Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Rogers.
Hi Ashley, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
How and why I am where I am today actually is rooted in my childhood. I was born in Valencia, California to parents who struggled with untreated mental illness and addiction. My childhood was very traumatic as a result. They did not overcome their demons. I was removed from the custody of my birth parents after we moved to Texas in 1997. I was adopted through the CPS system to my new family in 2001 at the age of nine. I mention this because it is very important to my story and why I do what I do. Challenges remained even after adoption because I was already halfway through my childhood and development with a pretty significant trauma history. Many people who are born into families with similar struggles to mine tend to repeat the behaviors, patterns, and addictions that were modeled for them. That’s human nature. It’s easy. It is statistically what is expected. I determined my life was going to be different from the life I grew up in, so I broke those patterns and created a life I could be proud to live.
I graduated from Palestine High School in 2010. I was number six in my class of approximately two hundred. I initially started college as a music education major. I enjoyed playing music, and I viewed my band director and his wife as mentors who had given me safe adults to confide in and be myself around. I wanted to do the same for adolescents in one of the most vulnerable stages of their lives. After one year, I knew music wasn’t going to be the way I did that. I changed my major in 2011 to social work. In 2012, I completed my associate’s degree in social work at Tyler Junior College. In 2013, I married my wonderful husband who has always believed in me. In 2014, I finished my Bachelor of Social Work and in 2015 I completed my Master of Social Work, both at Stephen F. Austin State University. In 2018, I earned my clinical license, which is the highest licensure a social worker can hold. I had a lovely clinical supervisor during my post graduate internship process that really believed in me as well. In 2019, we moved to the Austin area. In 2021, we welcomed our precious daughter, who changed my life for the best in many ways. In 2024, I earned my supervisor designation to supervise LMSW license holders seeking clinical supervision.
Professionally speaking, I have varied experience in the mental health world. Private practice was always the goal, but I wanted to be competent before I went out on my own. I have worked in a few different private inpatient mental health hospitals as a case manager and therapist. I worked for a community mental health center as a crisis assessor and therapist for those struggling with suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation, and or psychosis. I worked at the state hospital level, where I was the only therapist on staff caring for adolescents that had severe trauma and legal issues. After that, I was a civilian contractor for the United States Air Force where I provided therapy for active-duty Airmen. In 2019, my husband and I moved to Austin. I applied to hospitals and agency jobs, but also applied to Three Oaks Counseling and Psychiatry as a private practice therapist. They hired me almost immediately, and I almost turned it down because I questioned if I was ready to be in private practice. My previous clinical supervisor and my husband told me to take the job. I did. I learned so much about private practice and running a business during my time there. The colleagues I have there are amazing, and I am grateful to them for believing in me and helping me learn enough to get started on my own. In October 2023, I launched my practice- Life Chats Therapy, PLLC. I have been working in and on my practice ever since.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Parts of this journey have been smooth, and other parts have been super rocky. Completing my MSW was probably one of the most difficult things I have accomplished in adulthood. I was in an accelerated program (18-hour semesters, many very long papers, lots of reading) working full time (at a mental health inpatient hospital) due to financial necessity, and commuting 150 miles a day between work, school, and home since I lived in a very rural area at the time. This meant starting my day at 5 am and often getting back in bed at 11 pm since classes ended at 9 pm, and I had a commute home. I worked, went to class, did homework, and slept a few hours each day. This was my life for 10 months. I also had an MSW school internship supervisor that told me my trauma history is too severe to do the kind of work I wanted to do. All of this made me want to quit about two or three months before graduation. Lucky for me, I have an amazing husband who wouldn’t hear of it and told me to keep going. I did and I finished. I knew I had to finish if the message I want to share with people is to be heard from someone who has lived it- You can do or be anything you want to do or be as long as you’re willing to work for it. Your past doesn’t define you or limit you unless YOU allow it to. We also had to move eight hours from all of the people and places we knew in 2017 for my husband’s dream job. I was about eighteen months through my twenty four month internship to earn my LCSW. I still finished, but it did delay the process. This delay would turn out to be a blessing in disguise. It was the first step (unbeknownst to me at the time) to my private practice career.
Also, imposter syndrome is a very real thing. I find that when I am stuck and don’t move forward, I am what’s in my way… fear of messing up, fear of not knowing enough, fear of not being able to help people, which the reason I do what I do. I still go to therapy myself to help with fear, imposter syndrome, and to keep making sure my history doesn’t cloud the lens through which I see my clients and their stories.
