SOUTH HILLS, PA · TELEHEALTH STATEWIDE
Ashley Spahn, MSW, LCSW
“If you find yourself looking for a genuine therapist who will listen, empower, and work with you — reach out.”
Ashley Spahn is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at CPA Counseling’s South Hills office, also seeing clients by secure telehealth across Pennsylvania. She works with individuals from age sixteen on anxiety, depression, PTSD, OCD, and self-esteem, alongside life transitions, codependency, workplace stress, and anger. EMDR and ERP trained, with ongoing CEUs in both.
WHO ASHLEY WORKS WITH
Who she’s for
Ashley works with individuals from age sixteen through roughly sixty — high school, college, early career, and established adults. Individual sessions only. Her caseload is evenly split between men and women, and includes LGBTQ+ clients.
why work with Ashley
A partnership, not a treatment
Ashley describes the therapeutic relationship as a partnership — one where thoughts, emotions, and behaviors get explored together rather than diagnosed at you. Her stated mission is helping you unlock and reach your full potential.
HOW ASHLEY WORKS
Three protocols, warmth underneath
EMDR, ERP, and CBT — her three, kept current with ongoing training rather than collected once. Two of them are protocols most clinicians in the region do not hold. What stays constant is the approach: warm, empathetic, collaborative.
CONDITIONS TREATED
What Ashley treats – who Ashley sees
- Anxiety
- Depression
- PTSD
- OCD
- Self-Esteem
- Trauma
- Codependency
- Life Transitions
- Workplace Stress
- Anger Management
For PTSD and OCD
EMDR and ERP — two protocols, rarely held together
“The therapeutic relationship is a partnership.”
CARE PHILOSOPHY
Warmth and empathy. Strengths you already have.
Ashley describes her core mission as helping you unlock and reach your full potential, and her approach as grounded in warmth and empathy. The therapeutic relationship is a partnership — somewhere thoughts, emotions, and behaviors get explored together, in an environment that is safe enough to do it in.
The goal, in her words, is not just to navigate through your struggles but to celebrate and build upon the strengths and resilience you already carry. That is a meaningful distinction: the work starts from what is already working rather than from a list of what is broken.
Her current caseload centres on anxiety, depression, PTSD, OCD, and self-esteem. Life’s complexities can feel insurmountable — her stated belief is that with the right support it is possible to emerge stronger and more empowered, not merely to cope.
ABOUT ASHLEY
Walking alongside you on your journey
Ashley Spahn is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker whose core mission is helping clients unlock and reach their full potential. Her approach to therapy is grounded in warmth and empathy, and she treats the therapeutic relationship as a partnership rather than something administered.
Her current caseload centres on anxiety, depression, PTSD, OCD, and challenges with self-esteem. Life’s complexities can feel insurmountable, but with the right support and guidance she believes it is possible to emerge stronger and more empowered.
Her three main modalities are EMDR, ERP, and CBT. She is trained and current in both EMDR and ERP, taking ongoing continuing education in each rather than treating them as completed credentials. Holding the leading protocol for PTSD alongside the leading protocol for OCD is an unusual combination to find in one clinician, and it matters because the two often arrive together.
In her own words: sometimes life can be overwhelming and we do not know where to start; if you find yourself looking for a genuine therapist who will listen, empower, and work with you, reach out. She holds an MSW from California University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Clinical Psychology from Kutztown University, has practiced since 2020, and sees individual clients at the South Hills office and by telehealth across Pennsylvania.
& ERP Trained
Both current, ongoing CEUs
PTSD & OCD
Two protocols, one clinician
Personalized Care Plans
No program commitments required
CONDITION GUIDE
Therapy guides from Ashley Spahn
LGBTQ+
What Is LGBTQ+ Affirming Therapy?
LGBTQ+ affirming therapy does not treat being LGBTQ+ as a problem to fix. It means a therapist who is competent, trustworthy, and affirming, so you can bring your whole life into the room — whether you’re there for anxiety, depression, relationships, grief, or anything else. Affirming therapy never includes conversion or "change" efforts, which are harmful. The goal is a life where you don’t have to become less of yourself to belong.
Family
Your Dreams on Hold: Are You Living Vicariously Through Your Child?
Living vicariously through your child means pinning your own unmet dreams or self-worth on their performance. It usually comes from love, but it can raise a child's anxiety and reverse healthy roles. Tess Inman, LPC helps parents and families across Altoona recognize these patterns and build healthier connection — in person or by telehealth across Pennsylvania.
Technology Addiction
AI Therapy vs. a Human Therapist: The Real Difference
AI chatbots can offer information, available any hour, and a place to put your thoughts — and for some people they’re a helpful first step. But they are not a substitute for human therapy. Real, lasting change happens through a genuine relationship: being truly seen and attuned to, working through difficulty with another person, and a trust an AI cannot form. For anything serious — trauma, depression, crisis — a licensed human therapist is essential. David Como, NCC, has practiced for more than 30 years in the Pittsburgh area.