About Kelly
Kelly Ambrose is a licensed clinical social worker with 13 years of experience helping people manage stress, anxiety, addiction, and trauma. She works with adults who are looking for practical ways to feel steadier and more in control. Kelly keeps conversations direct and compassionate so people can talk about hard things without feeling judged.
Her style is collaborative. She helps people name what is most troubling and then picks small, doable steps to change it.
Background and approach
Sessions focus on skills for managing strong emotions, improving communication, and reducing symptoms that get in the way of daily life. Kelly pays attention to patterns that can feed problems, like attachment wounds, codependency, or control issues. She also supports people coping with chronic illness, cancer, body image concerns, and the effects of trauma and dissociation.
Those dealing with anger, depression, or addictions will find a practical focus on coping strategies and relapse prevention. She uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques to guide work, while making room for each person’s values and faith when that matters. Kelly helps people build self-compassion and hope while learning tools to handle setbacks.
Sessions are offered from Illinois in English. The first meetings are used to understand goals and make a clear plan that fits the person’s life. Kelly aims to be a steady, practical partner in the work of change.
Evidence-based approaches and online support
Kelly uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques to guide work in straightforward terms. One common approach focuses on teaching coping skills and emotion regulation - practical steps people can use when anxiety, anger, or cravings spike. This approach helps people regain control over intense feelings and reduce disruption to daily life.Another frequent emphasis is on processing trauma and its effects. That work involves pacing, building safety in the moment, and developing tools for grounding and reducing dissociation. It is aimed at helping people make sense of past harms while improving present-day functioning.
Choosing the right approach is part of the process. Kelly works collaboratively to identify goals and then tailors methods to what fits the person’s needs, values, and preferences. She revisits the plan as work progresses so techniques stay practical and relevant.
Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy fit a busy life. Video is useful for a fuller conversation, phone can be easier when bandwidth is limited, and text options let people check in between sessions or use shorter, focused exchanges. These formats provide flexibility for scheduling and for matching the way someone prefers to connect.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Trichotillomania
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
- Experience
- 13 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English