A Winding Path to Therapy

Ashley didn’t graduate from high school knowing exactly what she wanted to do with her life. Her path unfolded gradually—and through several very different experiences.

After beginning her career in cosmetology, Ashley returned to school to study health science and eventually transferred to Rutgers University, initially pursuing nursing.

While in school, she worked in hospitals in several roles, including as a one-to-one safety sitter, medical scribe, and patient care technician. Working in healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic gave Ashley a close look at both the strengths and limitations of healthcare systems.

It also helped her recognize something important about the kind of work she wanted to do.

Ashley wasn’t satisfied with simply addressing what was happening to someone in that moment. She was curious about the larger story. What had brought this person here? What was happening in the rest of their life? What support did they have? What would happen after they left?

Most importantly, she found herself drawn to advocacy—particularly for people who might have difficulty being heard or advocating for themselves.

That realization eventually led Ashley to change her major to social work.

Finding Her Place

Ashley completed her bachelor’s degree in social work, including an internship at a K–8 behavioral school. There, she discovered how much she enjoyed working individually with children as well as facilitating groups.

She continued directly into a clinical master’s program in social work and worked in a school-based social-emotional learning program, providing individual and group counseling.

The work confirmed that she loved working with children and adolescents—but Ashley wanted the opportunity to understand more of the picture.

A child’s emotional or behavioral struggles don’t exist only during the school day. Children are part of families, friendships, schools and communities, and all of those relationships can influence how they experience the world.

Ashley wanted to be able to explore those connections more deeply.

That desire eventually brought her to outpatient therapy.

And it fit.

What Is Therapy With Ashley Like?

Warm and engaging are two words that describe Ashley well.

She has an easy, conversational style that can make therapy feel less intimidating—something that can be particularly important for children and teens, neurodivergent clients, and people who aren’t quite sure what they’re supposed to say when they sit down with a therapist.

Ashley doesn’t expect clients to arrive knowing exactly what’s wrong, why they’re struggling, or even what they want from therapy.

Figuring that out can be part of the work.

Her natural curiosity about people has followed her through every stage of her career. She wants to understand not just the symptoms someone is experiencing, but the person experiencing them.

For a child, that may mean understanding what is happening at school, at home, with friends, and within the family.

For an adult, it may mean looking at patterns that have developed over time, expectations they’ve been carrying, relationships, stressors, or the ways they’ve learned to navigate a world that doesn’t always fit the way their brain works.

The goal isn’t to make someone fit a particular mold. It’s to understand what is happening, identify what may help, and build from the strengths that are already there.

Supporting Anxiety and Neurodivergence

Ashley has a particular clinical interest in working with anxiety and neurodivergent clients.

Anxiety doesn’t always look like obvious fear or worry. It can look like overthinking, irritability, avoidance, perfectionism, shutting down, difficulty making decisions, physical discomfort, or feeling overwhelmed by situations that seem easier for everyone else.

Likewise, neurodivergent children, teens and adults can spend enormous amounts of energy trying to meet expectations that weren’t designed with their needs in mind.

Ashley‘s approachable style allows room for clients to show up as they are.

Therapy can be a place to better understand how your brain works, recognize patterns, build strategies that are actually useful in your life, and develop greater confidence in advocating for what you need.

Working Across the Lifespan

Although Ashley‘s early clinical experiences drew her toward children and adolescents, she enjoys working with adults as well.

In some ways, that makes sense given the path that brought her here.

Ashley knows firsthand that adulthood doesn’t mean having everything figured out.

People change direction. Careers change. Relationships change. Families change. Our understanding of ourselves can change, too.

Sometimes therapy begins because something has clearly gone wrong.

Other times, someone simply recognizes that the way they’ve been getting through life isn’t working as well as it used to.

Both are good enough reasons to begin.

An Interest in Maternal Mental Health

Ashley is also developing a special interest in maternal mental health and supporting women through pregnancy, postpartum, and the transition to parenthood.

Becoming a parent can bring enormous change—not only practically, but emotionally and psychologically. The experience doesn’t always match the version of pregnancy or motherhood people expected to have, and there can be tremendous pressure to appear grateful or happy even while struggling.

Ashley is interested in creating space for honest conversations about that transition without judgment or expectations about what someone should be feeling.

The Thread Through It All

Cosmetology. Healthcare. Social work. Schools. Outpatient therapy.

Ashley‘s career hasn’t followed a straight line.

But there is a thread running through all of it.

She has always been interested in people.

She wants to hear their stories. She wants people to feel comfortable enough to be themselves. She notices when someone isn’t being heard. And she believes people deserve support that recognizes who they actually are—not simply the problem that brought them through the door.

Years ago, that connection happened while Ashley stood behind a salon chair.

Today, it happens in the therapy room.

And while the setting has changed quite a bit, the part Ashley values most hasn’t.

It’s still the people.