Ashley Petty's (she/her) goal is to create a judgement free environment where her clients feel safe, understood, and empowered to pursue their healing. Her goal is to help clients better understand and have compassion for their life experiences and feelings, however they may be showing up. In the therapy room, Ashley adjusts to what works best with each client’s way of expressing themselves. Trainings in TF-CBT and EMDR have carved out her trauma-informed lens for working with all ages. She loves to pull from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Biological Psychology, Existentialism, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Play Therapy approaches in sessions to support clients with reestablishing a sense of safety in their own mind and body, in relationships with others and to the world. When working with children, child centered, non-directive, trauma-informed play therapy is Ashley’s passion, where she supports children as they use the language of play to express and explore their inner world and life stressors.

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Ashley earned her undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice in 2015 and her Master of Science degree in Counselor Education from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2018. She is recognized as Fully EMDR Trained and received her EMDR training from EMDRIA Approved Consultants. She has obtained advanced training in EMDR for children and families and is currently pursuing the Registered Play Therapist credential through the Association for Play Therapy. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselor’s Board of Examiners. 

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Outside of her time at The Therapy Garden, Ashley enjoys practicing yoga, listening to live music, finding local nature to explore, and prioritizing time to connect with her family & pets.

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Ashley is a climate change aware therapist and enjoys supporting clients in coping with anxiety, grief, and any other feelings surrounding macro-level ecological stressors our world is facing.