We were lucky to catch up with Ashley Vicari recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ashley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

I would describe my mother as a free spirit. She opened her own company when I was in high school and I saw how she poured into the work she did. She always believed that the work would come and for years she took care of my sister and I solely on her business income. She has inspired me in many ways and truly I think has been the biggest impact on setting me up for success by believing in means championing me. Her confidence has never faltered in thinking my sister and I could do anything and she passed this down to us. While taking risks can be scary, the reward is so great and I have seen that play out in her life.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Ashley Vicari Counseling, LLC officially launched in the Spring of 2024 in Bowling Green, KY and has continued to grow! AVC has multiple therapists all with various specialties including: Anxiety & Depression, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Life Adjustments & Grief, Eating Disorders & Body Image issues, Family, Couples, and Relationship matters, Infertility, Perinatal & Postpartum periods, Trauma work, & Work within the LGBTQ+ communities. At AVC, we believe that all individuals have an opportunity to find balance, healing, and growth in their journey and it is our honor to support them along the way.

When I was 28 I went back to school for counseling. I knew that I was made to love on people and I wanted to see if Counseling was the path to do that in. I had no idea how much it would transform my life, but doing this work literally feels like breathing to me. It is so natural and truly an honor to hold space for people, especially when they are in crisis. I began my trauma training on 2015 and a few years later began immersive training in eating disorders. These two areas intersect so often, and as a woman who grew up with many expectations from culture on what I “should be” or how I “should look,” I have truly understood what it means to do the work of healing and finding my strength from within. It is such an honor to champion others who are working so hard to find their healing and strength from within.

A few years ago I also got trained in working with Perinatal, Postpartum, and Infertility areas as this was something that I experienced when trying to get pregnant. Holding space for women and families in the midst of this very emotional journey feels again like an honor. Support, encouragement, a shoulder to cry on, and a smiling face are all things I want to provide to my incredibly brave clients. It means everything to me to do this work.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Thinking about counseling one of the biggest lessons I had to learn and over come was my negative core belief that I was “too much.” I think this core belief existed with me for far too long and would rock my self-esteem at various points. Through my own healing journey and being able to support others in their healing journey, I have realized that I am in fact NOT too much, and that I get to show up as myself every day and in every way. It is a beautiful place of freedom for me now.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

Absolutely! This is really a second career for me and part of me wonders if I would want to get in it earlier than I did, but part of me loves that I had a lot of life experience before I began this route. But overall, 100% yes, I absolutely love counseling and would do this again every single time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ashleyvicaricounseling.com
• Instagram: @Ashley_vicari_counseling
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/counselingwithashley
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-vicari-lpcc-s-ncc-397985a2

Image Credits

@kaseyerinphotography