About Ashley
Hi there! My name is Ashley Furtado, and I am a Clinical Professional Counselor – Intern. I moved to Henderson in 2023 from Sacramento with my partner. I love traveling and being out in nature – the ocean is my happy place! When I lived in California, one of my favorite things to do was drive to San Francisco, grab myself a Ghirardelli ice cream sundae, walk down to the ocean, and sit and watch the waves – it gives me so much peace! I am a Bay Area native and enjoy discovering new restaurants and activities. Discovering all that Las Vegas culture has to offer has been new and exciting for me!
I had initially believed that teaching would be my career path. However, through assistant teaching at a Waldorf school, I found that I was considerably more passionate about the emotional component of classroom management than the actual teaching! How my students felt, why they were making the choices they did, and helping them to navigate those emotions and actions were the things that I truly enjoyed teaching! I am so passionate about child therapy and working with school age children and their families. Helping you and your children navigate their areas of growth, such as self-esteem, anxiety, depression, managing bullying, and behavioral difficulties, is what I joined the mental health field to do!
How I Help
Humor is the best icebreaker, and I love to get silly with the kids who have sessions with me. Helping them express themselves through their silliness is part of our session structure! In our first few sessions, my goal is to get to know your child and their personality first. This can be through whatever they feel most comfortable doing – reading books, playing board games, coloring, or even listening to music and dancing! Encouraging them to choose the activities they want to do fosters autonomy in the therapy room and provides insight into their personality and strengths.
Because my specialty is school-age children, I have found that stereotypical “talk therapy” doesn’t translate as well with child therapy. Integrating play and interaction into my sessions lets me quickly see your child’s lived and/or perceived reality as I observe their playing and storytelling. Once we identify their “areas of growth,” I work to guide or redirect them in new behavioral skills and regulation. I help them to both learn and employ their “built-in self-regulation”: their five senses! We use this tool consistently in our sessions, as I want to help them grow and learn NEW coping skills but also to acknowledge skills that they are already using as they navigate big emotions.
I am especially enthusiastic about kids feeling confident in who they are, and truly want them to thrive in life! Working with children I have seen how one mean comment may contribute to how a child defines themselves. I want to provide them with the skills to KNOW who they are and to consistently show the world their uniqueness. I regularly tell my kiddos, “The most important relationship you will ever have is the one you have with yourself.” I help your kiddos foster the ability to speak about themselves kindly through positive affirmations and encourage this translation of kindness toward others. In these times, there are so many factors that affect children, and I want them to know that while they may not always have the ability to control them, they can control how you react. I am so passionate about guiding your kiddos in finding ways to regulate their own emotions because that can make them feel POWERFUL!
More About Ashley
Education
Bachelors in Psychology – Sacramento State University – 2019
Master of Arts, Counseling and Psychology – University of the Pacific – 2023