Allyson (Ally) Ridling (She/They)

Focuses on the social, mental, emotional, and physical needs of those who: questioning gender; uncomfortable with aspects of their gender or body experiencing gender dysphoria; seeking gender-affirming interventions; don’t exclusively identify with their designated sex at birth; feels confined by traditional gender roles or stereotypes; wants to develop a deeper understanding of who they are; wants to develop a deeper connection to their body.

Grief is an inevitable, inescapable part of life. We will all lose someone we love at some point in our life—most of us at many points—and the loss can often hit us harder than we expect. In this piece, we’ll cover the basics of grief counseling/grief therapy and provide suggestions, tips, techniques, and exercises you can implement as a person in grieving, part of the support system for a person who is grieving, or as a mental health professional.

Cultural and systemic oppression refers to the mistreatment of people of a specific group that is supported and enforced by society and its institutions. It can be formal or implicit, and appears in many forms, including racism and sexism. Oppression of any kind, especially over an extended period of time, can deeply affect your mental health and your sense of self. Cultures/systems I am familiar working with are Deaf/HH populations, women, Asian Americans, and social work welfare systems.

Animal Assisted Therapy is when animals are used in goal directed treatment sessions. These goals can be physical, mental, emotional and/or social. A visitation program is when animals accompany their owners to a facility and visit with the patients or residents. Regardless of the type of program, all animals should be temperament tested, given a complete veterinary screening, and receive obedience training before beginning to work with patients.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps people learn how to identify and change thought patterns that have a negative influence on behavior and emotions. CBT focuses on changing the automatic negative thoughts that can contribute to and worsen emotional difficulties, depression, and anxiety. These spontaneous negative thoughts have a detrimental influence on mood. Through CBT, these thoughts are identified, challenged, and replaced with more objective, realistic thoughts.

Professionals guide clients through activities with horses. There are different kinds of equine programs, and they have different goals for the people involved. Some programs are part of mental health treatment. In other cases, clients ride horses as part of a physical or occupational therapy regimen. Equine therapy programs can help treat: behavioral problems, relationship issues, grief, anxiety, depression, ADHA, addiction, eating disorders, and more.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a common form of treatment that centers around investigating the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. CBT is based on the idea that a person's mood is directly related to his or her thought patterns and is intended to help clients to recognize negative or inaccurate thoughts and replace them with healthier, more productive ways of thinking.