MEET ASHLEY BLAKE, LCSW
You’re not looking for another self-help exercise.
Neither am I.
Therapist in St. Louis, Missouri
Sometimes you think if you could just understand yourself a little bit better, your life wouldn’t feel so painful.
Most of the people I see are well aware something isn’t working in their lives and are eager to change. They’ve read insightful books, started journals, and may have even tried therapy.
They make a few tweaks and life feels good for a little while. Until it doesn’t.
Maybe a colleague makes an off-handed comment, their spouse picks a fight, or they start to shrink beneath the weight of everything they’ve said “yes” to even though their plate was already overflowing. They end up feeling hopeless, exhausted, angry, and maybe even ashamed—and wondering where they went wrong.
These aren’t surface-level problems. They point to something deeper that can’t be addressed with basic coping skills—which is where a lot of therapy stops.
THERAPY WITH ME IS DIFFERENT
I’M NOT HERE TO SOOTHE YOU, TELL YOU WHAT TO DO, OR MAKE IT ABOUT MYSELF.
I'm here to pay attention to what’s beneath the words you say. I listen for the themes running through them and identify emerging patterns. I'll tell you what I notice, even when it isn't comfortable, and I'll ask what you make of it.
We won’t sit around and chit-chat. This is focused, collaborative work.
With time, you begin to catch yourself in the moment of repeating a pattern and choose differently. You realize you have more options than to wither and make yourself small. Seeing these moments of growth is why I love this work.
MY METHODOLOGY
MY PRACTICE IS ROOTED IN PSYCHODYNAMIC PSYCHOTHERAPY.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a form of talk therapy built on a basic premise: A lot of the ways you feel and act happen on autopilot, outside your conscious awareness—influenced by something you experienced in your past.
Rather than managing symptoms at the surface, this method is like an excavation. Together, we pull up the weeds and plant something new so you can make changes that take root.
MY SPECIALTIES
Therapy for Men
Depression & Anxiety
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
MY GUIDING PRINCIPLES
CLARITY
Our sessions are specific and to the point, not spent talking in circles.
CURIOSITY
I care more about why you do what you do than about pinning a label on it.
DEPTH
We go after what's underneath the problem, not what’s happening at the surface.
GROWTH
I encourage you to take the understanding we uncover and do something with it.
REFLECTION
We slow down enough to look at things deeply and reveal new insights.
INTEGRITY
I don't offer reassurances I don't mean.
HONESTY
I offer candid, direct feedback and prioritize truth, even when it feels uncomfortable.
DISCOVERY
Together we connect the dots you haven't been able to see on your own.
TRAINING & EDUCATION
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Master of Social Work, Loyola University Chicago - 2011
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, MO #2017015304
Licensed Independent Social Worker, OH #I.2506680
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Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy Pre-Core Training, 2025
Two-Year Advanced Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Certificate from the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute, 2022
Evidence-Based Assessment and Treatment of PTSD in Adults, Washington University, 2020
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Individual supervision with ACT trainer, 2018-2020
Advanced Trauma Consultation Group, Womencare Counseling Center in Evanston, IL, 2014-2019
Certificate in the Relational Treatment of Trauma, Womencare Counseling Center in Evanston, IL, 2014
YOU HAVE IT WITHIN YOU TO MAKE CHANGES. IT’S TIME TO DIG DEEP ENOUGH TO FINALLY PUT THEM IN MOTION.
Offering therapy in-person in St. Louis and online throughout Missouri.