Ashley Ayala, LMFT is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Accredited Parenting Coach, and founder of The Modern Parent, a parenting and family education platform.

With 15 years of experience in the mental health field, Ashley specializes in family dynamics, parenting, family-of-origin patterns, intergenerational healing, boundaries, parent-child relationships, and breaking generational cycles. Her work helps parents and adults understand how their own experiences shape the way they communicate, parent, and relate to others.

Ashley provides virtual therapy to clients in California and Texas and parenting coaching to families nationwide.

Credentials & Licensure

• Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist — California, LMFT #96673

• Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist — Texas, LMFT #204468

• Accredited Parenting Coach

• Master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, California State University, East Bay

• 15 years of experience in mental health

Areas of Expertise

Ashley works with individuals, parents, couples, and families around:

• Family conflict and difficult family relationships

• Parenting challenges and parenting stress

• Family-of-origin issues

• Intergenerational patterns and generational healing

• Breaking generational cycles

• Parent-child relationships

• Boundaries with parents and extended family

• Parenting triggers and emotional reactivity

• Communication and relationship patterns

• Emotional regulation

• Anxiety and stress related to family and relationships

• The transition into parenthood

A central focus of Ashley's work is helping people understand how their own childhood and family experiences can show up in their relationships and parenting—and how to create new patterns instead of automatically repeating old ones.

Clinical Approach

Ashley uses a collaborative, supportive, and family-systems-informed approach. She looks beyond the immediate problem to understand the relationships, experiences, beliefs, and patterns contributing to it.

Her work combines insight with practical tools, helping clients understand where their patterns come from, why they continue, and what they can do differently.

Ashley believes therapy should help people develop both greater self-understanding and practical skills for creating healthier relationships.

Founder of The Modern Parent

Ashley is the founder of The Modern Parent, an online parenting and family education platform focused on parenting, family relationships, emotional regulation, generational patterns, and cycle breaking.

Through The Modern Parent, Ashley has built a large body of educational content helping parents understand topics such as reactive parenting, parenting triggers, family-of-origin patterns, boundaries, and breaking generational cycles.

Media, Podcasts & Speaking

Ashley has appeared as a parenting and mental health expert in media, podcasts, summits, and educational programs, including:

Media & Expert Contributions

• Voyage Houston

• Rula Health

• Rula Health Blog

Summits & Educational Programs

• Back to School, Back to You Summit

• Cycle Breaker Summit

• Growing Good Academy

• A Fine Parent Academy

• Raising Happy Healthy Kids Summit

Podcasts

• Education Lowdown Podcast

• Mama Work It Podcast

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Work with Ashley

Therapy or Coaching

Speaking Engagements

Media Collabs