Community Highlights: Meet Ashley McCleery of Ashley McCleery, LMFT

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley McCleery.

Hi Ashley, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Ever since I was a little girl immersed in the world of books, I have loved learning about people’s stories- what joys they find in life, what obstacles they have overcome, and how it has impacted the person they are becoming. So it felt like a natural calling to tell those stories in a career as a journalist. After a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication and a year working as a print journalist, I was disappointed in my career choice. Each time I finished a story, I had to move on to the next story, the next person. In an attempt to find a career where I could invest in people and their story, I moved across the country to attend graduate school in Pasadena, studying Intercultural Studies, to work in the non-profit sector. After a M.A. In Intercultural Studies, a year looking at job prospects, and a few years in my own therapy, I was disappointed in my career choice once again. My story was beginning to feel redundant, but I tried once more. Through my own pivotal and profound experiences in therapy, I realized that being a therapist was a career that combined my desire to listen to people’s stories and my passion to help them through the following chapters of their lives. After a M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy, training in DIR Floortime and psychodynamic, depth therapy, earning 3,000 hours, and passing the licensing tests, I was enthralled with my career choice. In 2018, I opened my private practice in Old Town Pasadena and have felt so honored to sit with others, helping them uncover how their past may be connected to their current thoughts, feelings, and emotions and guiding them towards new patterns of relating to themselves and others.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As you can gather from my previous answer, it has absolutely not been a smooth road. I’m actually thankful for that, though, because I wouldn’t be who I am today without the struggle. Typically, professional helpers are helpers for a reason. It’s often based on a deep-seated desire to heal old wounds, finding self worth in giving, and an uncomfortability in our own needs. In both my therapist chair and on the couch in my therapist’s office, I face these truths in myself. It’s through this constant learning, unlearning, and relearning of myself that allows me to continually grow.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
In my private practice, I focus on matrescence, meaning the process of becoming a mother. Think adolescence but with a lot less sleep and a lot more responsibility. ​A word that makes space for the hormonal, physical, emotional, mental and social upheaval that accompanies any and all stages of becoming a mother: fertility struggles, conception, miscarriage, pregnancy, birth, infant loss, surrogacy, adoption, and the postnatal period. The concept of motherhood as a developmental and psychological transition gave me so much clarity during my early days of mothering, which occurred when fear was at an all time high and isolation was the only way to stay safe. Yes, I gave birth in 2020. Over the last six years, I have become PMH-C (Perinatal Mental Health Certified by Postpartum Support International) and attended many presentations on matrescence, motherhood, and maternal mental health. As a matrescence therapist, I work with mothers at all stages of motherhood, helping them make sense of their experiences, reconnect with themselves, highlight strengths, and find more avenues of support. While some of these mothers may have postpartum depression and anxiety, others simply need a space to reorient themselves in this new identity or reconcile their “old self” with this “new self.”

What’s next?
My current project is “Between Us,” a psychotherapy collective with colleagues, whom I have been working with for years. Over the last decade, we’ve watched the rise of corporations taking over therapy by creating therapy platforms. Unfortunately, these corporations promote therapy as a product and not a relationship, value revenue over compensating their therapists, and reduce process to productivity. Our goal is to bring awareness to this trend and to become a community resource by utilizing our four different networks in LA to find the right therapist for your needs. In regard to my own work, I would love to go back to school one day to study the psychological aspects of matrescence. After many hours of research, I’ve yet to find a doctoral program or, really, any program that focuses on matrescence. For now, the knowledge is trickling down from the one who revived the term- Dr. Aurélie Athan, a clinical psychologist and faculty member at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is spearheading the movement and developed Khora Lab, a team of researchers and educators who are devoted to advancing maternal health literacy. Until then, I will continue researching on my own and attending presentations and trainings so I can help mothers learn more about their process of becoming.

Pricing:

• $200 per session
• Sliding scale may be available based on income

Contact Info:

• Website: ashleymccleery.com; betweenustherapycollective.com
• Instagram: @matrescencemusings
• Other: ashleymccleerymft@gmail.com