Ashley Bishop Lapierre

Outside of Career

I hold many satisfying and fulfilling roles, including wife and mother.

I was born and raised on Cape Breton Island and moved to Alberta in 2009 to attend graduate school at the University of Calgary. Months turned into years, years turned into more than a decade. Calgary and Alberta have a special place in my heart: I finished my Master's Degree at the U of C, and started my career, and became part of Calgary's wonderful mental health community.  I also met my husband while in Calgary, and we had our son in Calgary. In 2022, we moved our family across the country to Nova Scotia.

5 fun facts about me

1. I have a creative side that I currently honor through interior design (you can find me walking around Homesense regularly, watching HGTV, or what feels like the never-ending project of painting my home.
2. I am an animal lover. I have a Bichon Shih Tzu Yorkie mix called Roxie, who is just the sweetest thing (I might be biased about this)
3. I am the oldest of 5 siblings
4. I love being outdoors in nature or even relaxing in my outdoor living space.
5. My favorite self-care includes scented candles, really long hot baths, and a good psychology book. All three at once is the trifecta!

Why I became a Psychologist

I developed an interest in Psychology in high school and went on to do my undergraduate degree in Psychology. I became fascinated with learning about human life - why we might think a certain way, act a certain way, or feel a certain way. Humans are so complex and interesting!

Then, I realized I could use this information to help people, and I went to graduate school to study Counselling Psychology at the University of Calgary. Once I was able to start providing therapy, I was hooked. It felt natural, and I knew I wanted to continue, so I completed my training and pursued licensing.

I absolutely love my job!

I feel privileged to be able to sit with people as they overcome huge hurdles and go on to live their best life. I am often amazed at the strength, resiliency, and courage I see in my clients on a daily basis. I see hope and strength in clients even when they can't see it themselves. I thrive when my clients thrive.

I continue to be fascinated by the subject of Psychology. I treat professional development more like a hobby than an obligation; I am a life-long learner. I am passionate about using Psychology and Counselling to help people through difficult periods. I am committed to increasing the dialogue around mental health struggles and ending stigma. In addition to reducing mental health stigma with my clients, I also engage in these discussions regularly on Instagram (check me out @the.womens.therapist)

Credentials and Experience

I have a Bachelor of Arts Degree with Honours in Psychology from Cape Breton University (2008) and a Master of Science Degree in Counselling Psychology from the University of Calgary (2013). I completed the Post Graduate Counsellor Training Program at the Calgary Counselling Centre (2015) and continued to work there for a few years after I finished the training program, providing general counselling, group counselling, eating disorder counselling.

I have been licensed as a Registered Psychologist with the College of Alberta Psychologists since 2015.

I have spent the beginning of my career working in a nonprofit counselling agency where was able to work with a wide variety of clients and presenting issues. In April 2018, I launched Hopeful Horizons and have been specializing in women's mental health since.

I stay up to date by engaging in frequent professional development trainings and readings, including training in EMDR Therapy (2020), and became a Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional (PMH-C / 2020).

Professional Development Training

As a life-long learner with a true passion for psychology and a desire to offer my clients a meaningful and helpful therapy experience, I engage in a significant amount of professional development training. I try to devote at least 5 hours a week on average to professional development training and reading.

Here is a list of the relevant training I completed:

• The Art of Holding for Perinatal OCD (2023). The Postpartum Stress Centre/The Karen Kleiman Training Center
• Pregnancy and Infant Loss: Effective Strategies to Support Grief and Treat Trauma, Anxiety, and Depression in Bereaved Parents (2022). PESI/Julie Bindeman
• Women's Trauma Summit (2022). PESI
• EMDR Canada Conference (2022)
• The Advanced Practice of EMDR for Perinatal & Infant Mental Health (2022). Centre for Creative Mindfulness/Touchstone Institute (Mara Tesler Stein)
• The Art of Holding Perinatal Women in Distress: Assessment, Treatment, & Advanced Clinical Practice (2021). The Postpartum Stress Centre Professional Perinatal Training Program/ Karen Kleiman
• Working with the Spectrum of Eating Disorders within the EMDR Approach (2021). Andrew Seubert & Pam Virdi/ EMDR Advanced Training & Distance Learning
• Birth and Reproductive Trauma (2021). Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Trainings
• Intensive Sex Therapy Program (2021). University of Guelph/ Markie Twist
• Easy Ego State Interventions (2021). Robin Shapiro/EMDR Advanced Training & Distance Learning
• Healing Shame with Self-Compassion (2021). Christopher Germer/ Mission:Empowerment
• Trauma-Informed Interventions for Working with First Nation Clients: A Masterclass Series on Historical Trauma & Strategies Across the Life Span (2021). Envision/ Shelley Pompana Spear Chief
• 32nd Annual Boston International Trauma Conference (2021). Trauma Resource Foundation
• Emotional Eating, Chronic Dieting, Bingeing and Body Image: What Every Clinician Needs to Know (2021). Judith Matz/PESI
• Eating Disorders: From Image to Illness (2021) Crisis & Trauma Resource Institute
• International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals Virtual Symposium and Core CoursesI (2021)
• Postpartum Support International Conference (2020 & 2021)
• Advanced Perinatal Mental Health Psychotherapy Certificate (2020). Postpartum Support International
• Gottman Method Couples Therapy Level 2 (2020). The Gottman Institute
• Loving Bravely: Introduction to Relational Self-Awareness from the Outside-In to Inside-Out (2020). Alexandra Solomon, PESI
• Advanced Perinatal Mental Health Psychotherapy (2020). Postpartum Support International
• EMDR Foundational Training for Perinatal Mental Health Specialists (2020). Centre for Creative Mindfulness/Touchstone Institute (Mara Tesler Stein)
• Traumatic Birth: Prevalence, Impacts and Implications for Clinical Practice (2020). Professional Education Program Monmouth University
• Sex and Perinatal Mental Health Conference (2020). Maternal Mental Health Now
• Evolution of Psychotherapy Conference (2020 & 2017). Milton Erickson Foundation
• Perinatal Loss: A Framework for Healing (2019). Bina Bird
• Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) for Perinatal Mood Disorders and Birth Trauma (2019). Portland Community College/ Fawn McCool
• Women's Mental Health Day Conference (2018). University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine
• Maternal Mental Health Certificate Training for Clinical Professionals (2018). Postpartum Support International/ 2020 Moms
• Healing from Infidelity: Professional Program (2017). Michelle Weiner Davis
• Developmental Model of Couples Counselling Level 1 (2015). The Couples Institute
• Gottman Method Couples Therapy Level 1 (2014). The Gottman Institute
• Feedback Informed Treatment: training, consultations, and practice (2014-2017). Calgary Counselling Centre/ Scott Miller
• Integrated Theory Seminars (2014). Calgary Counselling Centre