About Ashby Dodge, LCSW, CDWF

#IYKYK

If you know, you know. Navigating the world right now is tricky and can be difficult, especially if you don’t have an authentic, grounding force to support you when you need perspective.

Just watching the morning news can be overwhelming. Thank God there are hundreds of memes a day we can send to each other to help us illustrate the intensity of our worries (memes are my love language). 🙂

Authenticity, humor, compassion – that’s my jam.

It won’t be hard to determine if we are a right fit when we meet. If it’s there, it’s there. And if we aren’t a fit – no worries. I will do my best to help you find someone who is.

It’s super important to find someone with whom you feel comfortable. When you know, you’ll know.

Turns out, theater and therapy are a great pair.

Ever since I was a kid, I knew I wanted to be an actress and a therapist. My undergraduate degree was in Drama Therapy. After graduating from college, I moved to NYC to pursue acting.

When growing up in Hawaii, my family was always involved in singing and performing, so trying to make a living at it seemed natural. I had some fun jobs during my time acting (so if you ever randomly see me on SVU – don’t freak out – it’s me… and I know that can feel weird – lol).

I’ve worked on some exciting shows and met some amazing people.

After about 12 years and some life experience, I felt a shift and wanted to do more. I then decided to put myself through social work school at Fordham University in NYC and embark upon my therapeutic career.

Everything I have done in my life has fed into my work as a therapist, and I draw upon those experiences to engage in creative problem-solving and skill-building.

My favorite thing is working with LGBTQ+ young people.

I’ve been lucky to work with a wide variety of people and populations. While I’ve worked with sexual assault and domestic violence survivors, at-risk high school students, and substance abuse treatment clients, most of my work has been suicide prevention and crisis intervention with LGBTQ+ young people.

Working with LGBTQ+ young people is very near and dear to my heart since I am part of the community. I understand its unique challenges, and two of my three brothers are also part of the LGBTQ+ community.

ALL the young people in our communities must have a place where they feel understood, embraced, and protected. That is my goal.

I truly love what I do and am inspired constantly by the strength and presence my clients bring into our work together. The fact that I GET TO do this – is a dream come true.