Community & Culture

Preschool teacher Linette Illastron returned to school after a decade and rediscovered her voice, her strength, and her passion for learning at CIIS.

At CIIS' 58th Commencement, 267 graduates from a class of 639 crossed the Herbst Theatre stage in celebration, ceremony and community.

At CIIS’ 58th Commencement, the student speaker and the keynote speaker came from different worlds — and arrived at a very similar truth.
 

At the 2026 Scholarship Dinner, CIIS students and donors gathered to celebrate the journeys that generous giving makes possible.

After four decades leading CIIS' Drama Therapy Program, professor Renée Emunah reflects on a career spent fusing theatre and healing.

Don Hanlon Johnson, founder of the first graduate Somatics program in the U.S., retires after more than four decades at CIIS.

After 17 years leading CIIS' Integrative Health Studies program, professor Meg Jordan steps back from a career that helped create the profession of health and wellness coaching.

Celebrating the Wisdom of Recent CIIS Commencement Speakers

Groundbreaking clinic delivers affordable, clinically supervised psychedelic therapy while training the next generation of practitioners

A month of workshops, talks, and community gatherings rooted in Black history, culture, and the enduring power of our ancestral seeds. 

How CIIS honors the Earth through curriculum, retreats, events, and practices that root learning in the living world.

Rowen White on Indigenous Seedkeeping and Food Sovereignty

Dr. Jeanine Canty on Earth Justice, Ancestral Roots, and the Ecological Self 

CIIS marked its 58th anniversary with community-wide celebration, collective art-making, and the President's Service Distinction Awards.

Since 1968, CIIS has redefined graduate education by integrating Eastern, Western, and Indigenous wisdom traditions with rigorous academic inquiry.

After a decade in early childhood education and twenty years away from school, Heather Miller found renewed purpose through CIIS' Bachelor of Science in Psychology.

CIIS students and alumni reflect on the moments that changed everything — inside and outside the classroom.

Dr. Rene Dumetz teaches CIIS' Clinical Psychology Psy.D. program, training therapists to work with the unconscious, relationships, and holistic human experience.

Megan Lipsett, chair of CIIS’ M.A. in Integrative Health Studies, explains how the program trains practitioners to address health as a whole-person, systems-oriented endeavor.

A celebration of healing, community, and ancestral wisdom as CIIS' Division of Community Engagement and Belonging and the Healing Clinic Collective celebrate the Integrated Wellness Fellowship.

What if the questions that draw us to learning could also reshape who we become? Across disciplines and life paths, curiosity emerges as sacred work, an opening into connection, healing, and transformation.

Three Transformative Leadership alumni share how they navigate bias, build community, and create inclusive spaces for change.

The Division of Community Engagement and Belonging highlights the work of Shirley Strong, Beloved Community Consultant and Former CIIS Dean of Students.

Desire on the Couch is a groundbreaking exhibition at CIIS that reexamines a century of debates over sexuality, desire, and identity—bringing rarely seen archival materials and unheard stories into public view.

A $30,000 grant will establish a faculty research fund at CIIS, creating opportunities for innovative studies in Somatic Psychology and Integral and Transpersonal Psychology.

Professor Lani Chow explains how CIIS' Clinical Psychology Psy.D. program takes an integrative approach to training therapists in depth psychological traditions.

Professor Jeanine Canty explores how the Transformative Studies Ph.D. prepares visionary changemakers to address humanity's disconnection from nature and each other.

Dr. Janis Phelps founded the world's first academically approved psychedelic therapy training program, preparing clinicians for a transforming field of mental health.

Playwright and activist Alex Burger brings his global experience into the CIIS MFA classroom, teaching art as transformation, and crisis as creative fuel.

Marine Corps veteran Bre Butler discovered a path to healing and transformation through CIIS' Integrative Health Studies program after five years of active duty service.

Fernando Ona, Chair of Transformative Inquiry at CIIS, carried questions from Iraq to the classroom—and found space to explore them.

