. With a pandemic, the constant breaking news cycle of political and social unrest and a string of devastating loss within Tina's family and village, she was ready for a change!

On March 1, 2022, she decided to walk away from her "safe" 9-5 job, to rest, grieve and reset her focus and energy into creating therapyWerks, LLC., a solo therapy practice and t.ruth & muse LLC.

T.ruth & muse promotes community wellness and advocacy through culturally informed and creative consulting practices, coaching, and content creation. Through Tina J. Rutherford's consulting and coaching work, she supports individuals, groups, and organizations to meet their goals in a two-step process; t.ruth: assessment, inventory, and muse: innovation and creative solutions.

Tina's therapeutic training, keen eye for detail, and problem-solving skills gives a unique lens into the coaching and consulting world highlighting the importance of both process and outcomes.

Valeria interviews Tina J. Rutherford — she is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Change Agent with a passion for mental health and community outreach.

In her therapy practice, she provides culturally responsive care to adults ages 18 to 99+. Tina's therapeutic approach includes person-centered, psychodynamic, strengths-based and trauma-informed methods. She recognizes the importance of the therapeutic relationship, inviting full "humanness" in her work; and the freedom to speak the unspeakable without judgment. She invites curiosity as a lens to journey through life's most joyful and painful parts. Tina also acknowledges the socio-cultural and political impacts on one's overall mental, emotional, and physical well-being and incorporates the close examination of micro, mezzo and macro-level factors.

Tina grew up in the DMV, obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from Bowie State University in 2005, and her Master's Degree in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis in 2007. Tina has received post-graduate training at the Washington School of Psychiatry (WSP) and is an active committee member with the school's Center for the Study of Race Ethnicity and Culture (CSREC). Her clinical experience has allowed her to work in a variety of settings, including intensive outpatient (IOP), non-profit/community-based organizations with children and families, the public school system, therapeutic group homes for adolescents, as well as six years with a group therapy practice in Capitol Hill, Washington, DC working with a diverse client base.

Following the 2020 pandemic, Tina expanded her work to include her solo teletherapy practice therapyWerks LLC. and t.ruth & muse LLC., a creative consulting company focused on wellness, content creation and capacity building. Tina believes in creating healing spaces both within and beyond the therapy session. She also believes that individual healing becomes collective healing.

To learn more about Tina J. Rutherford and her work, please visit: linktr.ee/tina_j_rutherford

— This podcast is a quest for well-being, a quest for a meaningful life through the exploration of fundamental truths, enlightening ideas, insights on physical, mental, and spiritual health. The inspiration is Love. The aspiration is to awaken new ways of thinking that can lead us to a new way of being, being well.