What if you didn’t have to wait until things fall apart to make a change?

In this Member Spotlight blog, Ashley Ringger, Coaching Psychologist and Professional Development Expert, shares a refreshing perspective on mental well-being, career transitions, and personal growth. Drawing on her own non-linear journey across countries, careers, and life-changing experiences, Ashley introduces the concept of “preventative mental healthcare”: a proactive approach to navigating challenges before they become crises.

From redefining identity through major life transitions to helping individuals and organizations build resilience and clarity, Ashley’s work is about closing the gap between struggling and thriving. In this conversation, she explains what it means to act early, why we often wait too long to seek support, and how small, intentional shifts can create lasting impact in both our personal and professional lives.

What experiences have led you to this point in your career?

After having children and completing another international move, I hit 'pause' to intentionally design a career that would meet a need and align with my ambitions. As a coaching psychologist and learning and organizational development expert, I have spent years building support systems for others. Personally, I had learned a foreign language as an adult, battled infertility, and had my identity challenged through change. It was this 'non-linear' journey that truly sharpened my focus on offering preventive mental healthcare services to individuals and organizations focused on family, career, and fertility. It is more than just helping people 'cope', I offer early intervention to prevent emotional and mental hardships from worsening and to help them design lives where they can become the change they want to be.

What impact do you wish your work to have?

Since I view my work as preventative mental healthcare, my goal is to help people cultivate the insights and behavioral changes they need to navigate high-stakes life transitions before they reach a breaking point. We often wait until we are in a crisis to seek help, but I want to shift that narrative. Whether it’s catching burnout before it leads to total exhaustion or addressing relationship tension before it becomes a fracture, my impact is about shortening the distance between 'struggling' and 'thriving.' I want people to feel that they don't have to wait for a storm to learn how to steady their ship.

What is coaching psychology, and what makes it different from counseling or therapy?

Coaching psychology meets mentally healthy individuals where they are and helps them get to where they want to be. Because it’s rooted in evidence-based science and requires a master’s degree in psychology, it is incredibly versatile; I can apply the same psychological principles to a high-stakes corporate negotiation as I do to a family transition.

Using dentistry as an example, you see the dental hygienist to keep things in check and visit the dentist when repairs are needed. Therapists and counsellors are the “dentists” in this example, and I am the “mental hygienist”: professional help to maintain a healthy mind.

What do organizations need to know about preventative mental healthcare?

We are now in an era of work-life blend, where work impacts personal life and vice versa. To assume that one gets left at the door of the other is a fallacy. We carry our whole selves with us in all aspects of life. Preventative mental healthcare manages the hardships of work and life to minimize negative impacts like stress and anxiety, regardless of where they originate. Preventative mental healthcare helps employees address their biggest concerns and energy drains, enabling them to be more effective and productive overall.