Jackson House San Diego

Bruce

CEO

Bruce has been working as a licensed clinical psychologist for over two decades. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Kansas (rock chalk, Jayhawk). After graduating from KU, he went on to earn his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. His experience consists of over 20 years working with patients at all levels of care for both substance use and mental health issues. He chose to work at Jackson House when the opportunity arose to build an organization that now provides high-quality, in-network services for mental health and chemical dependency.

Jackson House was founded on the principle that people should be able to access the best care through their insurance. Thus, Jackson House’s ongoing commitment to offering in-network services in a variety of locations. Through years of experience as a clinical director, he learned that many reputable behavioral health organizations only accept specific insurance policies or unfeasible out-of-pocket costs. Keeping this in mind, he is proud that Jackson House continues to provide in-network care.

Outside of work, Bruce enjoys coaching his sons’ baseball and soccer teams. He also has fun wakeboarding, snowboarding, and spending time with his wife and two dogs.

“If you or someone you love is suffering from a mental health or substance use problem…give us a call. We will do our best to help you ourselves or provide you with referrals to trusted partners in the community. We know how difficult it is to ask for help when it comes to our mental health and addiction, but, without help, things will not get better.”

Chad

Chief Development Officer and General Counsel

Chad Engbrecht, Esq. is the Chief Development Officer and General Counsel of Alvarado Parkway Institute Behavioral Health Systems (“API”) and Jackson House. He develops state-of-the-art mental health and addiction treatment facilities, and also oversees the acquisition of existing behavioral health companies. As acting General Counsel, Attorney Engbrecht is responsible for the management of all legal issues.

His career began at a public accounting firm where he obtained his license as a Certified Public Accountant (maintained until 2010) before transitioning to private accounting. Chad has over 25 years of experience in accounting, and served as the Chief Financial Officer of API from 2006-2019. Currently, he serves as a Board Member and General Counsel.

Aside from acting as API’s General Counsel, Chad serves on the board of a law school in San Diego. He earned his undergraduate degree in economics with an emphasis in accounting from the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 2003, he attained his Juris Doctorate with Summa Cum Laude from Thomas Jefferson School of Law.

Chad has been with Jackson House from the very beginning. In its early days, he oversaw the development, licensing, and launch of the first Jackson House facility. For the past two decades, he has practiced tax, corporate, securities, and real estate law within corporation and firm settings. Outside of work, API’s legal counselor enjoys fishing, camping, and traveling.

Lauren

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Lauren has been an LCSW since 2014, holds a master's degree from Columbia University School of Social Work and a BA in psychology from Loyola University Maryland.

After graduate school, Lauren worked in Baltimore, Maryland in a diverse range of settings, including director of a crisis residential program, clinical coordinator for an opiate, alcohol, and benzodiazepine detoxification program, and a therapist for individual, group and family trauma for adolescents in residential treatment.

Lauren implemented agency wide trauma informed care at Baltimore Crisis Response, trained members of the Baltimore City police department on mental health first aid, programmed and implemented a spirituality group for women with co-occurring mental illness and addiction, and created Heal the Healers, a vicarious traumatization prevention and self-care yoga class for clinicians and direct care staff. Lauren is a certified trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapist, with additional specialized education working with queer and gender non-binary persons, as well as people healing from addiction and sexual assault. Prior to relocating to San Diego in 2020, Lauren lived in New Jersey and was most recently the Director of Residential and Community Based Services for Vantage Health System. Prior to that position, she was the Clinical Program Director at Jersey City Medical Center.

Lauren loves practicing yoga, pottery, cycling, spending time with her husband James, their corgi Bailee, and their bearded dragon Mango.

"Entering treatment can be a monumental decision and our team here at Jackson House is honored to be a part of your journey. We are wholeheartedly committed to the health, safety and holistic treatment of each person who walks through our doors. We fundamentally believe that when 'I' is replaced with 'We', illness becomes wellness.”

Michelle

Director of Corporate Compliance & QA

Michelle has been working in behavioral healthcare compliance for 10 years. She graduated from California State University, Long Beach in 1992, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physical Education. In 2010, she received her master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from National University. She is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and is an expert Project Manager & Operations Improvement Specialist.

Previous to Jackson House, Michelle was the Director of Corporate Compliance & Quality Assurance at Casa Palmera in Southern California. She has experience working in several different organizations, namely Scripps Green Hospital, Solana Beach Health Center, Elderhelp of San Diego, and now Jackson House.

In her spare time, she enjoys playing a game of pickleball. Michelle is also deeply involved in pet therapy. Since 2015, Michelle has been volunteering with golden retrievers. When she isn’t at work, Michelle volunteers on the dog therapy team at Love on a Leash. She has also volunteered in finding homes for rescued goldens at the Southern California Golden Retriever Rescue.

Patrick

Bio Coming Soon