Ashley Johnnies, LCSW

Ashley Johnnies is a licensed clinical social worker in Illinois with five years of professional experience. She approaches therapy with a straightforward, strengths-based attitude and believes people bring important knowledge about their own lives. Ashley encourages small, doable steps toward change and stays focused on practical habits and everyday thoughts that shape mood and behavior.

Her work centers on stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, anger, depression, self-esteem, relationship concerns, family strains, grief, intimacy-related issues, and parenting. She also pays attention to related struggles such as abandonment, adoptive and foster care questions, body image, caregiver stress, codependency, and communication problems. This range lets her respond to the real-life problems people describe in session.

Ashley uses several therapy approaches to match each person’s needs, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Emotionally-Focused Therapy, and client-centered methods. In sessions she listens, reflects, and helps clients try concrete strategies for changing thoughts and daily habits. The focus is on what can be practiced between sessions.

She aims to make sessions a place for clear goals and steady progress. Conversations often cover coping skills, emotion regulation, and improving how people relate to themselves and others. Ashley supports parents dealing with parenting strain and people facing grief, loss, or repeated patterns they want to change.

People who prefer a direct but empathetic approach may find her helpful. She invites clients to take small steps, notice what works, and adjust plans together as needed.

How therapy approaches translate to online work

Ashley draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in many sessions. ACT helps people notice their values and take committed steps toward them even when thoughts are difficult. CBT focuses on spotting unhelpful thought patterns and trying practical experiments to change feelings and behavior.

She also uses client-centered methods to create a respectful, listening-based atmosphere. That approach emphasizes understanding the client and building goals together. Finding the right mix of approaches is a collaborative process she follows with each person, adjusting methods to match needs and preferences.

If you are considering online sessions, please confirm the current session options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life, such as having shorter check-ins on a work break or avoiding travel time. It can also let people practice skills in their everyday routines and bring real situations into conversation, which supports work on thoughts and daily habits.