Ashley Hayes, LICSW

Ashley Hayes is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) licensed in Rhode Island and Massachusetts with eight years of clinical social work experience. She helps people manage stress, anxiety, grief, adjustment to life changes, relationship concerns, codependency patterns, and issues that come with serious illness or caregiving.

Ashley draws on straightforward methods to help clients set realistic goals and make small, manageable changes. She prioritizes a client-centered approach that focuses on strengths and practical steps. Sessions often include mindfulness practices and cognitive strategies to notice and shift unhelpful thinking.

Her work in oncology and as a cancer survivor informs how she supports people facing health challenges, end-of-life decisions, or caregiver strain. That background shapes a focus on the interaction between physical illness and emotional responses, and on strategies to reduce overwhelm.

In sessions she listens for patterns that keep people stuck - people-pleasing, difficulty saying no, or losing a sense of self around others. She helps identify simple experiments and daily practices to test different ways of responding to those patterns.

Clients can expect clear discussion about achievable next steps, skills to manage anxiety and sleep, and attention to attachment and communication patterns that influence relationships. Ashley uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, attachment-based ideas, and mindfulness exercises to support these goals.

Therapeutic approaches used in online sessions