Clients who seek my services tend to be those who identify as Athletes and/or BIPOC (adolescents through young adults), experiencing general mental health issues, stress, troubled relationships and family dynamics, life transitions, issues navigating college, pressure to perform, demands of the sport world, and work-life balance issues.
I recognize how difficult it is to make the first step to committing to therapy. It is my goal to help you feel safe, heard, and supported in our sessions. We will begin by engaging in the rapport-building process, to build trust, and discuss your history, current challenges, and therapeutic goals. My therapy style is relaxed and conversational. As we continue through further sessions, my hope is that you develop the trust you need to begin to explore and process troubling thoughts, situations, stressors, or behaviors. You will be able to successfully apply coping strategies and tools that you have learned from this therapeutic process to your everyday life. I utilize a psychodynamic approach, as I believe our interactions and actions stem from unconscious, unresolved behaviors and emotions. I use other interventions, such as motivational interviewing, ACT, solution-focused therapy, CBT, and interpersonal therapy. Therapy sessions are client-centered and typically unstructured.
It is never too early or too late to work on yourself. You are the expert in this therapeutic alliance and it is my goal to help you reach whatever goals you have for yourself, at your own pace. I am following your lead to help you discover your best self - tackling issues one day at a time. I know how important it is feel supported, validated, and heard. I am also aware of the intergenerational traumas and current socioeconomic dynamics that contribute to mental health in the BIPOC community. Therefore, it is imperative that I approach therapy from a trauma informed, strengths- based lens. You don’t have to do this alone. Together, we will lead you to your path of healing! I look forward to working with you!
Ashley S. Allen, LCSW
Psychotherapist