Discover the latest works from CIIS faculty—spanning psychology, spirituality, ecology and the arts. These recent publications show how our community is advancing scholarship and creativity in service of personal and collective transformation.

This fall, 483 new students began their academic journeys at CIIS with hybrid orientation experiences designed for connection and reflection.

Explore CIIS’ groundbreaking Bachelor’s program and the bold vision behind its creation.

Explore how CIIS’ Human Sexuality degrees empower students to create social change through research, theory, and advocacy.

Inside CIIS’ bold approach to community mental health and healing-centered education.

The Department of Human Sexuality marks 10 years.

A graduate’s journey integrating Eastern contemplative wisdom with Western depth psychological frameworks.

A look inside a Blue Sky Leaders program weekend workshop, led by Greg Thomas of the Jazz Leadership Project.

CIIS celebrated the Class of 2025 on Saturday, May 17 at A.C.T.’s Toni Rembe Theater in San Francisco.

Women’s Spirituality Co-Chair and Associate Professor Annette Williams is retiring this year after an illustrious career.

Expressive Arts Therapy congratulates professor and former program chair Shoshana Simons on her retirement.

CIIS has joined hundreds of colleges and universities across the country in signing “A Call for Constructive Engagement.”

When a film touches us, makes us laugh, and has that feel-good spirit, we want more of it. We want a sequel! In this episode, psychotherapist and CIIS Assistant Professor in the Integral Counseling Psychology program Emily Marinelli is joined by therapist and activist DDS Dobson-Smith for a conversation exploring the psychology of movie sequels from the 1980s and 1990s.

Sharing personal stories and insights from their latest book Comfort Sequels, Emily dives deep into the psychology behind what makes certain movie sequels memorable, safe, predictable, and comforting. These sequels are more of the universe we love—exploring something new while maintaining something familiar. Emily interprets characters, story arcs, and major themes while sharing fun and random behind-the-scenes facts about sequels including Grease 2, Gremlins 2, My Girl 2, Ghostbusters II, Batman Returns, and more.

This episode was recorded during an in-person and live streamed event at California Institute of Integral Studies on August 21st, 2024. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

In her work, author, organizer, and designer Aida Mariam Davis explores the historical and ongoing impacts of settler colonialism, making explicit the ways that extraction, oppression, and enslavement serve the goals of empire—not least by severing ancestral connections and disrupting profound and ancient relationships to self, nature, and community. Her recent book, Kindred Creation, is a call and response to dream and design better worlds rooted in African lifeways: a path to Black freedom, a love letter to Black futures, and a blueprint to intergenerational Black joy and dignity—all (and always) on Black terms.

In this episode, Aida is joined by CIIS Director of the Center for Black & Indigenous Praxis Preston Vargas for a powerful conversation exploring African epistemologies and recalling the dignity and distinction of the African way of life. Aida shares her philosophical framework: remember, refuse, and reclaim as a vital guide for birthing new worlds and reclaiming land, language, lifestyle, and labor.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on February 19th, 2025. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Last fall, Human Sexuality doctoral students and faculty members presented two panels at the National Women's Studies Association (NWSA) meetings. 

Transformative Leadership alum Cynthia Huie, M.A. '24, brings creativity and connection to the San Francisco small-business community.

For the second year, CIIS’ Center for Black & Indigenous Praxis joined Generations, a celebration of Black LGBTQIA+ cultures in the Bay Area.

The Department of Women's Spirituality honors International Women's Day by challenging oppression, sharing wisdom, and fostering justice, liberation, and community healing.

The Black Psychology Project and the Center for Black & Indigenous Praxis’ annual celebration of Black History Month returns. 

At each CIIS Open House event, a community panel of faculty and alumni discusses what drew them to CIIS and their experiences at the University.

A new committee will track federal executive orders and assess their potential impacts, to ensure CIIS can continue its commitment to unity in diversity. 

Honoring Dr. King's 96th birthday, we reflect on his enduring legacy of nonviolence, justice, and Beloved Community. His vision inspires us today.

