CULLMAN, Ala. – Guiding Light Psychiatry in Cullman has won a Best of 2026 award for psychiatry in Cullman from BusinessRate, an achievement that comes well-earned after two years since Guiding Light Psychiatry welcomed its first patients.
“Nov. 12 will be our two-year anniversary of seeing our very first patient in the clinic, which makes this recognition especially meaningful,” shared Rachel Turner, founder and CEO of Guiding Light Psychiatry. “Opening my own business was never an aspiration or a dream of mine. It was truly a God thing, and none of what Guiding Light Psychiatry has become would have been possible without the love and support of my family, everyone who works at Guiding Light, and the people who have entrusted us with their care.”
Over the past two years, Turner and her staff have worked to establish a practice focused on providing compassionate, individualized mental health care.
“Mental health care is deeply personal and not always easy work,” Turner explained. “Many of the people who walk through our doors are facing some of the most difficult and vulnerable seasons of their lives. Our responsibility is to meet them where they are, treat them with dignity and compassion, and remind them that they do not have to navigate those seasons alone.”
And her favorite reward in it all? Watching the staff at Guiding Light putting those principles into practice.
“What has made me especially proud is watching our team show up for our patients day after day-with patience, kindness, compassion and a genuine desire to help,” she said. “They go above and beyond to make sure people feel heard, respected and cared for, not simply as a name on a schedule or a diagnosis in a chart, but as a person.”
She added, “Much of what our staff does happens quietly, without recognition or applause, but I see it, and I know our patients feel it.”
While the BusinessRate award recognizes the clinic’s based off of the patient reviews, Turner said the past two years have also brought challenges that required her team to learn and grow together.
According to Turner, building a practice from the ground up has meant navigating long days, unexpected difficulties and the responsibilities that come with caring for patients. Through those experiences, she said her staff has remained committed to supporting one another and the people who depend on them.
“Guiding Light Psychiatry is not the work of one person, it is the result of a team of people who care deeply about what they do and, most importantly, about the people who trust us with their care,” she said.
As the clinic prepares to celebrate its second anniversary, Turner hopes the recognition reflects more than just positive reviews online. She wants it to reflect the environment her team has worked to create, one built on hope and trust, where patients feel safe and can develop meaningful relationships that support their mental health journeys.
“I hope it says that we have created a place where people feel safe asking for help, where kindness and compassion still matter in healthcare, and where patients know that the person sitting across from them truly cares about what happens to them,” she said.
And although Turner was the shepherd behind Guiding Light Psychiatry, she said the practice’s growth and the recognition it has received belong to everyone who has contributed along the way.
“Guiding Light may have my name attached to it as its owner, but what it has become belongs to so many people,” she shared. “My family believed in and supported me, our staff helped build it and our patients trusted us enough to walk through our doors and allow us to be part of their lives.”
She added, “I don’t take any of that for granted. If this recognition gives me an opportunity to say anything, I hope it is simply this: I am incredibly grateful for the people who have helped build Guiding Light and I am very proud of the difference they are making, one patient and one family at a time.”
For more information on Guiding Light Psychiatry and the services they offer, visit www.guidinglightalabama.org, call 256-530-4505 or email help@guidinglightalabama.org.
Guiding Light Psychiatry is located at 1935 Alabama Highway 157, Ste. B, Cullman AL, 35058.
