Jackson House La Mesa

Diane is an experienced counselor who has worked with clients across almost every stage of life. As a longtime therapist for the Community Research Foundation, Diane had the opportunity to help children, teens, adults and families across San Diego. Now, she is honored to help clients at Jackson House address their mental health needs. Diane is a certified clinical trauma professional and therapist with multiple degrees from San Diego State University. She specializes in helping clients problem solve and develop new skills through cognitive behavior therapy, dialectical behavior therapy and motivational interviewing. Diane is always on the hunt for the best chili recipe – if you have a good one, please send it her way. As you can imagine, she loves to cook, spend time with her family, go on camping trips or enjoy a nice staycation in San Diego.

“Let us help you on your mental health journey in a warm, caring and supportive environment. The well-trained professional staff will focus on getting your mental health needs met.”

Eva is always ready to greet you with a smile and offer a kind word to help brighten your day. As the office manager for Jackson House La Mesa, she keeps things on track and makes sure everyone has the resources they need to help their clients thrive. Eva considers it a privilege to work in the mental health industry and be able to provide support to people during some of their most challenging moments. When she’s not helping out the team, Eva loves spending time with her adult children and hearing about their latest adventures.

“Seeking treatment for mental health can seem helpless but come to Jackson House and let us help you overcome the mental illness that has you feeling trapped.”

Caroline has been working in the mental health field since 2012. She started her mental health career working as a Personal Care Assistant where she modeled and practiced healthy social skills with children living with severe emotional disturbance and a variety of other mental health diagnoses. Caroline then joined the Blue Earth County Child Protection team in Minnesota where she worked with all families involved with the child welfare system. Caroline’s focus was to facilitate the Love and Logic curriculum to increase parenting skills and decrease families' return to the child welfare system.

In 2016, Caroline then moved on to work with adults living with mental illness, where she worked in the community increasing client independent living skills. Caroline then moved to being a Group Home Manager, of multiple sites, where she worked with adults placed on conservatorship to move toward reinstatement of rights.

Caroline’s journey then brought her to San Diego in 2019 where she was a community case manager, with a full-service partnership agency. Caroline worked with adults living with dual-diagnosis, homelessness, and having involvement with the corrections/justice system. Caroline then joined Jackson House in April 2021.

Caroline received her Bachelor’s of Science in Social Work from Minnesota State University - Mankato in May 2016. Caroline also obtained her Minnesota Social Work License as an LSW in 2016. Caroline has specialized training in trauma-informed care, motivational interviewing, as well as co-occurring disorders and severe persistent mental illness.

“I chose to work at Jackson House because the values and mission align with my professional values and training.”

Outside of work Caroline likes to attend concerts, travel, hike and spend time with friends.

“Join Jackson House to receive the unconditional positive regard and dignity everyone deserves, while we guide you to navigate a new self which you will endure while experiencing compassionate, holistic care.”

Brandon attended Quinnipiac University in Hamden Connecticut and graduated with his bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2015. He began his journey in the field of Psychology with a love for Neuroscience and research, which remains a passion of his today. He spent time working in the Quinnipiac Behavior Neuroscience lab and decided to shift his focus to human services. Following graduation, Brandon attended Central Connecticut State University where he obtained a master’s degree in professional clinical counseling. Shortly after that, he moved from Connecticut to California and began his professional career and registered with the Board of Behavioral Sciences as an Associate Professional Clinical Counselor (APCC).

Brandon’s first work experience came at a residential substance abuse program and detox as a clinical case manager. Following that, he worked at an outpatient substance use program as a mental health worker. Working at those programs helped him to better understand the relationship between substance use and mental health.

“As I continued work with people with substance abuse issues, the relationship between mental health issues and substance use became apparent. However, in my former roles, substance abuse and sobriety were the primary issue that people came seeking help for and was the primary focus of treatment. While co-occurring disorders are most effectively treated together, coming to Jackson house was an opportunity for me to work with people whose primary concern is mental health.”

Outside of work, sports are Brandon’s passion. He loves to watch all sports, from basketball to tennis. In high school, he played baseball. Now, most of his free time is spent playing golf. In Brandon’s opinion, there is no better way to spend a day than out on a golf course, whether it be with friends or random golfers at the local course. Other than watching sports and playing golf, he also enjoys art. From calligraphy and watercolors to engraving and wood burning, Brandon finds something very rewarding and therapeutic about creating something original, whether it be a paint splatter on a canvas, an engraved mirror, a custom piece of furniture or a beautiful landscape.

“I believe that I bring a unique approach to counseling and treating mental health to the already wonderful team at Jackson House. I believe in the importance of tailoring my approach to the unique person that is sitting in front of me. I believe that the therapeutic relationship is the most important aspect of mental health treatment. At Jackson House you are not going to be treated as just a diagnosis, but as a unique individual with a unique story on a unique journey.”