Ashley Hayes , LICSW

Ashley Hayes is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) with eight years of clinical experience who works from a whole health perspective to support people through difficult life transitions. She holds clinical social work licensure in Rhode Island and Massachusetts and has focused much of her practice on assisting individuals coping with serious illness, complex medical decisions, anxiety, depression, and grief.

As a recent cancer survivor who works in an oncology clinic, she brings both professional and personal insight to her work with people facing health challenges and losses. That experience has reinforced her belief that mental and physical wellbeing are interconnected and that treatment benefits from attention to both the body and the mind.

Her approach is client centered, strengths based, and solution focused. She helps clients identify realistic expectations and goals, and she emphasizes a collaborative therapeutic relationship in which clients are guided to hear their own thoughts more clearly. Hayes draws primarily from mindfulness practices, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help clients gain clarity, address unhelpful thinking patterns, and build practical skills for coping.

She works with people experiencing anxiety, stress, grief, relationship and family difficulties, trauma and abuse, sleep problems, parenting and caregiver stress, career concerns, low self esteem, and compassion fatigue, among other challenges. Her clinical background includes work with aging and geriatric issues, cancer and hospice care, first responder and veteran needs, multicultural concerns, and complex co-morbid presentations.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Ashley Hayes integrates several evidence-informed approaches into online therapy to meet each person's needs. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps clients clarify what matters most to them and build psychological flexibility so they can take meaningful action even when uncomfortable thoughts or feelings arise; it is useful for anxiety, depression, and life transitions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and adjusting unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns, offering concrete skills for managing anxiety, mood, and sleep difficulties. Mindfulness Therapy teaches present-moment awareness and nonjudgmental attention to thoughts and sensations, which can reduce stress and enhance emotional regulation.

Finding the right combination of approaches is part of the work. Hayes collaborates with each person to determine which methods fit their goals, preferences, and life circumstances, adjusting the plan over time as needs evolve. This collaborative process helps ensure therapy remains relevant and practical.

Online sessions are offered via video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexibility and easier access to care. These options make it simpler to fit therapy into busy schedules, support continuity of care during life changes, and allow people to receive consistent therapeutic support from licensed professionals without geographic constraints.