Dr. Lyla June is a renowned Indigenous musician, songwriter, poet, hip-hop artist, human ecologist, and community organizer. Her music and message center around intergenerational and inter-ethnic healing and are poetic articulations of Indigenous philosophies.

Through her vibrant art across mediums and extensive community organizing efforts, Lyla offers pathways forward for Indigenous liberation and creates solidarity for Indigenous communities and their allies.

This episode was recorded live in San Francisco on November 3rd, 2023. Lyla was joined on stage by Preston Vargas, CIIS Director of the Center for Black and Indigenous Praxis, for a powerful evening of song and conversation exploring her life, art, and community organizing. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

CIIS Provost Kathy Littles' statement on the importance academic freedom.

With the November general election just around the corner, we want to ensure that you have all the tools and information you need to be an informed voter.

Barbara Morrill, CIIS Professor Emerita, explores the life of Jewish writer Etty Hillesum, who decried the brutality of the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam during World War II.

Get access to the online workshop series on intergenerational trauma with Kini Chang, LMFT, Chair of the Community Mental Health program at CIIS

Groundbreaking collection of essays reveals how Critical Sexuality Studies and Lavender Languages and Linguistics combine to analyze language use, sexuality and gender, and discourse on authority and power.

Associate Professor Christopher Walling receives the Gina Ogden Curatorial Scholarship for Integrative Approaches to Sex Research and Therapy from the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University

The San Francisco Chronicle explores the importance and benefits of colleges and universities with downtown campuses in San Francisco

A new review of the Handbook for Creative Futures, edited by CIIS lecturer Dr. Gabrielle Donnelly and Professor Alfonso Montuori, celebrates its value as a guide to finding hope in hard times.

When Florida laws threatened queer scholarship, CIIS provided a new home

CIIS Professors Jeanine Canty and Leslie Davenport scheduled to speak at Revolution from the Heart of Nature

Exploring the Department of Women's Spirituality and celebrating with two events

Exploring the 2023 TEDx Talk given by Dr. Elizabeth Markle, Associate Professor of the Community Mental Health Master's Program

New works from CIIS Professor of Clinical Psychology on the Psychological Potency of Dreams

Sasha Bainer, an East-West Psychology student, provides us with insights into their firsthand experience of Auroville.

Dr. Keller crossed over on the morning following the Winter Solstice as the light and lengthening of days returned to the northern hemisphere.

Transpersonal Psychology alum Dr. Michele DeMarco's new book offers a transformative new lens for healing from trauma, grief, and loss and building resilience.

Dr. Renée Emunah, Founder and Chair of the Drama Therapy program at CIIS, reflects on the second edition of her book, Acting for Real: Drama Therapy Process, Technique, and Performance

Graduate students in CIIS’ Transformative Leadership Master's Program Capture Prestigious ILA Student Case Competition 

Alec MacLeod, long-time CIIS Professor, shares his thoughts about teaching, his students, and reflects on his recent retirement 

Sibling Directors on Drama, Therapy, and Drama Therapy

Journalist Mónica Guzmán is the loving liberal daughter of Mexican immigrants who voted twice for Donald Trump. Mónica is also the chief storyteller for the national cross-partisan depolarization organization Braver Angels, which brings her to the real front lines of a crisis that threatens to grind America to a halt—broken conversations among confounded people.

In this episode, Damali Robertson talks with Mónica about her life, work, and her recent book, I Never Thought of It That Way, in which she shares ways for us all to have fearlessly curious conversations.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on March 24th, 2022. Access the transcript below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Hope without action is, at best, naive. At its worst, it tricks you into giving up the power and agency you have to change systems that cause suffering. Transformative learning and social justice educator Kari Grain’s concept of critical hope calls for a spark of passion and an abiding belief that transformation is not just possible, but vital. This is hope in action: a vibrant, engaged practice and a commitment to honoring transformative potential across a vast spectrum of experience.

