Serving at the intersection of mental health and technology
About Ashleigh Golden, PsyD
Mental health tech leader, employee wellness expert, & licensed clinical psychologist
My background
I'm a Stanford-trained clinical psychologist fostering mental health in vivo and virtually. I combine my background in journalism and Classics with my expertise in empirically sound psychological interventions and applied behavioral science to guide teams in developing and refining compelling, effective, evidence-based mental health content, products, and programs.
I adore helping non-psychologist cross-functional teammates (i.e. writers, designers, and product managers) understand and operationalize empirically supported therapeutic mechanisms and practices and ensuring that products, content, and programs are optimized for fidelity to best practices, effectiveness, cultural responsiveness, and meaningful engagement. I hold an Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioral Insights from the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business and am a graduate of Irrational Labs' Behavioral Health Design for Health bootcamp as well as the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management's Behavioral Economics in Action program.
On a broader level, I promote the advancement of digital mental health by serving on the American Psychological Association's Office of Healthcare Innovation's Mental Health Technology Advisory Committee and the Digital Therapeutics Alliance's Clinician Education Task Group. I believe in actively giving back to my community, acting as Advisor to Therapists in Tech, through which I help mental health professionals make the transition to tech and thrive once there.
Having served as Program Manager and Mental Health Strategist for Google's Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and as staff psychologist at the Facebook Wellness Center, I'm experienced in applying evidence-based psychological principles and practices to enhance workplace well-being. I'm a passionate DEIB advocate, having served on Woebot Health's and Lark Health's DEIB Committees as well as Woebot Health's Clinical Diversity Advisory Board and Research Health Equity Task Force. I enjoy consulting with tech leaders to create cultures of care in which mental health support, inclusivity, and belonging are woven into the DNA of the organization.
My clinical passion lies in the evidence-based treatment of obsessive-compulsive and anxiety-related disorders. I completed a two-year specialty postdoctoral fellowship under the direction of Alec Pollard, PhD at the Saint Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute's Center for OCD and Anxiety-Related Disorders (COARD), where I acquired a subspecialty in using cognitive-behavioral treatments to work with patients with OCD and anxiety disorders struggling with treatment ambivalence and resistance. I went on to supervise and manage intensive and partial hospital programs for OCD and anxiety disorders across the country, including COARD in St. Louis, the Anxiety Treatment Center in Sacramento, and the Gateway Institute and Rogers Behavioral Health in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am a Diplomate of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, a registered Health Service Psychologist, and a graduate of the International OCD Foundation's Advanced Behavior Therapy Training Institute and the TLC Foundations for Body-Focused Repetitive Behavior's Professional Training Institute. I am licensed in California and Missouri and registered in British Columbia. I serve as expert consultant to psychiatry residents at Stanford Medicine's Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Clinic at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences through a biweekly case consultation group.
I have a passion for helping other clinicians develop solid case formulations and treatment plans for tough cases, as well as helping them problem-solve 'stuck' points in treatment. I frequently provide case consultation to clinicians in private practice.
In my spare time, I enjoy Cuban salsa and Dominican bachata and teaching coping skills on TikTok through my shih tzu Cosette (@shihtzuskills).
For more info, visit my LinkedIn profile here.