Ashley Fletcher, LCSW

When writing the story of your life - Don’t let anyone else hold the pen.... I was notified today that exactly one year ago, I updated my LinkedIn profile regarding my leap into self-employment and the launch of Courage Counseling Services... And what a year it’s been! I am enormously grateful every day for this wild and wonderful journey, and especially for each of the brave and beautiful souls who invite me to bear witness to their stories.... To My Clients... Each of you consistently inspire me with the enormous individual strengths you bring to difficult struggles. It is truly an honor to share space with you. Thank you.

Yes. This. It’s not about what you get done right now... It’s really not.

If you haven’t seen it yet... Welcome to my temporary Telehealth office!! This week has certainly been full of overwhelming and unprecedented experiences for everyone, and I’m so grateful that the Telehealth platform is available to us during this time. Please let me know if there are ways I can help you feel more comfortable with this temporary transition to online therapy. You are all on my heart! ... Scared is what you’re feeling. Brave is what you’re doing. - Emma Donoghue

If you are having a rough time right now emotionally / mentally / financially... I see you. This is hard. Sometimes the fastest way to help ourselves feel better is to find a way to help others. Sounds cliche, but it really works. I slept and I dreamed that life is all joy. I woke and I saw that life is all service. I served and I saw that service is joy...... -Mother Theresa

UPDATE re: Coronavirus / COVID-19 Again... To My Clients: As updated information continues to unfold regarding Coronavirus / COVID-19, I have decided to temporarily transition to providing therapy sessions solely via Telehealth, effective tomorrow (3/17). Telehealth is a HIPAA-compliant format for facilitating therapy online, either through a computer or smartphone. ... Please understand that this decision has been made with a great deal of thought and consideration for what I believe to be in the best interest of each of you as my clients, as well as for the broader community at this time. As with any new situation, it is completely understandable that the thought of transitioning to therapy online might feel uncomfortable at first. My hope is that I will be able to answer any questions and alleviate any concerns you have about this new / temporary way of interacting with each other. In keeping with my commitment to deliver specialized therapeutic services to my clients at the very highest standard of care, I will also be spending additional time advancing my knowledge and skill base in the best-practice delivery of specific therapeutic modalities (including EMDR) within an online format. I wish this were not the situation that we find ourselves in, but I also truly believe that we will learn to navigate together any anxieties, difficulties or challenges that may arise through this process. I deeply value your health and well-being, and hope this continues to be made clear to you. Please let me know how I can support you in this transition.

To My Clients... As your overall health and well-being are the highest priorities of my practice, I feel it necessary to address the evolving situation regarding Coronavirus / COVID-19, and to share my current plan for continuing to provide services in a way that feels best suited for each of you individually. At this time, I will be continuing to see clients in person at my office. In addition, my practice system is also equipped to facilitate HIPAA-compliant online therap...y services via Telehealth for any clients who may feel more comfortable not coming into an office environment right now, for whatever reason. Telehealth appointments can be easily facilitated through either a computer or smartphone. Please let me know if you would prefer to make use of this option (even if just temporarily), and I will provide any explanation you might need as to how this system works, and how to easily prepare your phone or computer for these kinds of sessions. If you choose this option, you will still be able to keep your regularly scheduled appointment times. In the office, please know that any handheld EMDR equipment is always properly sanitized with medical-grade alcohol wipes between sessions. Moving forward, other common areas such as doorknobs, light switches, etc. will be sanitized more frequently throughout the day with CDC-approved cleaning products. Frequent hand-washing procedures will continue. Please help me in keeping the office a safe environment for all of us by cancelling your appointment if you: are experiencing any symptoms of illness, including fever, cough, and/or shortness of breath have been recently exposed to someone with these symptoms Please let me know as soon as possible if either of these issues arise for you. We will work together to reschedule your appointment in the office, or if you prefer, you could also decide to keep your scheduled appointment via Telehealth. **There is never a fee for a cancelled appointment due to illness or exposure to illness. This is a strange time! Please know that there is no right or wrong way to be feeling about all that is going on around us. I hope to be as supportive to you as possible - in whatever way you are feeling - as we navigate the days moving forward together.

Do you have a mentor? Thankful for Angie Siceluff and Good Samaritan Boys Ranch - for the support they provide not only to their clients, but also to therapists and staff. **still cringing at myself on video **

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection... Happy Valentine’s Day from Courage! #loveyourself #today

Does your organization provide forms of community care? If so, does it manifest organically, or has it made its way into written policy? **Again - Full Vulnerability Disclosure: Sheesh, I get anxious when being videotaped!

Because you’re worth it... You are. Your life is important. Fight for it. Honor it with your highest possibilities... - Nathaniel Branden

I wish I could tell you that everything was beautiful about starting over. I wish I could tell you that January 1st was going to be the most perfect new beginning... But I cannot tell you that... ...May you see EVERY sunrise for the elaborate feast of new beginnings that it is, and DIG IN. - Morgan Harper Nichols

Okay, time for a moment of pure vulnerability.... Truth: I HATE to be videotaped, especially in any professional capacity... It terrifies me. I get sweaty and anxious and, well, I think I just get a little weird. Thanks to years of practice, encouragement, and passion, I can now speak in front of hundreds of professionals without any form of this feeling. But if someone tells me they’re going to videotape that talk? Yup. I start getting weird all over again. Just ...a few weeks into starting my practice, Mike Coonrod at The sbj Live asked if he could come by the office to film me speaking about some things relevant to a talk I gave for the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association... While I felt that same terror about being filmed, this was a pretty great honor. How could I say no? I shared my anxieties with Mike, (who I might add, was very gracious about it and did an exceptional job filming and putting the piece together). But still, when I watched it, I became hypercritical of myself all over again. My anxious voice, my anxious facial expressions - (that seem to me to end up almost looking condescending?? Gah, noooo!!) - all the things that I see as my own weird manifestations of fear and anxiety... And I was just too afraid to share it. But here’s the thing... A second cut was posted today. And I started thinking about the way I talk to my clients, and do my best to support them through facing their fears every day. And you guys... They DO it!!! Man, do they ever... It’s never easy. But their courage inspires me. And I decided I better walk the walk. So here we go... Holding my breath and sharing the first cut, including all of my weirdness. Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain. - Ralph Waldo Emerson https://www.facebook.com/thesbjlive/videos/2376208175929355/

Let this be the November.... #HealYourWounds #TellYourStory #WithYourWHOLEHeart