In her latest book, Critical Hope, Dr. Grain asserts that hope is necessary but hope alone is not enough. In this episode, Dr. Grain is joined by CIIS Chief Diversity Officer Rachel Bryant for a conversation introducing the seven principles for practicing critical hope and exploring how hope isn’t something you have—it’s something you do.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on May 5th, 2022. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

What would it be like to live in a well-rested world? For far too many of us, we have claimed productivity as the cornerstone of success. Brainwashed by capitalism, we subject our bodies and minds to work at an unrealistic and damaging pace. In this world, rest, in its simplest form, becomes an act of resistance and a reclaiming of power because it asserts our most basic humanity.

Tricia Hersey, aka the Nap Bishop is an artist, theologian, and the founder of The Nap Ministry, an organization that examines rest as a form of resistance by curating sacred spaces for the community to rest through Collective Napping Experiences, immersive workshops, and performance art installations. Tricia’s work is rooted in spiritual energy and centered in Black liberation, womanism, somatics, and Afrofuturism.

In this episode, Tricia is joined in a conversation with Damali Robertson on the liberating power of rest, daydreaming, and naps as the foundation of healing and justice. Sharing insights from her latest book, Rest Is Resistance, Tricia casts an illuminating light on our troubled relationship with rest and how to imagine and dream our way to a future where rest is exalted.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on October 20th, 2022. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

CIIS professors Alfonso Montuori and Gabrielle Donnelly discuss editing The Routledge Handbook for Creative Futures, a 37-chapter, globally diverse handbook on creative, collaborative approaches to envisioning hopeful futures.

Recent Ecology, Spirituality and Religion grad on queering the outdoors

CIIS’ East-West Psychology and Transformative Inquiry departments put together a week-long period of celebration of conferences, music, theater, film and food.

An interview with Drama Therapy alumna Grace Walcott about her documentary, “River of Life LGBTQ+”

A Center for Psychedelic Therapies & Research faculty member and student explore the role chaplains are embracing as they provide patients with psychedelic-assisted treatments.

CIIS Professor Alfonso Montuori and CIIS alumna Professor Gabrielle Donnelly were curious how to combat the despair and increasingly dystopian expectations of the future, and how creativity specifically could be used to inspire hope and action.

A personal reflection from Ecology, Spirituality, and Religion graduate, Charlie Forbes, in honor of the program's 10-year anniversary

An interview with CIIS Professor Monica Mody about her new book of poetry Bright Parallel, detailing her inspirations as well as her writing and teaching process

CIIS President Brock Blomberg and Provost Kathy Littles are excited to welcome you to a year of learning, connections, and endless possibilities.

Watch CIIS Professor Emeritus Brian Thomas Swimme's Keynote Speech during the 2023 Leadership Conference of Religious Women in Dallas Texas.

Spotlighting four titles from the past year that speak to the wide range of wisdom and expertise our graduates bring to the world

Find information about and links for Juneteenth and Pride Month events taking place in June 2023

Sylvia Israel, adjunct Faculty in the Drama Therapy program, is featured Therapeutic Spiral Model Trainer by Therapeutic Spiral Model International.

Kini Chang joined as new Chair of Community Mental Health and comes from a liberation and social justice lens when working with trauma associated with systemic oppression, social inequity, community violence, abuse and attachment, juvenile justice reformation, and traumatic grief and loss.

Explore faculty publications on health and wellness, psychology and therapy, Asian philosophy and culture, human meaning, environment, social justice, spirituality and religion, consciousness and philosophy, sex, sexuality and gender, poetry, art and music.

An abstract of Dr. William’s essay and part of a series of essays in the new book, Spiritual Healing from Sexual Violence: An Intersectional Guide.

Considered one of the leaders of a current generation of Buddhist teachers, Lama Rod Owens is a Buddhist minister, author, activist, and an authorized Lama—or Buddhist teacher—in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. Through his writings, teachings, and travels Lama Rod invites everyone into his life intersections as a Black, queer male who was born and raised in the South, and heavily influenced by the church and its community.

