About
About Me
Ashley Gursky, MSW, RSW Registered Social Worker | Founder of Beyond the Clouds Counselling Services
I'm Ashley, a Registered Social Worker (MSW, RSW) in Alberta and the founder of Beyond the Clouds Counselling Services. I built this practice specifically to serve people who are high-functioning on the outside and quietly struggling on the inside — because I know that profile well, and I know how hard it is to ask for help when you've built your whole identity around not needing it.
My training is trauma-informed, and I draw from approaches that are grounded in both research and lived clinical experience — including attachment-based therapy, somatic (body-aware) approaches, Internal Family Systems, and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. I work online, which means I'm accessible to anyone in Alberta without the logistics getting in the way.
What I bring to sessions beyond credentials is harder to list, but I'll try: I'm direct. I'm warm. I'm not going to give you a worksheet and send you on your way. I don't need you to protect my feelings by softening what you're experiencing. I've sat with people in some genuinely dark places, and I'm not afraid of the hard stuff — yours or anyone else's.
What clients say about working with me tends to land around a few consistent themes: that they felt heard without having to over-explain, that I asked the questions they hadn't thought to ask themselves, and that sessions felt like real conversations rather than a clinical performance.
I'm also just a person. I don't believe in the blank-screen therapist who reveals nothing of their own humanity — because I think that disconnection gets in the way of actual work. You'll know I have a perspective. You'll know I'm paying attention. You'll know when something you've said has landed with me. I think that's how real therapeutic connection works.
If you're someone who has spent years holding everything together — for your family, your team, your relationships — and you're ready to stop doing it completely alone, I'd genuinely like to work with you.
Qualifications
I bring clinical depth and real-world experience to every session. My training integrates evidence-based modalities with a focus on emotional clarity, nervous system regulation, and relational insight.
Credentials and Training:
Registered Social Worker (#14250) - Alberta College of Social Workers
Member - Social Work Association of Alberta
Master of Social Work, Specialization: Clinical Social Worker Practice - University of Calgary
Bachelor of Social Work - University of Regina
Gottman Method Couples Therapy - Level 1 & 2 Training - Gottman Institute
Walk and Talk Ecotherapy - Cherry Tree Counselling
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: An Introduction to Clinical Practice - Institute for Solution-Focused Therapy
My Approach
Therapy with me is not what most people picture when they imagine therapy. You won't lie on a couch while I sit quietly and say "and how did that make you feel?" at regular intervals. Sessions are conversations — direct ones. I'll tell you what I'm noticing. I'll ask questions that actually go somewhere. You'll know where I stand.
At the core of how I work is a trauma-informed lens. That's a clinical phrase, but what it means practically is this: I'm not interested in cataloguing everything that's gone wrong in your life. I'm interested in understanding how your past experiences have shaped the way you move through the world today — your nervous system, your patterns, your reflexes. That understanding changes things. It means we stop treating you like you're broken and start looking at how you adapted to what you were given.
I also pay attention to the body. Stress, trauma, and emotional pain don't just live in your thoughts — they live in your chest, your shoulders, your gut. I'll sometimes ask about that. Not because we're doing anything unusual, but because your body often knows things your mind is still catching up to. We work with both.
This is collaborative. I'm not doing something to you — we're figuring things out together. You set the pace. You decide what we go near and when. There's no agenda I'm pushing you toward, and no depth I'm expecting you to reach on a schedule. What I bring is structure, honesty, and the ability to sit with you in the hard stuff without flinching.
I work in a space where you don't have to perform, manage how you come across, or soften what you're actually experiencing. That tends to feel unfamiliar at first — and then, for most people, like an enormous relief.
Over time, clients typically describe gaining more clarity about who they are and what they actually want. More capacity to feel difficult things without being overwhelmed by them. More choice — a genuine pause between what happens and how they respond. That's not a small thing. That's a different way of living.
What Working Together Looks Like
Therapy with me is direct, respectful, and focused on what’s real. You don’t need to have everything figured out before you start. I’ll meet you where you are—whether you’re feeling overwhelmed, reactive, or just stuck in a loop that doesn’t make sense anymore.
Clients often tell me they feel heard without being judged. I help you slow things down, make sense of what’s happening, and offer tools that actually work—not just insight, but strategies you can use in your day-to-day life. Sessions are flexible, virtual, and tailored to your pace. You won’t be rushed, and you won’t be asked to explain things that feel too raw or confusing. We’ll move through it together, one step at a time.
Modalities I Draw From
