About Dr. Ashley

yasheluah (yah-SHAY-loo-ah): peace through struggle

Dr. Ashley Davis Gavila, Trauma Recovery Coach and Spiritual Midwife

Hello, dear one! I’m Ashley (she/her). My quest is liberation and restoration for all beings, as we reconnect with ourselves and one another, with Creator, and with the whole community of creation. My ancestors are British, Irish, Scandinavian, Italian, and Choctaw. I am a disabled neurodivergent/neurodistinct & gifted (2e) healing partner, abuse survivor, author, and educator with more than 20 years of experience. More details about my education, professional memberships, and codes of ethics are below.

I began coaching in 2019, but I have been a healing partner for much longer. As a healing partner, I am passionate about co-creating and embodying compassion, safety, and hope with my clients. I search for the divinely human beauty in you and your ancestral tapestry as we heal generational trauma patterns. I look for the ways you create and represent meaning, and how you cope with stress. We might look at what sorts of herbal supports or plant medicine would be helpful for your nervous system as it heals. We pull it all together as you reclaim and reintegrate your beautiful, whole self in the context of healing the community, your lineage, and the land. You can learn about my services via this menu.

If you’d like to see what my clients say about working with me, click here.

In addition to supporting Neurodivergent/Neurodistinct (ND) folks like me, helping people heal from spiritual abuse, religious trauma, and toxic theology is a high priority for me. I understand the deep loss we experience when we leave a previously-trusted community of faith, and I acknowledge and validate the grieving, deconstruction, and integration processes look different for everyone. I had many positive experiences during the years I attended and led within Southern Baptist churches and parachurch organizations. However, during that time I also witnessed consistent spiritual abuse of others and experienced it myself. In 2016, I made the decision to leave the SBC and devote my energy to reparations for my participation and complicity, and finding ways to support others as they heal from similar adverse religious experiences.

I am known for my creativity and for seeing the world just a little bit differently. I am AuDHD, gifted, highly sensitive, and an empath. I love singing and musical theater, photographing flowers and birds, and finding Creator’s work in unusual places. I love LGBTQIA+ and Two Spirit people as my community, and actively pursue the liberation of all people and living beings through divesting from colonialism, patriarchy, white-body supremacy, and all other oppressive $ystems. I am a part of the community of creation; I am a work in progress.

I was born and raised on Pueblo ancestral lands (Albuquerque) in New Mexico, and I currently live on the ancestral lands of the Duwamish and other Coast Salish peoples in Seattle, WA.

I look forward to connecting with you! May you find peace and wholeness along your journey.

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EDUCATION AND TRAINING:

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

RESEARCH, SPECIALTIES, AND OTHER INTERESTS:

  • Attachment theory, God attachment, and the reciprocal self
  • Self-compassion, neutralizing shame and the inner critic
  • Mindfulness of emotions, body, and spirit
  • Post-traumatic growth and healing across the lifespan
  • Polyvagal theory and somatic applications for healing traumatized nervous systems
  • Anti-racist work; social justice, dismantling white supremacy and divesting from colonization
  • Genealogy and ancestral/generational trauma
  • Trauma-informed plant medicine and psychedelics
  • Native American and First Nations culture and spirituality
  • EFT tapping
  • The Enneagram
  • Perichoresis
  • Biblical hermeneutics
  • Trinitarian theology and covenant epistemology
  • Intersection of body, mind, and emotion in neuroscience
  • Parish ministry and fresh expressions of church
  • Christian feminism and liberation
  • Healing from evangelical purity culture
  • Positive discipline and gentle parenting
  • Parenting children with special needs
  • Nonviolent communication
  • Collaborative law and dispute resolution
  • Sexual abuse prevention
  • Recovery from narcissistic abuse

Disclaimer: While most clients find our time together therapeutic, I am not a licensed mental health care practitioner and do not provide psychotherapy or mental health treatment. I do not diagnose, treat, or cure disease. During your intake process and subsequent plan we develop together, I will refer you to therapies, counseling, coaching, legal, and/or medical help as necessary.

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