I hold a doctorate in existential psychology, which explores how we deal with the challenges, limitations, and possibilities of being human.

I’ve been companioning people through loss as a hospital-based clinician for over 25 years. Following a career as a genetic counselor caring for children and adults with rare diseases, I joined the pediatric palliative care team at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in San Francisco, where I serve as a grief counselor for individuals who are coping with serious illness, perinatal loss, and the death of a child.

As a faculty member at UCSF, my academic work centers on advancing humanism in the practice of medicine. I teach graduate courses in counseling skills and help healthcare providers learn how to utilize themselves therapeutically.

In addition to training in Western approaches to medicine and psychology, I’ve studied energy medicine, applied shamanism, and a variety of contemplative practices that inform the lens through which I view healing. From this holistic education, I’ve gained a deep appreciation for the process of transformative learning—the shifts in consciousness that change how we experience ourselves and our world.

But more than my credentials, what I bring to this work is my full presence. The capacity to hold the complexities of being human. Curiosity about what it means to be here and what happens when we leave. Ways of knowing that are anchored in the wisdom of the heart. And an unwavering trust in our ability to find our way out of darkness through the light of awareness.

Reach out when you’re ready. I look forward to the introduction.

Warmly,
Summer