Founder, Director of Clinical Services
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Pronouns She/Her

Ashley M. Barrera is a Licensed Marital and Family Therapist (LMFT) and Licensed Clinical Supervisor for Marriage and Family Therapy Associates (MFT-As) in the state of Alaska. Ashley has been providing therapy to individuals, couples, and families since 2009.

As the Director of Clinical Services at Coastal Wellness and Counseling, LLC (CWC), Ashley provides clinical supervision, consultation, and training to the clinical team at Coastal Wellness & Counseling. She also provides oversight to CWC’s Administrative Staff to ensure best-practices and professional ethics extend through all aspects of the clinic.

Ashley believes every person has the divine right to live a healthy and fulfilling life. She believes mental health professionals play a vital role in helping people understand and apply their strengths to build more satisfying lives and relationships. Ashley’s passion for working with families grew during her many years as an Infant and Toddler Montessori Teacher at Puffin Heights Montessori School. This experience inspired her to obtain a Bachelor of Art in Psychology from the University of Alaska, Anchorage, followed by a Master of Science in Human Development and Family Studies with a Specialization in Couple and Family Therapy at Iowa State University of Science and Technology. 

Ashley’s clinical career has centered on working with couples and families to strengthen relational skills, heal attachment wounds, and deepen intimacy through effective communication and meaningful connection. In addition to providing direct therapeutic care, she has an extensive background in family law settings, offering mediation and arbitration services as a Professional Family Mediator in Collaborative Law. Ashley has also served as a Parenting Coordinator and Co-Parenting Facilitator, helping parents navigate conflict, collaborate more effectively, and create child-centered parenting plans that support healthy family functioning.

 In 2019, Ashley founded Coastal Wellness & Counseling with the intention of offering mental healthcare that focuses on a family systems and team-based approach. Ashley also wanted to provide a work environment for clinicians of all disciplines who are invested in continued education and ongoing professional development. She hopes that when people make the brave choice to focus on their mental and relational health, they are able to find a trusted professional who has the skills and education to guide them through lasting change. Every person who is ready to face the challenges of personal and interpersonal growth deserves a clinician who inspires and empowers them to dig deep, evaluate their way of being in the world, strengthen their sense of self, and live their truth. 

Ashley’s work with families is inspired by pioneers in the field of Couple and Family Therapy and their foundational theories, including Virginia Satir and the MRI Group (Strategic Family Therapy), Salvador Minuchin (Structural Therapy), Murray Bowen (Bowenian Theory), Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy (Contextual Family Therapy), and Gregory Bateson (Family Systems Theory). She has received extensive training as a couples therapist with Terry Real (Relational Life Therapy),  The Gottman Method Couples Therapy Program, and significant education in Richard Schwartz’s Internal Family Systems Theory (IFS). 

Through these theoretical orientations, Ashley supports the clinical work and services offered by the entire clinical team at Coastal Wellness & Counseling. Ashley is passionate about providing support, mentorship, and strong leadership to the clinicians at CWC; fostering a culture of growth, collaboration, and clinical excellence. She believes clinicians thrive when their own health and wellness is supported by their work environment, providing excellence in their professional quality of life, and investing in their professional goals and inspirations. Ashley hopes that every individual, couple and family that chooses Coastal Wellness & Counseling experiences a safe and trusted relationship with their provider, and that the challenges of healing are possible because of the supportive environment that the professionals at CWC offer.