Madalene

Dr. Madalene Rutherford (OTD, OTR/L) is a licensed doctor of occupational therapy from Central Pennsylvania. Her inspiration to become an occupational therapist occurred through watching one of her nephews, who has an autism spectrum disorder, receive occupational therapy during toddlerhood and school. The desire to help other children, families, and adults the way this therapist helped her nephew (and family) motivates her to serve families in her community. Dr. Rutherford received her doctoral degree of occupational therapy from Misericordia University in 2023. She specializes in providing a variety of body-based interventions for people of all ages to heal traumatic experiences. She believes that helping people heal their hearts from trauma creates a healthy and loving world. Additionally, she graduated from Elizabethtown College with her master’s degree of science in occupational therapy in 2019. Her specialties included pediatric development, family development, autism spectrum disorders, as well as understanding the way disabilities or diseases affect women’s experiences of mothering their children. Her employment experience includes early intervention services for infants and preschoolers with developmental delays.  Her clinical experiences included adult inpatient rehabilitation for people with physical disabilities and diseases. She also completed clinical rotations in an adult inpatient psychiatric unit, which helped to spark her interest in trauma-informed care and mental health. These experiences empower her to provide holistic and comprehensive care for families.