We’re so excited to announce that Ansley Fraser Curtis has joined our San Diego Therapy Team!
We wanted to do a little Q&A with our newest member, Ansley Fraser Curtis, to get to know a bit more about her and her journey as a therapist!
We’re overjoyed to have you on the team Ansley!
Q: What therapy methods do you practice, and what age groups/demographic do you serve?
I ground and orient my work in attachment theory and with an emotion-focused lens, recognizing that our emotions are often some of our most powerful messages about our needs, desires and how we are experiencing our world. I’m very relationship-oriented and recognize the healing transformative power of relationships, knowing that we heal and grow in the context of relationships with our partners and/or children, with therapists who walk alongside us, and with ourselves. Relationships are the most powerful vehicle of healing. As a practitioner, my style is more eclectic as I pull together common elements of evidenced-based practices (i.e. EFT, TF-CBT, child-centered play therapy, child parent psychotherapy, etc.) to get to the heart of the matter with children and their families in order to help them reconnect to themselves and each other. I specialize in working with children and adolescents, family systems, and in the treatment of trauma.
Q: How did your journey as a therapist start?
Looking back on my life, I’ve always been a relationship-oriented individual who loves to get to know people and listen to their life stories. So in that sense, my journey as a therapist began when I was a young child learning about life and relationships. However, my official journey as a therapist started when I was 16 years old as the reluctant teen who’d been taken to a therapist by her mother. Like many teens, I was not a fan of my mother’s perspective and (like many people of all ages and stages) had major anxiety about talking to a complete stranger about all of the challenges adolescence (or life in general) can bring and sharing my innermost thoughts and feelings. I remember walking away from my first session with a felt-sense of deep validation and compassion that I had never experienced before, and this was a feeling I wanted to give back to others. Through my experience in therapy as a teen, I identified one of my greatest and most central purposes in life: to walk alongside others in their healing journeys with compassion, understanding, and empathy.
Q: What is your favorite aspect of being a therapist?
This is such a hard question because I absolutely LOVE my work! I would say my favorite aspect is creating connections. I truly enjoy getting to know the children and families I work with and consider it an honor to walk alongside families as they work towards creating stronger connections within themselves and with each other. Working as a play therapist is also just really enjoyable!
Q: Are there any influential books, podcasts, or resources you’d like to share?
BOOKS:
“The Emotional Life of a Toddler” by Dr. Alicia Lieberman
“Parenting From the Inside Out” by Dr. Dan Siegel
“Daring Greatly” by Brene Brown
“The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brene Brown
“Tiny Beautiful Things” by Cheryl Strayed
“The Invisible String” (a children’s book about attachment) by Patrice Karst
“The Kissing Hand” (a children’s book about attachment) by Audrey Penn
“The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind” by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
PODCASTS:
Holding Space by Dr. Cassidy Friedus
Unruffled (Respectful Parenting: Janet Lansbury)
The Modern Dads Podcast
The One In A Million Baby