Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Jasmine Ross.
Hi Dr. Jasmine, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My story starts with curiosity. Even as a child growing up in the Bronx, New York, I found myself wondering why people hurt, not just individually, but collectively. I wanted to understand how mental health challenges take shape, how environment and identity shape our internal world, and most importantly, how people heal. That curiosity led me to study psychology, with minors in sociology and Africana studies, and I’ve been following that thread ever since.
I’ve now been in the field of psychology for nearly 20 years. My journey has taken me through college counseling centers, psychiatric hospitals, prison systems, medical facilities, and eventually to private practice. For the past 10 years, I’ve run Essence Psychological Health Services, PLLC, a practice focused on women’s mental health, particularly at the intersections of trauma, identity, reproductive justice, and intimacy.
In 2024, I expanded my work by launching Dr. Jasmine Ross Storytelling Consulting. It’s a space where my clinical expertise meets my creative instincts. I support writers, producers, and creatives in crafting psychologically accurate, emotionally layered narratives, especially when those stories center Black women. I also develop original projects, including my current documentary, The Day Black Women Decided To Take a 4 Year Vacation, which explores Black women’s resistance through rest, joy, and reclamation.
At the heart of all my work is story, how we tell it, how we carry it, and how we heal through it.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, I’ve had my fair share of bumps, detours, and moments of deep reckoning.
Relocating from New York City to Texas came with its own cultural adjustments and sense of displacement. I’ve also experienced profound personal losses and faced reproductive health challenges that forced me to confront vulnerability in ways my training hadn’t prepared me for. Those experiences reshaped how I show up as a clinician, a mother, and a woman.
Professionally, I’ve often struggled with feeling like I didn’t quite fit into the traditional boxes of my field. I spent years trying to reconcile the limits of what psychology “allowed” with what I knew to be true about human complexity, especially for Black women. Ultimately, I stopped waiting for permission and decided to create my own lane. That’s what led to the founding of both my private practice and my consulting firm. Every challenge sharpened my clarity and deepened my commitment to building spaces that are honest, healing, and ours.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a licensed psychologist, storyteller, and consultant. My clinical work through Essence Psychological Health Services, PLLC focuses on women’s mental health, particularly around trauma, reproductive and sexual health, identity, and relational intimacy. I create space for women to be seen in their full complexity, outside of pathology, outside of performance. I’m especially drawn to the parts of people’s stories that don’t always get told, the in-between moments, the quiet ruptures, the soft rebuilds.
Through Dr. Jasmine Ross Storytelling Consulting, I collaborate with writers, producers, and creatives to bring nuance and psychological depth to the stories they’re telling. That includes script consulting, character development support, and cultural accuracy reviews, especially when the narratives involve mental health, identity, or trauma. I also develop my own projects, the first being The Day Black Women Decided To Take a 4 Year Vacation, a documentary that explores the emotional, spiritual, and political power of Black women choosing rest.
What sets me apart is that I sit at the intersection of science and story, clinical insight and cultural critique. I don’t just interpret data, I understand the emotional undercurrent. And I don’t just tell stories, I ground them in real human psychology, especially for communities that are often flattened or misrepresented in media.
I’m most proud of the spaces I’ve created, spaces where truth-telling isn’t just allowed, but honored. Spaces where women don’t have to translate themselves to be understood.
Any big plans?
Right now, my focus is on The Day Black Women Decided To Take a 4 Year Vacation, both the documentary and the companion research project. It’s a multi-layered exploration of how Black women are reclaiming rest, reimagining resistance, and redefining what wellness and worth look like on their own terms. It’s the most expansive and ambitious work I’ve done to date, and I’m excited to see where it leads, not just in terms of impact, but in the kinds of conversations it opens up.
Beyond that, I’m developing other creative projects that sit at the intersection of psychology and entertainment. Whether that’s through film, television, consulting, or curriculum, I’m invested in helping storytellers create emotionally intelligent, trauma-informed, and culturally accurate narratives, especially when those narratives center Black women.
The future for me isn’t about choosing between psychology and storytelling. It’s about continuing to build bridges between the two, and helping others do the same.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.drjasmineross.com
- Instagram: @dr.jasmineross
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJasmineRoss/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasminenross/
- Other: TikTok @dr.jasmineross
Image Credits
Photographer: Ray Carrington @raycarrington_