In this episode, Lama Rod is joined by Executive Director of the Counter Narrative Project, Charles Stephens, for a conversation about how unmetabolized anger—and the grief, hurt, and transhistorical trauma beneath it—needs to be explored, respected, and fully embodied to heal from heartbreak and begin to walk the path of liberation.

This episode contains explicit language. It was recorded during a live online event on January 14, 2021. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Racism permeates every aspect of society. Environmental racism is a form of systemic racism in which people of color are disproportionately burdened with health hazards through policies and practices that force them to live in proximity to sources of toxic waste such as sewage works, mines, landfills, power stations, major roads, and emitters of airborne particulate matter.

In this episode, co-founder of Movement Generation: Justice and Ecology Project, Gopal Dayaneni is joined by community organizer and environmental justice advocate Carla Maria Pérez for a powerful conversation exploring the connections between environmental racism and climate change and what we can do as individuals and communities to address and heal from the harms of both.

This episode contains explicit language. It was recorded during a live online event on April, 28, 2021. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Disability affects all of us, directly or indirectly, at one point or another. Examining the complexities of disability issues with wisdom, humor, and honesty, author and disability advocate Rebekah Taussig seeks to normalize the lived experience of disabled persons while also advocating for improvements and a paradigm shift—something that we all play a necessary part in.

In this episode, self-proclaimed queer, Black, biracial Glamputee Alex Locust joins writer, teacher, and creator of the Instagram account @sitting_pretty, Rebekah Taussig for a conversation about her book, also titled Sitting Pretty, as well as her life and her work.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on July 22nd, 2021. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Fat Black people in the United States are subject to socio-politically sanctioned discrimination, abuse, condescension, and trauma. In their writing and work, Da’Shaun Harrison—a fat, Black, disabled, trans writer and community organizer—offers an incisive, fresh, and precise exploration of anti-fatness as anti-Blackness.

In this episode, Afro-Caribbean photographer, herbalist, and multidisciplinary artist KaliMa Amilak joins Da’Shaun for a conversation about their latest book, Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness, their life and work, and how we can all work to dismantle our cultural programming to create real change.

This episode contains explicit language. It was recorded during a live online event on August 19th, 2021. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

In a society where unconscious bias, microaggressions, institutionalized racism, and systemic injustices are deeply ingrained, healing is an ongoing process. Author, meditation teacher, and law professor Rhonda Magee teaches that in order to have the difficult conversations required for working toward racial justice, inner work is essential.

In this episode, Damali Robertson has a conversation with Rhonda about her life and work, as well as her latest book, The Inner Work of Racial Justice, in which Rhonda shares ways mindfulness can heal ourselves, and transform our communities.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on September 22nd, 2021. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Professor Arora focused her talk on the interconnected suffering of all genders under patriarchy and the power of witnessing others’ gender stories

CIIS' 2nd Annual Presidential Service Distinction Awards honor faculty, adjunct faculty, and staff members who have made a meaningful impact on the University

A statement from the Women's Spirituality department for International Women's Day and Women's History Month

Learn the origins of CIIS' 28 Days of Blackness event

 Explore recent books, art, and articles by CIIS professors

A conversation with Mike and Gityjoon Hebel about why giving matters

Words are never enough to capture the grief you are experiencing. However, we want you to know we stand with you.

The stress, conflict, and crises of the outer world are a signal: the time has come to awaken your inner shaman. However, you don’t need to be initiated into concealed mysteries to answer the call from Spirit. Internationally renowned shamanic teacher Marcela Lobos teaches us how to use the maps offered by the shamanic Medicine Wheel and the hero’s journey to activate our inner wisdom and live a self-realized existence of discovery, healing, and wholeness.

In this episode, CIIS faculty and psychologist Susana Bustos has a conversation with Marcela about her life, her work, and her latest book: Awakening Your Inner Shaman: A Woman's Journey of Self-Discovery through the Medicine Wheel.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on May 14, 2021. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Integral Counseling Psychology student Erika Abrahamian educates CIIS about the Iranian protests following the murder of Mahsa Amini and her personal connections as an Iranian American.

