Disclosure & Informed Consent
Sharmen Elaine Kimbrough, MA · Identity Strategist & Consultant · LiveFound, Inc. · Last updated October 2026
Welcome
Everyone else will tell you what he is. I help you decide who you are.
It is an honor to be invited into your story. You don’t have to prove it to me, tidy it up, or tell it in the right order. We start where you are, get clear on where you want to go, and build the strategy to get there. Together.
My hope is that you find solid footing to live well, relate well, and lead well, whether you lead in a boardroom, a ministry, or a home. No labels. Just strategy, together.
This page explains how I work, what our work is and isn’t, what it costs, and how I protect you. Please read all of it. Your informed consent matters to me, and so does your right to decide with full information.
Coaching, Not Therapy
I am a coach and consultant. I am not a therapist. I hold a Master’s degree in Professional Counseling, and that training shapes how I listen. But I am not licensed as a counselor in North Carolina or in any other state. Our work is coaching: forward-facing, strategic, and focused on your choices and your next move.
Coaching is not psychotherapy. It does not diagnose or treat any mental health condition, and it is not legal, financial, or medical advice. If I believe you need care that is outside the scope of coaching, I will tell you plainly and help you find it. Coaching can work alongside therapy, and many of my clients have both.
My Approach
I see you as a whole person: body, mind, relationships, culture, and spirit. I don’t spend our time rehashing what hasn’t worked, and I won’t hand you a diagnosis for him. I listen for what is underneath your sentences. That means the beliefs, the “I’m not allowed to,” and the places where someone else’s voice has taken the wheel. Then we replace them with ways of thinking, relating, and deciding that are actually yours.
Our work moves from Identity to Discernment to Guardrails to Agency. The goal is for you to live as the person God created, called, and purposed you to be, walking in freedom, integrity, and connection, whether or not anyone else in your story ever changes.
My faith is the root of everything I do, and I will never use it as a weapon against you. Many women come to me with faith histories that were used to keep them quiet. You don’t have to agree with me to work with me.
Where We Begin
Individuals start with a Jumpstart. That’s three hours, just you. You tell your whole story once, and you don’t have to prove any of it. Together we name the core issues, build a roadmap for your situation, and choose your next step. That might be an Identity Recovery Group, ongoing one-on-one coaching, a Private Strategy Retainer, or an intensive. Details are at livefound.org/individuals.
Couples start with a Relational Reset. That’s three hours: an individual hour with each partner, then one hour together. Details are at livefound.org/couples.
My Perspective on Marriage and Abuse
I do not believe God smiles on abuse in marriage. People love the phrase “biblical grounds for divorce.” I don’t. The grounds are the destructive treatment. The divorce God hates is the breaking of the relationship itself, not the paper a court issues at the end of it. Nowhere does Scripture ask you to enable sin or absorb abuse so a marriage can keep looking intact. Love ceases to be love when free will is removed.
So when emotional, verbal, spiritual, or coercive control has been present, I strongly recommend individual work before couples work. Marriage issues are rarely just “marriage issues.” They are individual issues being worked out in a relationship. If you choose couples work with me, I will be watching the power dynamics closely, and our work will reflect what I see.
In the Relational Reset, each partner’s individual hour is confidential. What you tell me there stays in its own vault. Anything shared in the joint session is shared by you, not by me.
Education, Qualifications, and Experience
I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology (cum laude) from LeTourneau University in 1995 and my Master’s degree in Professional Counseling from Liberty University in 2012.
I have more than a decade of specialized experience with coercive control. That includes over ten years at the Marriage Recovery Center alongside Dr. David Hawkins, where I developed the women’s programs. I have also counseled in non-profit and clinical settings, including inpatient substance abuse treatment. Today I coach and consult with women and couples navigating emotional abuse, coercive control, spiritual bypassing, trauma, and codependency. I also consult with leaders: executives, ministry leaders, pastors, and people-helpers.
I have chosen not to pursue state licensure. This lets me speak freely about faith and work as a strategist and consultant rather than a clinician. My title is Identity Strategist & Consultant, with a Master’s degree in Professional Counseling.
Fees
|
Individual Jumpstart |
3 hours, one-on-one. Where every new individual client begins. |
$500 |
|
Relational Reset |
3 hours: an individual hour with each partner, then one joint hour |
$500 |
|
Individual coaching session |
50 minutes |
$150 per session |
|
5-session package |
Five individual sessions, prepaid |
$675 (save $75) |
|
10-session package |
Ten individual sessions, prepaid |
$1,350 (save $150) |
|
Couples coaching session |
50 minutes |
$150 per session |
|
Identity Recovery Group |
16 two-hour sessions in a small, closed group |
$1,600 total. Pay in full, monthly, or $100 per session. |
|
Private Strategy Retainer |
Individuals or couples. 4 sessions a month plus between-session access. By application, 3-month minimum. |
$1,500 per month |
|
Individual Hours add-on (couples retainer) |
One private 50-minute session per partner each month, plus a private messaging thread for each partner |
$400 per month |
|
Intensives |
1 to 5 days, in person, at a location of your choosing |
Custom quote, starting at $1,000 per day plus travel expenses |
|
Documentation or consultation requested for legal purposes |
As requested |
$250 per hour |
Payment is due before each session unless we have agreed otherwise in writing. Packages are paid in full up front and must be used within 12 months of purchase. Group payment plans are due on the schedule you choose. Retainer fees are billed monthly, in advance, by automatic payment. Payment options are at livefound.org/payment-options.
