Ashley Pinkeney received her B.A. in Psychology from St John Fisher College in Rochester, NY, then pursued her Master of Arts degree in Marital and Family Therapy at the University of San Diego, with a concentration in Medical Family Therapy. She gained individual, family counseling, and group therapy clinical experience at San Diego Hospice & Institute for Palliative Medicine, Agape Counseling Associates, Unity Health Systems and The Healing Connection.

Ashley has been Certified in Thanatology: Death, Dying and Bereavement. She used her experience in the bereavement world to head the Pediatric Bereavement Program at Golisano Children’s hospital for 5 years. Ashley is also a published author; writing the chapter, Perinatal Bereavement Care, in the book Perinatal Palliative Care, published in 2020.

Ashley is Prepare/ Enrich certified for Premarital and Marriage Counseling. The Prepare/Enrich curriculum to equip marriage champions, couples, and families with evidence-based skills and insights to foster healthy relationships. More information to be found on the Prepare/Enrich Website.

Ashley has completed the Level 1 Training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy and utilizes techniques from Gottman Method Couples Therapy in her work. For more information, click here: What is the Gottman Method?

Ashley is a proud AmeriCorp Alumni, dedicating 1700 hours to national service and addressing critical community needs in a nonprofit environment in 2010. 

She has been a Board Member with Dreams from Drake , a nonprofit organization that provides bereavement support for local children and teens who are experiencing the confusion and grief associated with the loss of a sibling or parent since 2015. She actively volunteers her clinical expertise, running family-based support groups monthly and helps with coordinating Camp Dreams/Heartstrings, a bereavement camp for children and teens in Rochester, NY.

Clinical Specialties and Extensive Training

Eating Disorders
My experience working with those with eating disorders has shown me that disconnections can come in many forms of our lives, and it is most difficult to be disconnected from ourselves. Anyone who has had an eating disorder will tell you, that it’s not just about the food but I do understand the multiple functions that food and the disorder can play in one’s life. In the process of recovery we can work on developing a sense of balance with how you relate to food as well as shifting long standing beliefs and ideals that impact your relationship with food and with yourself. The ability to feel connected and have a real sense of self-worth and agency in our lives allows us to have clarity about not just who we are as a person but who we want to be.

Specialty: Emotional Eating and Compulsive Overeating, Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating Disorder and ARFID.

Grief and Bereavement
My experience in bereavement counseling has taught me all counseling is some form of grief counseling, in that we can mourn the loss of a dream, experience or expectation for ourselves. We also can mourn a relationship or an important person in our life.

The loss of a loved one can leave a cavern in our lives and heart that one can struggle to reconcile. I have been trained as a thanatologist; an experienced professional in death, dying and bereavement.

Specialty: While I work with all areas of bereavement, my niche within bereavement is counseling parents who have lost a child, women who have lost an infant or had traumatic birth experiences. I also have worked with parents who currently have children with chronic or life-limiting illnesses.