Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Hastain Mills.
Hi Ashley, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My experience of “my story” is how I have merged the gifts and aptitudes I was born with, with the practicality of my education, to create a very unique, Transpersonal and spiritually informed approach to psychotherapy.
I have found, that the intentional and curated use of my aptitudes, has had a very positive effect on healing the whole field associated with a client. Working with all ages, with a specialty in childhood development from a very wholistic perspective, I have parents that contact me, with the intention of working with their child, that upon discussion of what they are seeking support with, recognize, what is most needed is support for themselves.
Because I view a family as a whole system, I find that supporting one member, has a positive ripple effect of healing throughout the entire system—and the whole family system is reporting healing based on my approach.
In a world where there is generally such a drastic separation between what one would consider their “day job”, and what one would consider the development of the spiritual wellbeing of their life—and this incongruence often causing immense distress—I find, by overt utilization of my aptitudes and gifts, focusing on increased consciousness toward well being—activates, aptitudes and gifts in others.
The rising of their own gifts, begins to fill in and make very dynamic, the therapeutic process.
This is the kind of experience I would want to call “my story”. The emphasis of the therapeutic journey as a process of aptitude activated, conscious development together, rather than any kind of fixation on a specific modality or theoretical approach. In this, I find emphasis on the whole being, brings forth and enriches the therapeutic experience, that lends itself to the spiritual well-being of personhood—and that, ends up being the measure of success of the therapeutic alliance.
This success being reflected in all aspects of life, in turn, becomes much more cohesive and much less incongruent. This is how, healing one member of a family can have a profound impact on the entire system—clearing trauma from many generations past and future, by working so deeply in the present.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My approach in navigating obstacles and challenges is a mindfulness practice of choosing a very positive mindset operating protocol. I could have believed it would take 10+ years before I would have my own private practice, and that I would need to go through every kind of “day job” drama to set up my business. Instead, I’ve operated knowing that those whom are a match to the approach I take of healing and therapy, will find me—and in the nearly ten years of operating my own private practice, I have never advertised or marketed, and have a consistently full practice. I deeply trust that the connection that is supposed to be made manifest, will draw my clients to me. In my personal practice of a conscious, co-creative process with The Universe, I do not hold any kind of doubts or fears that might be projected from the outside world, and instead remain deeply focused on the exact kinds of clients I most deeply desire to collaborate with. This has resulted in people coming to me in all kinds of miraculous ways, that has not relied on marketing or advertising in any way. I am a true believer of our internal landscape shaping our external world, and in that, I am strict with how I think and speak, to insure my thoughts, words and beliefs are aligned with the life I most want to live. I take my personal practices and self-care very seriously-for how I care for myself is reflected in how I can provide care for others.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Holding The Hope Therapeutics, LLC?
I work with individuals and families across the lifespan who are interested in a transformative therapeutic experience—one that goes beyond simply managing symptoms and creates an opportunity for deeper self-understanding and meaningful change.
I specialize in parent coaching, childhood development, and working with the intergenerational patterns that can shape how we relate to ourselves, our children, and one another. I’m particularly interested in helping parents understand their children’s developing nervous systems and the ways our own histories, attachment patterns, and family dynamics can influence the way we parent. I also incorporate an ancestral healing lens, exploring how patterns, beliefs, strengths, and unresolved experiences can be carried through generations and how we might consciously begin to transform what no longer serves us.
I integrate both mindfulness and neurobiological approaches to help clients develop a deeper awareness of themselves from the inside out. Together, we explore how their unique neurobiological wiring and nervous system patterns influence the ways they respond to stress, relationships, and life experiences. From there, we begin to cultivate greater capacity for conscious and intentional regulation, creating the possibility, for what I think of as nervous system re-patterning and re-parenting. I support many clients with changing their internal “voice” and narrative from one of, often, a very loud, self-critic, to the voice of a loving parent. This is generally not the voice of a biological parent, but rather the voice of a Divine parent that is unconditional and always accessible, regardless of the face of the challenge. This too, is part of the re-wiring process and increasing self-love and self-acceptance as a form of both mindfulness and regulation.
This is where the magic begins to happen. As clients develop greater awareness and a deeper sense of safety within themselves, they often begin to access parts of themselves that have been obscured by old patterns, protective strategies, and the experiences and relationships that have shaped them.
I believe that beneath those layers is an essential self—a deeper sense of who we are and what we are capable of becoming. When we can begin to release who we have learned to be in order to survive, adapt, or belong, we create space to discover who we truly are. That authentic self becomes an anchor and incredible partner in navigating the journey of life, as well as our gifts, strengths, and innate wisdom, that begins to emerge and be fully utilized.
Ultimately, my work is about helping people reconnect with themselves—with greater awareness, compassion, and choice—while honoring both the individual journey and the larger family and ancestral systems from which we come. I believe that when we begin to heal and transform ourselves, we can also change what gets carried forward into the generations that follow.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
First and foremost, I give credit to Great Spirit, for creating this amazing and precious life for me, infusing me with my gifts, and allowing me to become aware of them from such a young age. I feel deeply grateful to have been guided onto the Path of my highest good since childhood, and I recognize that so much of who I am and the work I am here to do, is a gift.
I give tremendous credit to my incredible wife, who is not only my number one supporter, but also my greatest teacher, model, and guide for what it means to live a deeply spiritual life in the modern world. My wife has taught me discipline, groundedness, and the power of being held with deep love and grace. Their presence in my life has given me the space to continually grow, evolve, and actualize more fully into the woman I am most meant to be in this precious life.
I also honor my parents, Mother Feather and Father Sky, and my Indigenous ancestors, from both Native America and Eastern Europe, who have been an enormous part of my spiritual development. I feel their presence in the journey that has brought me here, and I hold deep awareness for what has been carried forward through the generations.
My supervisor and incredible ally, Kathy, that has seen me and my gifts clearly since our very first meeting, when being interviewed for my graduate school internship—and who continues to be a vital part of my development in all ways.
And, of course, my clients. From children to Elders, every person who has trusted me with their story has taught me something. They have challenged me, expanded me, humbled me, and invited me to see the world through perspectives different from my own. Each of them is woven into the therapist I am today.
Ultimately, I don’t believe I became who I am alone. I feel that I am part of a much larger web of relationship, love, lineage, teaching, and Spirit—and I carry deep gratitude for everyone and everything that has helped shape the person and therapist I have become and will continue to grow into.
Contact Info:
- Other: Holdingthehope09@gmail.com
