Ashley Berkebile is a Licensed Associate Counselor in the state of New Jersey, having earned her Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from Monmouth University. Ashley has over 7 years of experience working with children, adolescents, and families, who struggle with a variety of challenges including depression, anxiety, substance use and co-occurring disorders, trauma and PTSD, parenting challenges, eating disorders, ADHD, and general life transitions. Ashley spent four years as a child/adolescent crisis clinician and she additionally holds a NJ student assistance coordinator (SAC) certification and is working toward LCADC licensure.
Ashley takes a person-centered, holistic approach to counseling, believing that every person is an “expert” on their own life and that all aspects of a person’s life, whether it be mind, body, spirit, or social, are intertwined and have an effect on one’s mental wellbeing. Ashley believes that the purpose of counseling is growth and that to grow is to challenge one’s own perspectives and stereotypes, to get “unstuck” by working through past and current hurdles, and to conquer new ways of navigating future challenges that will inevitably arise. In therapy, she stresses the importance of establishing a strong, therapeutic relationship. This is a relationship that is developed over time and rooted in mutual trust, honesty, and freedom from judgment; a relationship encouraged through empathy and understanding and obtained through the simplest of methods – talking and listening. In working with people, Ashley tries to find unique ways to engage them, all while encouraging personal accountability and pinpointing strengths and opportunities for growth. Ashley believes that all people, regardless of the issues that bring them to therapy, have the capacity for positive growth and she aims to help each person recognize that capacity in themselves.