Ashley Symington, LMHC, NCC

11/03/2023

“Teddy, are you gonna do the work today?”
Teddy “hhhhhmmmmmm…”
I think everyone’s happy it’s Friday 😀

11/02/2023

Free and open to all

Excited to announce a Parent Workshop Series beginning Thursday, November 16 with Parenting BIG Feelings. We’ll be gathering at The 204 here in Harwich. These are free and open to all.

10/31/2023

Wishing everyone a happy, safe, and imagination-filled Halloween!
🎃🎃

10/10/2023

Fitting that these just arrived for use and handing out. Today is World Mental Health Day. Talk about feelings, talk about thoughts, talk about behaviors, talk about how emotions are felt physically in your body, talk about gut health impacting and being impacted by mental health, talk about building resilience, talk about coping. If you don’t want to talk, you can: play music, sing, draw, do yoga, play a sport, write, spend time with animals, go for a walk or better yet a hike in the woods, listen to the ocean waves, or play.
What will you do today for your mental health and wellness? What will you do today to help somebody else’s?

10/04/2023

The Barnstable County Department of Human Services is conducting a Children’s Behavioral Health Baseline Needs Assessment. The goals of this assessment are:
1) Document and understand the behavioral health needs of youth/young adults living in Barnstable County.
2) Understand the availability and accessibility of behavioral health services for youth/young adults living in Barnstable County.
3) Inform future efforts towards advocacy and collaboration and service sharing across regions of Barnstable County.

Four community forums are set to be held, one in each region of the Cape (Outer, Lower, Mid, and Upper). Dates/times and registration information are in the flyer below. Please please please PLEASE make it to one of these forums so your voice and your children/teen/young adult’s voices can be heard to help us better meet their needs!

10/03/2023

Want to hear the latest updates and get some wellness tips? Monthly emails are resuming this month and the October edition is set to go out this week. It’s not too late to sign up to receive them- follow this link:

09/11/2023

9/11. A lot of the clients I am working with now were not alive on that day. They know of it through the stories shared by those of us who were. In many cultures, remembering is a way to honor those that came before. Today is a day to remember.

Today is also a day of service. I’d like to suggest something to think about:

2,977 people died in New York, D.C., and Pennsylvania.
2,753 of these people died in the Twin Towers.
184 of these people died at the Pentagon.
40 of these people died in a field in Pennsylvania.
343 of these people were firefighters.
72 of these people were law enforcement officers.

These deaths were caused by hate. On this day where we remember, let’s spend a moment in service by doing something kind. It doesn’t have to be a big something- it could be small. The size of the kindness doesn’t matter; just do something kind. When we choose kindness, when we nurture it and allow it to grow it spreads out and affects more and more people and places. Kindness can replace hate. But only if we choose for it to.

06/14/2023

For today’s coping skill tip, I present to you the use of humor. Whether it’s a silly joke, a comedy on stage or screen, a listen to an old radio show (I highly recommend Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s On First”), or just an image that brings a smile- when you’re feeling down or anxious, laughing really does help.

06/13/2023

I love learning! It keeps my brain and my approach fresh and lets me keep building my knowledge base. Just completed a course on executive functioning!

06/12/2023

If you’re tired and you know it take a rest.
If you’re tired and you know it take a rest.
If you’re tired and you know it then your face will surely show it, if you’re tired and you know it take a rest.

06/06/2023

I am excited to share that I have been hired to become the next Director of Youth and Family Services for the Town of Harwich. This new adventure will begin on July 3.

And amidst the excitement, comes the recognition that this does mean changes will be happening over the next couple of weeks and months. My practice will remain open with a decrease in available hours down to part-time. Change is hard and can bring up a lot of thoughts and feelings. I invite you to share them with me (remembering that Facebook is not a confidential space so be mindful of what you are choosing to share here and give me a call or an email with anything you'd like to keep private).

06/05/2023

Last call to receive June's newsletter and hear about updates, wellness tips, and book recommendations! Set to sail for tomorrow!