The parts of the journey that have been smooth are all the clients I have had the honor of working with for 11 years, past and present. I have always felt extremely fortunate to really and deeply connect with my clients. I am honored to be the keeper of their stories. They are why I do what I do. I have also met a lot of great mentors and peers along the way- Barbara Morgan, LCSW was my clinical supervisor that has always encouraged me and believed in me, even when I was green and freshly learning. Rachel Mattis, LPC is a colleague of mine who also started her own practice. When I told her I was starting a practice, she graciously answered all my questions and showed me it was possible. Hope Torres, LPC is a peer and mentor that is one of my biggest cheerleaders. She consistently pushes me to step out of my comfort zone because she knows what I am capable of. Also, I might have mentioned that I have a true gem of a husband. He has seen me at my best, my worst, and loves me anyway. There have been many times I didn’t think I could do something, but he knew I could and pushed me to do it. Also, I want to be the best role model I can be for our daughter. I want her to see that she can do hard things and put in the work to make it happen.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Life Chats Therapy, PLLC- “Just two people having a chat about life.”
Life Chats Therapy is a private therapy practice. I came up with the idea for the name based on several brainstorming sessions and in remembrance of something my grandfather always did when I was a kid and an adult. When I spent time with him, our day always started with a country cooked breakfast, black coffee, and hefty servings of life advice and wisdom. Chats at the breakfast table about any and everything. That is where the idea for the business name and slogan comes from. How I approach therapy is we are just two people having a conversation about your life. I ask questions, people answer them, and really start to learn about themselves, their patterns, and how to heal from things that have happened to them. I specialize in trauma and PTSD (and related symptoms), social anxiety, perfectionism, and first responders.
I am known for my empathy and understanding. The most consistent feedback I have received from my clients is that they know I care about them as a person. Therapy is sometimes the first time a person has had a safe place or person to really see and hear them. I am honored to be that for the people I work with. This allows me to teach them how to find or create new healthy relationships outside of therapy for their ongoing support. I also learn as much from my clients and their experiences as I hope they are learning from me.
What sets me apart from others is my life experience. I have lived through things that would have derailed most people. I lived through many of the same struggles I see clients for and came out on the other side, whole and successful. I personally understand many of the struggles that my clients are wanting help with because I have had to be helped through many of them myself. I think truly understanding and being able to relate, even without sharing intimate details, makes my clients feel safe, cared for, and understood. This is very foundation for therapy, or any healthy relationship and that is something I capture with my clients. I also have 11 years of professional experience, education, and several trainings/certifications to back me up. I am Cognitive Processing Therapy certified, Accelerated Resolution Therapy trained and am in the process of earning my Certified Clinical Trauma Professional certification as well.
I am most proud of my brand being relatable for real people. I am often told by people who have never done therapy that it wasn’t what they expected. Most new people expect a scene from a movie where they lay on a couch and talk about their problems, without solutions, or someone with a white coat dismissing them. I pride myself on being down to earth and relatable. I welcome and ask for feedback so that people can get what they want and need out of their time in therapy.
Life Chats Therapy is located in Round Rock, Texas for in person sessions, and conducts telehealth sessions for people anywhere in Texas. Life Chats does accept most major health insurances.
Life Chats is also accepting up to 4 LMSWs seeking clinical supervision for their LCSW licensure. Supervision can be conducted in person or via telehealth, depending on your location.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I read often for my own growth and to have good resources to share in my work with my clients. I love Brene Brown- Daring Greatly and The Gifts of Imperfection were two of my favorites. Strong Ground is on my shelf to read next. Not Nice by Dr. Aziz Gazipura was recommended to me several years ago. It has been helpful personally and I use it often with clients. I call it my social anxiety manual. He also wrote The Art of Extraordinary Confidence, which is great for overcoming imposter syndrome. I love Private Practice Skills YouTube channel and podcast. It gave me a lot of great instruction for getting my private practice off the ground. I also recommend Shrink for The Shy Guy for people struggling with social anxiety. The Abundance Party is keeping me building my practice in a way that is sustainable.
Pricing:
- Most Major Insurances Accepted
- Cash Pay $175 for initial session, $150 for follow up sessions
- $100 a session for clinical supervision
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lifechatstherapy.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-rogers-lcsw-s-675617128
