LaToya Ashley
(she/her)
New to Grow
My name is LaToya and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor based in Houston, TX . I work with adults who are ready to do the deep, honest work of healing, people who have spent years feeling like they were not enough, shrinking themselves to keep the peace, and carrying wounds from childhood that were never theirs to carry in the first place. I also work with parents who are ready to break generational patterns. Not because they were bad parents, but because they are brave enough to become better than their own.
Get to know me
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
I offer both in-person and telehealth options, so we can find what works best for your life and schedule. Once you have arrived, no preparation is needed to get started. Your authentic self is all that I am asking for. Please come willing to believe in change and honest about the process. Therapy is not a quick fix and I will never promise you one. But it is one of the most powerful investments you can make in yourself, your relationships, and the life you want to live. I am glad you are here.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
I work at the intersection of two truths that most people in my client population carry simultaneously; you are deeply capable of change and you have been shaped by experiences that made change feel impossible. I treat the root and not just the symptoms. I do not just help you manage what is on the surface, we get to go where it started. I hold both warmth and directness. I will sit with you in your pain without trying to rush you through it. And when you are ready or when I sense you are holding yourself back from being ready, I will gently and honestly name what I am seeing. My clients often tell me that feeling both deeply heard and respectfully challenged are keys to their readiness to learn what it means to actually thrive.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
I am best positioned to serve adults who are done pretending they are fine. My ideal clients are people who have spent years being the strong one, the peacekeeper, the people-pleaser, the one who holds everything together while quietly falling apart inside. They are high-functioning on the outside and exhausted on the inside. They do not always know exactly what happened to them, but they know that something in their childhood shaped them in ways they are still living with today. They may struggle with chronic self-doubt, an inner critic that never quiets, difficulty trusting others, relationships that follow the same painful patterns, or a persistent feeling that they are not quite enough, no matter how much they achieve or give. They are ready and willing. Willing to be honest about what is not working. Willing to look at where it came from. Willing to feel uncomfortable in the service of something better. I also serve parents who recognize themselves in this description and want to break the cycle, not because they have been bad parents, but because they love their children enough to do their own work first. If you are someone who has always known something needed to change but never quite believed you deserved the space to change it, this is your space. You deserve it. And I would be honored to do this work with you.
Specialties
Top specialties
Anxiety
Depression
Self Esteem
Other specialties
Coping Skills
First Responders/Healthcare Workers
Older Adults
I identify as
Black / African American
Christian
Person of Color (POC)
Woman
Serves ages
Adults (18 to 64)
Elders (65 and above)
Licensed in
Texas
Accepts
Arlo
Location
Offers in-person in 5330 Griggs Rd, Houston, TX 77021, C-106
Virtual
My treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
CBT helps clients identify the thought patterns that fuel their emotional struggles. For adults carrying childhood wounds, those patterns often include deeply ingrained beliefs like “I am not enough,” “I have to earn love,” or “If I speak up, something bad will happen.” I use CBT to help clients catch these automatic thoughts, examine the evidence for and against them, and begin replacing them with more accurate, compassionate narratives. It is practical, structured, and gives clients concrete tools they can use between sessions.
EMDR
EMDR is one of the most powerful tools I use for processing trauma that is stored in the body and nervous system, not just in the conscious memory. Many of my clients have experiences that words alone cannot fully reach. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation to help the brain reprocess distressing memories so they lose their emotional charge. Clients often describe EMDR as the moment something that has haunted them for years finally begins to feel like the past instead of the present. I approach EMDR with care, pacing, and deep attunement to each client’s readiness.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
ACT invites clients to stop fighting their internal experience and start moving toward what truly matters to them. I use ACT when clients are stuck in cycles of avoidance, pushing away painful thoughts and feelings in ways that are keeping them small. Together we work on psychological flexibility to learn to hold difficult emotions without being controlled by them, clarifying personal values, and taking committed action toward the life they actually want. ACT is particularly powerful for my clients who have spent years trying to think or willpower their way out of pain.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
DBT is built on the foundational idea that two seemingly opposite things can both be true; you are doing the best you can, and you can do better. I draw from DBT’s four core skill areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness to help clients heal. DBT is especially helpful for clients who experience intense emotional responses, struggle with people-pleasing and boundary-setting, or find themselves in relational patterns that feel impossible to break. The skills are practical, teachable, and life-changing when practiced consistently.
Cognitive Processing (CPT)
CPT was originally developed for trauma and is particularly effective for clients whose past experiences have left them with distorted beliefs about safety, trust, power, esteem, and intimacy. I use CPT to help clients identify “stuck points” (the beliefs that trauma locked into place) and systematically challenge and reframe them. For adults who experienced childhood emotional wounds, CPT can be transformative in helping them separate who they were told they were, from who they actually are.