Ashley Hampton is a licensed therapist, certified clinical supervisor, adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University, and the co-founder of two organizations doing quietly revolutionary work in Tennessee. As co-founder and clinical director of Hampton House Counseling, she's built one of Nashville's first BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ centered group therapy practices from the ground up — with diversity not as an afterthought, but as its foundation.
As co-founder and executive director of Healing in the Margins, she's created a nonprofit that addresses the therapy access gap for Black, brown, and queer communities through clinician training, a therapy fund, community partnerships, and more. In three years, Healing in the Margins has funded over $80,000 in therapy across the state of Tennessee. Ashley is a bold, grounded, and genuinely funny human being doing work that this state desperately needs.
This episode covers:
(00:00) Tea & Crumpets — Em on Wayward (spooky, queer-coded, Stranger Things-ish vibes), Ashley on Married at First Sight season that apparently went feral, and Val doing show and tell with her new Gaian Tarot deck by Joanna Powell Colbert
(10:00) Step Into My Office — a listener is out to their parents and friends but not their aging grandmother, and the Pride Month pressure to finally do it is real. Ashley drops an immediate mic: What is it you actually want? To be known, or to check a box?
(20:00) The DSM — Ashley on how she built Hampton House and Healing in the Margins, why every space she's created is one she didn't have herself, and what it took to learn to serve her own communities without a roadmap
(28:00) What "safe and affirming" actually means in practice versus what it looks like on an Instagram grid — and why humility has to precede safety
(35:00) How Healing in the Margins works: the therapy fund, clinician trainings, community partnerships, and why it's working in Tennessee specifically because Ashley has been here her whole life
(43:00) The joy, comradery, and community that exists in Black and queer spaces — and what gets lost when we only talk about the struggle
(48:00) On being a first and an only: the vulnerability of leading openly, constantly having to prove yourself, and why not caring what people think has been her greatest professional asset
(54:00) "...but for REAL" — from Ashley and Em: if you're Black, brown, or queer and living in the South, there are options for you now. Go look at Healing in the Margins.
(56:00) Now That's What I Call— OKAYY! — Ashley's pick: "Notice" by Lola Young, and why she's in a season of being seen
(60:00) Fire Dumpster Phoenix — Em on swimming as survival, Ashley on a Mother's Day letter from a Healing in the Margins recipient, and Val on two apps that help people help animals in emergencies
(66:00) Rapid Fire Q&A — Oprah for dinner, a very Pride Month-appropriate tradition, and Ashley's four-year-old daughter who, when asked if she'd consider therapy, said "fuck no" and honestly same
...but for REAL: If you're Black, brown, or queer and you've spent your whole life thinking there's no space in mental health for someone like you — there is one now. And you deserve more care and support than you've probably even let yourself imagine. Go find it. And to everyone else: ask how you can help, then actually wait for the answer.
Animal Help Now app — Val's Fire Dumpster Phoenix: free nationwide wildlife emergency app connecting people to local rehabilitators, vets, and resources
Pet Help and Rescue app — companion app to help neighbors evacuate pets during disasters or emergencies
Even the Rat Was White by Robert Guthrie — the psychology research history book Val references on who has and hasn't been centered in the field
DISCLAIMER: But For Real Podcast is not a substitute for individualized mental health treatment or healthcare. This podcast is solely for entertainment and educational purposes. If you are in crisis, please utilize crisis support services, such as the Crisis Text Line (Text START to 741741 in the US) or the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: (Call 988 in the US), or visit www.findahelpline.com for international resources.
