Jacob Ambrose, Ph.D. (Hillcrest)

(He/Him/His) LIcensed Psychologist

Dr. Ambrose is a licensed psychologist (PSY34639) at Hillcrest Psychological Associates who specializes in individual therapy with young adults and college age students. His has expertise in treating Interpersonal and Relationship Issues, Depression, Anxiety, Multicultural Issues, Anger, Low Self-Esteem, and Identity Development.

Historically, Dr. Ambrose has worked as a therapist in San Diego with children, adolescents, and young adults in a variety of settings like residential treatment programs, school counseling, and multiple university college counseling centers, and his competency in treating various mental health concerns come from his experiences in these diverse settings. While engaging in these training experiences, he often sought out minority populations and drew on his identity as a Black Male counselor to provide a safe haven for those individuals often managing life in predominately white spaces. Dr. Ambrose’s theoretical orientation finds its foundation on the three principles of
Rogerian Person-Centered therapy of unconditional positive regard, empathic understanding, and congruence. Dr. Ambrose sees the therapeutic process as a journey in which he accompanies his clients and works collaboratively in the discovery of unhelpful relational patterns, aids them in gaining new insight, and creates impactful corrective experiences by empowering them to break the cycle of harmful patterns and reaching client specific treatment goals. His focus on Humanistic Person-Centered therapy is integrated with Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, as well as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Dr. Ambrose has a passion as a San Diego therapist for serving often underrepresented populations with a particular passion for serving those within the LGBTQ community and Black individuals who experience oppression and racial prejudice. Identity exploration and identity reflection (including the reflection of his own identity as a Black Therapist) is central to Dr. Ambrose’s work, and he is dedicated to dismantling systematic oppression and providing multicultural informed care to those he works with.

Finally, Dr. Ambrose brings a warm presence into all aspects of his work with clients, and we are confident in his abilities to bring about a meaningful and empowering therapy experience with anyone he works with.

He is an in-network therapist for Cigna, Healthnet, and Aetna.