We recently had the chance to connect with Ashlyn Tanner and have shared our conversation below.
Ashlyn, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
The first 90 minutes of my day are focused on preparation and intention. Before engaging with work or technology, I prioritize routines that help me show up focused and energized. I wake up around 4 a.m. and go to the gym with my husband, which helps me build momentum for the day. After that, I get ready and spend time reading and reflecting before checking my phone or starting work.
This routine allows me to begin my day grounded, clear-minded, and ready to be productive and present.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Ashlyn Tanner, a Licensed Professional Counselor and the owner of a private practice focused on helping people better understand their inner world and build healthier relationships with themselves and others. My work centers on making mental health feel approachable, practical, and empowering rather than overwhelming or clinical.
Alongside my therapy practice, I create educational content through my brand, @ashlyntannertherapy, where I share tools around anxiety, burnout, boundaries, and emotional wellness in a way that feels real and relatable. I’m especially passionate about helping people slow down, become more self-aware, and learn how to care for themselves in sustainable ways.
Faith is also an important part of who I am and how I work. It shapes the way I view people, growth, and healing, and it encourages me to approach my work with compassion, intention, and humility. What makes my work unique is the balance between clinical knowledge, personal values, and human connection. I believe growth happens when people feel both informed and understood, and that’s what I aim to offer through therapy, content creation, and the resources I continue to build.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
Before I could really see myself, I believe God saw me clearly. Not just the parts I felt proud of, but the uncertain, growing, imperfect parts too. Long before I had language for my strengths, my purpose, or even my struggles, I felt known and loved in a way that didn’t depend on performance or perfection.
My faith taught me that I didn’t have to become someone worthy of care, but I already was. That belief has shaped how I relate to myself and how I show up for others. It reminds me to approach people with the same curiosity, compassion, and grace that I’ve been shown.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I’d remind my younger self that she is already deeply loved by God, her family, and the people who genuinely care about her. She doesn’t need to earn belonging, and she doesn’t need to be understood by everyone.
Not everyone will agree with her or connect with her, and that’s okay. Her identity isn’t shaped by other people’s reactions, but by who she truly is. I’d want her to trust that and move forward with more freedom and less fear.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
One of the biggest lies in the mental health industry is the idea that therapists have to “have it all together” in order to help others. In reality, most people in helping professions were drawn to this work because of their own experiences. We’re not immune to stress, doubt, or growth; we’re human first, professionals second.
Therapists are people learning, evolving, and doing their best while supporting others. Struggling doesn’t make you weak or ineffective; it makes you honest. Just like our clients, we have to tend to our own well-being, fill our own cup, and care for ourselves in order to show up in healthy, sustainable ways for the people we serve.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
If I knew I had ten years left, I would stop spending so much time on my phone and comparing my life to what I see online. While connection matters to me, I also want to be deeply intentional with the time I’ve been given.
Being constantly tuned into what everyone else is doing can quietly pull me away from my own life. I know I could be more present, creative, and productive if I wasn’t so wrapped up in screens and other people’s timelines. I’d want to invest more of my energy into the people, work, and moments that are actually in front of me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ashlyntannertherapy.com
- Instagram: @ashlyntannertherapy
- Other: Tiktok: @ashlyntannertherapy
