
Ashley Canas, LMFT
Latina LGBTQ Therapist
Empathic. Clumsy. Human.
I'm Ashley Canas, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and founder of Be Yourself, Therapy (BYT)
I’ve been working as a therapist with teens, young adults, and adults in California since 2015 and founded BYT in 2021.
With BYT, my mission is to provide an accessible and safe place where people from all backgrounds can come to learn how to be their most authentic and best selves.


My clients appreciate the fact that I am transparent and human. I am understanding and empathetic, but I will always keep it real with you. Therapy is a brave and difficult journey, and we each have a responsibility to show up 100%. I promise to show up for you – no BS.
Being human also means that I have faults and have made mistakes just like we all do. But – just like you – I have the ability to overcome those mistakes. My mistakes don’t define me, and they don’t define you, either.
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I’m clumsy and silly, and use a lot of laughter in my therapy work – after all, research does support the claim that “laughter is the best medicine”! It’s not always time to laugh. Therapy can be scary and even painful at times – but we won’t miss opportunities to laugh when it’s appropriate.
On top of being a therapist and founder, I’m a big reader, and I love romance novels! I live in Santa Clarita, California with my 2 cats and doggo – you might hear him barking sometimes during our sessions.
I’m an adrenaline junkie and love roller coasters. I spend a lot of my free time daydreaming about traveling to different countries. I dream of one day touching a real brain. I have an obsession with brains!
Now Accepting New Clients!
Education
Aug 2016
Pepperdine University
Graduate School of Education and Psychology 
Master of Arts: Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy
June 2016
California State University, Northridge
Bachelors of Science: Psychology

Experience
June 2021 -- Present
Private Practice
May 2020 -- Dec 2021
Santa Clarita Therapy-Group Private Practice
May 2017 -- May 2020
Child and Family Guidance Center
July 2014 -- May 2017
Inclusive Educational Community Partnership
Sep 2015 -- May 2017
New Directions for Youth
