About Ashley
Greetings! My name is Ashley and I am a Registered Social Worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. I completed a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown and completed a Masters in Social Work at Carleton University in Ottawa.
I have over ten years of experience working in the social services sector including doing advocacy for social justice issues, community development, and most recently clinical therapy. I have worked in a variety of settings including hospitals, community based mental health services and schools.
I am a lifelong learner and am always looking into new modalities and ways of supporting my clients. I have my own lived experiences of burnout, post-partum depression, birth trauma, and living with someone with a severe mental health illness. These experiences do not mean that I know what you are going through, but they allow me to empathize and respect the pain and suffering you are experiencing in a deeper, more human way.
For me, therapy is more than just talking about your concerns. It is about taking committed actions and digging deep to understand your core values and beliefs. I believe that a healing journey is not about arriving at a set destination; rather, the journey is about setting daily intentions and practices that prioritize your own wellness and moving towards the activities, people, experiences, and rhythms that tend to your nervous system and make you feel your most authentic self. I believe that we all possess innate resources within ourselves to create change, but also acknowledge the pressures that our current social systems and structures place on individuals and the negative impact that it can have on our mental health.
In my practice, I strongly believe in not only addressing our social and emotional selves, but also our physical wellbeing. Our minds and bodies are not disconnected and as such, should not be treated as separate entities. Using Mindfulness-Based practices, and Polyvagal Theory, I encourage clients to consider what the body is telling them and how that may be impacting their overall sense of self and wellness. I also encourage the use of artistic expression (whether that is writing, painting, dancing, acting, etc.) to help understand your inner world and as a means of coping with life’s stressors.
I am trained in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). My areas of interest and specialty are in trauma, adverse childhood experiences, low mood and depression, anxiety, and burnout. As a mom to two young kids, I am also interested in supporting new parents as they explore their new identities, and I have specialized training in Perinatal Mental Health. I am happy to discuss with you what approach will best suit your goals for therapy.
If your interest is piqued by anything that I have said and you want to see if we would be a good fit, please reach out to schedule a free 15-minute discovery consult. This is an opportunity for you to ask me questions about the process and get a feel for whether you think I would be a suitable therapist for you. This also gives me an opportunity to see if my skill set and experience can best address your concerns. The success of therapy greatly depends on the relationship between the therapist and client, so this is a helpful first step. I look forward to speaking with you and am grateful for the opportunity to support you in your wellness journey.
Pick a service, then a length and setting — times on the right follow your choice.