Because I am not a licensed therapist, my services cannot be billed to insurance. I do not participate in court proceedings, custody evaluations, or court-mandated assessments, and I do not testify in legal matters.
Fees may change. If a change affects you as a current client, I will give you at least 30 days’ notice.
If someone else controls your money: the Renovida Initiative may be able to help give access to working with me. Ask confidentially at info@livefound.org.
The Private Strategy Retainer
The retainer is for individuals and couples who want a strategist in their corner on an ongoing basis, not only on session day. It is limited to six clients at a time and begins with an application. It includes:
- Four 50-minute sessions each month, with priority scheduling
- Between-session messaging, Monday through Thursday, answered within one business day
- “Send me the sentence”: I review a hard message before you send it, whether it’s to a spouse, an attorney, a board, or a pastor
- One short call each month to prepare for a high-stakes moment
- A quarterly strategy review with a written one-page brief
Retainers begin with a three-month commitment and continue month to month after that. Either of us can end the retainer with 30 days’ notice. Sessions not used within the month do not roll over, unless I am the one who canceled. Messaging is for strategy between sessions. It is not a crisis line, and it is not monitored around the clock. The details are in a separate retainer agreement that you will sign before we begin.
For couples: the couples retainer begins with a Relational Reset. Sessions are joint, and messaging happens in one thread that both partners can see. Partners who want private time can add Individual Hours, and what each partner shares in private time stays in its own vault, just as it does in the Relational Reset.
Cancellations and Missed Sessions
To respect both your time and mine, I require at least 24 hours’ notice to cancel or reschedule.
Cancellations with less than 24 hours’ notice, and no-shows, are charged the full session fee. For a package, the missed session is deducted from your remaining sessions. This includes the Jumpstart and the Relational Reset.
- If you arrive late, the session still ends on time.
- Identity Recovery Group seats are held for you. Missed group sessions are not refunded or credited.
- If I need to cancel, I will reschedule with you at no cost.
- If a safety situation forces you to leave or miss a session, tell me as soon as you safely can. I handle those situations case by case.
Confidentiality
Your information and everything we discuss stays confidential to the fullest extent of the law. I will not share your name, contact information, or anything from our sessions without your written permission.
Legal exceptions (when I am required to disclose):
- There is a serious risk of harm to you or to someone else
- There is suspected abuse or neglect of a child, a teenager, or a dependent or elderly adult
- A court orders me to disclose
Please know this: coaching conversations do not carry the legal privilege that protects licensed therapy. In some circumstances, a court could compel my records. I keep my notes brief and focused on your goals and your strategy. If you are in a divorce or custody matter, or expect to be, talk with your attorney about what you put in writing, including messages to me.
Your privacy extends beyond our sessions. If I see you in public, I won’t greet you first, so that you decide who knows we work together. I don’t connect with clients on personal social media. Comments on LiveFound’s public posts are public, so please keep private details out of them.
Your Safety and How We Communicate
I know what it can mean when someone else reads your email, checks your phone, or reviews the bank statement. So here is how I protect you:
- At intake, I will ask for the safest way to reach you, and that is the only way I will use.
- I never leave session details in a voicemail or text.
- When you can, use an email address and a device that only you can access.
- Payments appear on statements as LIVEFOUND INC. If that is a problem, tell me before you pay.
- If you need to leave a session suddenly, just leave. I won’t call back unless we have agreed that I should.
- I will never contact your spouse, or anyone else, on your behalf without your written permission.
Virtual Sessions
Sessions are held by secure video. Please join from a private place where you can’t be overheard. I do not record sessions, and I ask that you don’t either without my consent. No technology is perfectly secure. By meeting virtually, you accept that limit.
Not a Crisis Service
I am not available for emergencies. Messages between sessions, including retainer messages, are not monitored around the clock. If you are in danger, or thinking about harming yourself:
- Call 911, or your local emergency number if you are outside the U.S.
- Call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
- Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788
Participation and Expectations
Your growth depends on your willingness to show up, be honest, and practice what you learn between sessions. I will challenge thinking and behavior that is costing you, or that undermines the relationships you are trying to build. My role is to be lovingly disruptive when that is needed.
Ending Our Work
You may stop at any time. I’ll invite you to one closing conversation so we can name what you’ve built, but that choice is yours. I may also pause or end our work if I believe coaching is no longer serving you, if you need care beyond what coaching can offer, or if this agreement isn’t being honored. If that happens, I will tell you why and offer referrals.
Unused prepaid individual sessions in a package are refundable at the single-session rate. Group and retainer fees for a period that has already begun are not.
Acknowledgement of Informed Consent
By scheduling a session with me, you confirm that you have read and understood this disclosure, have had the opportunity to ask questions, and agree to its terms.