Kelly Ambrose, LCSW

Licensed in Illinois · 13 years in practice

Kelly Ambrose is a licensed clinical social worker with 13 years of experience helping people through hard moments.

License and registration

LCSW, Illinois: 149.031069 · expires November 2027
NPI: 1215424056 · national provider identifier
Years in practice: 13
Languages: English

Details are as listed on the therapist's public professional profile. You can check any license with the state board and any NPI with the national registry.

About Kelly

Kelly Ambrose is a licensed clinical social worker with 13 years of experience helping people through hard moments. She focuses on practical steps that make daily life easier. Kelly aims to create a calm, steady space for someone who feels overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, or addiction.

She listens first and then works with each person to set clear, achievable goals. Sessions center on building coping skills, reducing shame, and strengthening self‑compassion.

Background and approach

Kelly pays attention to how past wounds affect current behavior and relationships. Her background includes long experience addressing communication problems, codependency, anger, and issues tied to chronic illness or cancer. She also supports people dealing with attachment concerns, dissociation, and neurodiversity such as autism and Asperger syndrome.

Kelly prefers a collaborative, down‑to‑earth style. She uses evidence‑based therapeutic techniques to guide practical changes in thinking and behavior. The aim is steady progress, not quick fixes, so clients can handle stressors more confidently.

Clients often work on concrete tools for managing strong emotions and improving daily routines. Kelly also helps people untangle patterns of control, abandonment fears, or dependent behavior. Her approach blends compassionate listening with straightforward strategies people can use between sessions.

Focus areas and approaches

Everything Kelly lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.

Stress, Anxiety
Addictions
Trauma and abuse
Anger management
Depression
Abandonment
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
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
Postpartum depression
Post-traumatic stress
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

Online support

How evidence-based techniques translate to online care

Kelly uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques that focus on skills people can practice outside sessions. One common approach teaches specific coping strategies for intense emotions, like grounding and breathing exercises, which help with anxiety, panic, and stress. Another approach looks at patterns in thoughts and behaviors and helps people test and change unhelpful thinking, useful for depression and worry.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn't worked before. Together they decide which techniques to try and adjust them over time based on what helps.

Online therapy is offered through several formats: video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video sessions are good when face-to-face interaction and visual cues matter. Phone sessions can fit a busy schedule or require less bandwidth. Live chat and text messaging work well for quick check-ins, ongoing encouragement, or when someone prefers not to be on camera. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, school, or family routines.

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Questions people ask

What concerns does Kelly commonly help with?

Kelly works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, addictions, and anger. She also focuses on related issues like attachment, codependency, substance concerns, chronic illness, and body image.

What is her therapeutic style like?

Her style is collaborative and down‑to‑earth. Sessions focus on listening, setting small goals, and teaching practical coping tools for daily life.

How much experience does she have?

She brings 13 years of clinical experience working with a wide range of mental health concerns. That background informs a practical, steady approach to care.

What credentials and location are listed?

Kelly holds an LCSW, which stands for Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She practices in Illinois.

Which languages are supported?

Sessions are offered in English.

What session formats are available?

Therapy can be delivered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text‑based messaging. These options offer different ways to connect based on needs.

How does cost and billing work?

Cost varies with location and therapist availability. Sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.

How do I begin working with Kelly?

Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, completing a short matching questionnaire, and then scheduling according to therapist availability.

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