OUR WHY
Our Why | Our Story | Our Mission, Vision & Values
Holly Ashley & Associates is a psychotherapy practice comprised of licensed, qualified mental health professionals dedicated to helping you find healing, understanding, and ongoing peace in a troubling world through therapy, life coaching, and more. Without judgment or discrimination, we provide online therapy through a secure video link or in-person through Walk and Talk to all types of individuals, couples, and families.
We are here to fill the void. Diversity in our therapy rooms offers culturally competent services by providing the community with access to therapists familiar with a wide range of traditions, histories, beliefs, and languages. Representation is important because it alleviates the burden of explaining one's cultural and racial experiences to a therapist who does not look like them. Our commitment to the emotional well-being of black and African American individuals and communities is steadfast. Providing high-quality, life-changing mental healthcare is our goal.
Everyone is welcome, but we prioritize African Americans and people of the African diaspora due to a lack of appropriate services.
We’re committed to providing you with therapy
you can relate to.
Our Why
Finding a Black therapist may be the most important factor that Blacks seeking therapy look for in a provider. They may feel more at ease seeing a Black therapist who understands their unique societal, personal, familial, and professional experiences and may feel that they have a stronger shared foundation with a Black therapist to discuss intimate topics in therapy.
After years of historical trauma due to racial oppression, discrimination, and prejudice, Black people are "woke" and want to unlearn the harmful stereotypes that keep them from seeking therapy. Black people are looking for safe spaces to heal, which can be difficult when most of the providers available are white.
This is not to say that non-black therapists cannot provide effective therapy to Black clients, because they most certainly can. Neither does sharing a similar ethnic or racial background alone guarantee a good client/therapist fit. However, it is critical for both therapists and therapy seekers to understand that cultural background can play a role in the effectiveness of therapeutic outcomes and why.
Holly Ashley & Associates is a black-owned mental health practice dedicated to the emotional well-being of black and African American people and communities.
For many generations, therapy and mental health support in our communities has been stigmatized. Holly Ashley & Associates was established to increase access to Black therapists and to reduce the stigma associated with mental health treatment. We work with all people but specialize in clinical services and interventions for people underrepresented or misunderstood in the mental health field.
Our Story
Twenty-two years ago, Holly and her husband Michael learned that they would be having twins. A routine examination in the second trimester revealed that the babies were conjoined at the stomach and chest. It is believed that conjoined twins develop from a single fertilized egg that fails to separate as it divides within 14 days after conception. They were devastated. The doctors quietly hinted that they should perform a second-trimester abortion because the chances of the twins surviving nine months were low.
Receiving this bad news set off a spiraling chain of negative emotions for the couple. Stuck at the intersection of trusting God or trusting the doctors, they had choices to make. They could allow this situation and emotions to destroy them or use their inner strength and spiritual knowledge to fight and win this battle. Holly and Michael chose the latter. They rejected the doctor’s recommendation and decided to rely on their faith despite the odds. After many tests, the couple learned the babies were girls, and they each had their extremities but shared a heart and other internal organs.
As the pregnancy progressed, the babies grew normally and were in good condition. They made it to the end of their eighth month before the doctors delivered them by cesarean section. Once delivered, the tiny heart they shared kept them alive for three short hours. The Ashley’s were grateful for the time spent with their daughters before they transitioned. Filled with mixed emotions, Michael and Holly knew that even though they experienced a significant loss, there was a greater assignment waiting for them.
This experience changed the trajectory of their lives. It's the reason why they do the work. Holly charges that one of our main jobs in life is to become an expert in dealing with adversity, triumph over difficulty, and rise above the challenges of day-to-day life. Resolve in advance that you will meet and overcome every test, and then, no matter what happens, don't give up until you do. Once you have done these things, it is your responsibility to reach back and help others learn how to acquire resilience and overcome adversity.
Holly and Michael’s tragedy would later lead them to become founders of two youth organizations that helped hundreds of at-risk youth involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Today, their dedication to the service of others continues by helping people who are hurting or struggling with life's adversities; believing that a person's life will find lasting importance not based on how they live, but on how they empower others to live.
Let this mindful and intentional self-disclosure act as a powerful tool to normalize your issues, model healthy behaviors, and increase your own self-exploration, discovery, and life purpose.
Our Mission
To reduce disparities and improve treatment outcomes by making therapy more acceptable and accessible in communities of color while also providing high-quality, culturally tailored services.
Our Vision
To become an industry leader in connecting Black people to culturally competent mental healthcare, empowering them to thrive now and for future generations.
Our Values
We Practice Self-care
We Lead by Example
We Empower Others
We Give Back to Our Community
We Respect All People, All Communities, and All Cultures
“Adversity, if used properly, will buy you a ticket to a place you couldn’t have gone otherwise.”
— AUTHOR UNKNOWN