Ashley Sutton (she/her)

Burnout happens when your life's demands chronically outpace your resources, over time, without adequate recovery. I have conducted research assessing burnout and self-compassion both for my undergraduate thesis and as a part of my doctoral dissertation. I have provided seminars on burnout among healthcare and SUD providers, and developed a strategic burnout prevention plan for providers in a hospital based residential treatment program. I'm passionate about helping helpers manage burnout.

Anxiety is a normal human emotion. Some amount of anxiety is actually healthy, because it helps motivate and energize us to do things that help our survival. Anxiety becomes a problem when it interferes with our life. During my doctoral program I trained for two years in an Anxiety Disorders Clinic treating OCD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Panic Disorder. In 2026, anxiety is everywhere, and I help people to still live full, meaningful lives even when anxiety is present.

Substance Use Disorders (SUD) and behavioral addictions like Gambling Disorder are highly genetic conditions. They happen when the reward pathway in your brain gets hijacked, often because of major life stressors. For many people, what starts out as self-medication becomes its own separate problem. I completed a postdoctoral fellowship at VA Pittsburgh with a focus in SUD, and have worked in hospital based SUD settings since 2019. You're not a bad person; addiction is a biological disease.

My practice is trauma-informed, meaning I value and respect the autonomy of the client above all else. We go at your pace, and you never have to talk about something you don't want to. I am trained and experienced in multiple trauma focused treatments, including Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), and Written Exposure Therapy (WET). I also often use coping skills training and Motivational Interviewing to help clients prepare for a trauma focused therapy.

I am VA trained in Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET). MI is helpful if you are trying to make a major change (lifestyle, diet, substance use, etc.), but struggling with how and why you want to do it. MET is helpful if you are considering making a change about alcohol use. MI is very client-centered, which means I follow your lead more than in other types of therapy. Together we explore your motivations for change and how it fits with your values.

CBT looks at your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and how they are connected. We can make strategic changes to thoughts and behaviors to help you reach your goals. I have trained in CBT throughout my entire career, and love how it can be applied to virtually any issue or goal. And to be clear, it's not about taking your painful thoughts and turning them into sunshine and rainbows, and it's not "self-gaslighting." CBT is about experiencing thoughts in a different, more nuanced and accurate way.