Dr. Keisha Ross.

About Dr. Ross.

Dr. Keisha Ross is a clinical psychologist at St. Louis Veterans Healthcare System, owner of New Horizon Psychological Services, and the 2026 Dr. John M. Anderson Excellence in the Field of Mental Health Awardee.

Dr. Ross graduated from Saint Louis University with a Ph.D in Clinical Psychology. Her specialty areas include treating and understanding complex trauma and promoting cultural competence with emphasis on race/ethnicity and intersecting identities such as religion/spirituality, gender, sexual orientation, and disability. In addition to clinical services, Dr. Ross is also an educator, trainer, clinical supervisor, leader/advocate, consultant, and innovator with subject matter expertise in race-based stress and trauma.

As owner of New Horizon Psychological Services, she provides local, national, and international trainings on diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence, with an emphasis on the impacts of historical and intergenerational trauma on communities of color. She also serves as a forensic consultant with public defender attorneys across Missouri, offering expert testimony on the effects of structural racism and trauma in efforts to address disparities in incarceration and sentencing among African Americans.

Dr. Ross is also a full-time Staff Psychologist at St. Louis Veterans Healthcare System where she serves as Co-Chair of the Psychology Cultural Competency Council and co-leads the Race-Based Stress/Trauma and Empowerment (RBSTE) national project that entails providing specialized consultation-based training for providers on RBSTE protocol.

In addition to her full-time work, Dr. Ross is active in several local and national organizations, holding executive membership and officer positions. She is a past president of the Missouri Psychological Association (MOPA) and a founding member and Immediate Past Chairperson of the current MOPA Diversity Committee. She also served as an executive member of the St. Louis Chapter of the Association of Black Psychologists (STL-ABPSI).

Her leadership in these organizations has increased awareness of mental health issues impacting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities and improved conditions for marginalized populations. Her passion is reducing stigma around mental health and advancing advocacy and empowerment in urban minority and underserved communities.

In addition to being the 2026 Excellence in the Field of Mental Health Awardee, Dr. Ross is also the inaugural recipient of the St. Louis VA’s 2020 Advancing Diversity in Psychology (ADIP) Award; as well as the 2021 ADIP recipient.

In the words of the nominator.

“Collectively, Dr. Ross’s work advances long-term solutions by embedding culturally responsive practices into healthcare systems, improving fairness within judicial processes, strengthening early trauma intervention, developing the next generation of clinicians, and contributing to the evidence base supporting equity-centered mental health care. Her contributions extend beyond individual treatment episodes to structural improvements that shape how care is delivered in the St. Louis region for years to come.”