UCSD Profiles

search, discover, network

Jessica A. Hughes, PhD
Clinical Psychologist
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Dr. Hughes earned her doctorate from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in Clinical Psychology. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center Psychology Internship Program in Philadelphia, PA, and her post-doctoral fellowship at the San Diego VA Medical Center/UCSD Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Residency Program. She joined the UCSD Health Sciences faculty in the Department of Psychiatry in March 2019. She also serves as a Faculty Psychologist in the General Psychiatry Program.

She is a licensed clinical psychologist who treats adults with a variety of mental health issues in the general psychiatry program, such as depression, anxiety, and trauma. Dr. Hughes also specializes in couple therapy and treats relationship difficulties such as infidelity and trust, communication, intimacy, and the impact of individual mental health on relationships. Dr. Hughes uses evidence-based treatments to treat individuals and couples.

She has experience with diverse patient populations of different ages and ethnic backgrounds, comorbid conditions, symptom severity, and military experiences.

She has training in delivering crisis and solution-oriented, evidence-based treatments for a variety of conditions, including:
• PTSD using cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure therapy
• Anxiety and depression using cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy
• Couple/marital difficulties using integrative behavioral couple therapy and emotion focused couple therapy

Her research interests are in needs assessment and program development with the aim of improving access to patient-centered, evidence-based mental health treatment. She is also interested in investigating the impact of mental health on romantic relationships.