Full Name
Sheldon Jacobs, PsyD, LMFT
Speaker Bio
Dr. Jacobs is a licensed marriage and family therapist and he has been providing individual, couples and family therapy to individuals from various walks of life for the past 20 years. He opened his own part-time private practice, Dr. Sheldon A. Jacobs Counseling Services in September 2020, where he works with youth, adults, first responders, and professional athletes. He has taught at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN), the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) and the University of Phoenix-Las Vegas Campus at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Dr. Jacobs was appointed by Nevada Governor, Steve Sisolak, in July 2019 to serve on the State of Nevada Board of Examiners for Marriage and Family Therapists and Clinical Professional Counselors. He is the President on the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)-Southern Nevada Board of Directors, and he was appointed to the Hope Means Nevada board in 2021, which focuses on addressing youth mental health and suicide prevention amongst teenagers across the state of Nevada. In June 2022, Dr. Jacobs was elected to the Board of Directors for NAMI National, which makes him the first Nevadan to ever serve on the national board. He was elected to the NAMI National executive committee, as secretary on June 7, 2023. In 2024, he served on the “mental health in the workplace” committee for NAMI, where he helped develop a guide for employers across the country on how to create a healthy work environment. Dr. Jacobs founded and is the chair of a coalition that is comprised of mental health professionals that addresses the shortage of minority mental health providers in Southern Nevada. In this role, Dr. Jacobs has created a pipeline for students of color to enter the field of mental health at the high school and college levels. The coalition also provides outreach efforts to underserved and underrepresented communities of color to increase awareness of mental health.
When Dr. Jacobs is not practicing, he is usually giving back to his community by offering town hall discussions centered on mental health at schools, community centers and churches where he also shares his story of living with posttraumatic stress, which stemmed from his lifestyle as a gang member during his teenage years. Because of his advocacy work, Dr. Jacobs has received numerous community and national awards. Lastly, Dr. Jacobs has published several professional journal articles and he released his highly anticipated memoir in November 2020, titled “48: An Experiential Memoir on Homelessness” where he went undercover as a homeless man for 48 hours in downtown Las Vegas to raise awareness for homelessness and mental health. Half of the proceeds from his book sales have gone to various organizations in Nevada and Southern California that serve the unsheltered population.
Dr. Jacobs was appointed by Nevada Governor, Steve Sisolak, in July 2019 to serve on the State of Nevada Board of Examiners for Marriage and Family Therapists and Clinical Professional Counselors. He is the President on the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)-Southern Nevada Board of Directors, and he was appointed to the Hope Means Nevada board in 2021, which focuses on addressing youth mental health and suicide prevention amongst teenagers across the state of Nevada. In June 2022, Dr. Jacobs was elected to the Board of Directors for NAMI National, which makes him the first Nevadan to ever serve on the national board. He was elected to the NAMI National executive committee, as secretary on June 7, 2023. In 2024, he served on the “mental health in the workplace” committee for NAMI, where he helped develop a guide for employers across the country on how to create a healthy work environment. Dr. Jacobs founded and is the chair of a coalition that is comprised of mental health professionals that addresses the shortage of minority mental health providers in Southern Nevada. In this role, Dr. Jacobs has created a pipeline for students of color to enter the field of mental health at the high school and college levels. The coalition also provides outreach efforts to underserved and underrepresented communities of color to increase awareness of mental health.
When Dr. Jacobs is not practicing, he is usually giving back to his community by offering town hall discussions centered on mental health at schools, community centers and churches where he also shares his story of living with posttraumatic stress, which stemmed from his lifestyle as a gang member during his teenage years. Because of his advocacy work, Dr. Jacobs has received numerous community and national awards. Lastly, Dr. Jacobs has published several professional journal articles and he released his highly anticipated memoir in November 2020, titled “48: An Experiential Memoir on Homelessness” where he went undercover as a homeless man for 48 hours in downtown Las Vegas to raise awareness for homelessness and mental health. Half of the proceeds from his book sales have gone to various organizations in Nevada and Southern California that serve the unsheltered population.
Speaking At
