Ashley Bendickson
Ashley Bendickson is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Texas. She holds a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Houston and has been providing counseling services since 2017 in both private practice and university settings.
Ashley works with individuals (18+) and couples to create an open and safe environment where thoughts and feelings can be shared without fear of judgment. Ashley takes a holistic, integrative approach and empowers her clients to reach their goals by helping them to explore beneath the surface, develop new skills, and gain confidence for their journey.
Ashley is experienced in treating a variety of concerns including depression, anxiety, family and relationship problems, sexuality, coping with life change, nutrition, compassion fatigue, exploring spiritual/religious concerns, cultivating emotional maturity, leadership and career development, communication, assertiveness, and boundary setting. Ashley has considerable experience providing counseling services to LGBTQ+ individuals and couples.
It is said about Ashley that she has an unparalleled ability to hold space for complexity. Life can be complicated. Being human can be complex. A conflict or misalignment between an individual's beliefs, values, feelings, behavior, or relationship can cause great personal pain and distress. Ashley is able to sit with you in the incongruence, and help you explore deeply, cope well, and consider new ways of thinking until you are able to discover congruence again.
Prior to the formation of Next Summit Counseling, Ashley spent 10 years working for a large nonprofit. Many of those years were spent in upper-level management developing leaders and teams. Ashley believes that when one individual experiences personal transformation, it influences everyone around them. She is passionate about helping leaders cultivate their emotional intelligence and personal effectiveness, as this results in healthy and whole-hearted workplaces, teams, families, and communities.
Faith & Approach:
Ashley treats individuals and couples from a wide variety of religious and non-religious backgrounds. Many individuals and couples that Ashley sees in counseling choose not to discuss religion and spirituality as part of the therapeutic process. Ashley deeply enjoys working with each of these individuals, and journeys with them with respect, positive regard, and deference toward their preferences and point of view.
When asked, Ashley discloses that her personal beliefs tend to align with progressive Christianity. To her, this means following the way of Jesus through inclusion, justice, love, and humility. Ashley desires for all people to experience that they are loved, accepted, forgiven, and free. Some individuals find this information helpful, as it can be difficult to find a counselor who is well-versed in biblical knowledge and is well-acquainted with both Christian and progressive Christian worldviews. Ashley is available to incorporate faith into counseling sessions upon request.