An interview with Transformative Inquiry professor and author Jeanine Canty.

Alumna Kevonya Elzia tells CIIS about her journey from the Integrative Health Studies and Transformative Leadership programs to being a community health nurse and health, equity and justice facilitator.

A Retrospective with Arts at CIIS Curator Deirdre Visser

Professor and Students Step Up for Sacred Lands Under Threat

CIIS Professors Carolyn Cooke and Brian Thomas Swimme discuss the work of Chris Dorosz, a multimedia artist whose Styrofoam sculptures portray modern figures.

From Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway plays to DEI executive leadership and consulting, Dr. Philip McAdoo cultivates creative futures and more inclusive community.

Abortion Rights in America: A call to action from CIIS

Facilitator and transformational coach Judy Wilkins-Smith believes the key to transformation lies in decoding the patterns embedded in your life—unconscious patterns that you inherited from your family system. In her latest book, Decoding Your Emotional Blueprint, Judy shares a variety of strategies and practices to help people detect hidden and multigenerational patterns, recognize their purpose, and then break the cycles, supporting their ability to create an extraordinary life.

In this episode, licensed psychologist and CIIS professor of Community Mental Health Elizabeth Markle joins Judy in a conversation on learning how to break free from the patterns that hold us back.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on June 15th, 2022. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Gun Violence in America: A call to action from CIIS

A letter from Provost Kathy Littles

Disability is often described as a tragedy, a crisis, or an aberration even though 1 in 5 people worldwide have or will have a disability. Why is this common human experience rendered exceptional? Disability studies scholar Jennifer Natalya Fink argues that this originates in our families.

Weaving together stories of members of her own family with socio-historical research, in her latest book, All Our Families, Jennifer illustrates how the eradication of disabled people from family narratives is rooted in racist, misogynistic, and antisemitic sorting systems inherited from Nazis. Inspired by queer and critical race theory, Jennifer calls for a lineage of disability: a reclamation of disability as a history, a culture, and an identity.

In this episode, autistic Mestiza, critical educator, and disability studies scholar-activist Sara M. Acevedo joins Jennifer for a conversation that challenges us to reconnect disability within the family as a means of repair toward a more inclusive and flexible structure of care and community.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on April 7th, 2022. Access the transcript below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

A statement from the Women's Spirituality department on the occasion of International Women's Day 2022

CIIS President Brock Blomberg addresses the situation of the war in Ukraine, and offers support for the community.

The powerful new volume was edited by East-West Psychology Professor, Debashish Banerji and Professor Emeritus, Robert McDermott.

Reflecting on how we must do more than simply publish land acknowledgements when we honor the Native peoples of this continent and beyond.

Anthropology and Social Change Alumna Shares Work That Matters

Brock Blomberg announces that Littles is returning to assume the position of Provost

CIIS and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion recognize the historic contributions made by LGBTQ+ artists, activists, and thought-leaders across the state and around the country.

Carol Patrice Christ was and will remain one of the foremothers and most brilliant voices of the Women’s Spirituality movement

We invite our community to reflect on anti-Blackness in U.S. history and present day, and to actively engage in the work to end racism against Black people.

On the Occasion of March 8 - International Women's Day and Women's History Month

Rachel Bryant, Director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, offers a statement on antiracism, hope, and Black resistance at CIIS.

CIIS students participate in collaborative research into school-based psychotherapy programs

An interview with Master of Fine Arts alum Maia Scott on how her experience as a student helped shape her work now as a teacher and labyrinth designer

Read about CIIS Professor Glenn Hartelius' research into a method to define and neurally measure waking states of consciousness

Bachelor Completion Program Alum Regina Louise on History, Hope, and Her New Movie

The Wounded Healer

The newest faculty member of the Community Mental Health program comes with a background in radical health activism

Theatre for Change's 2018 performance explores the roots, implications, and impact of the #MeToo movement.

A conversation with faculty Dr. Rene Dumetz of the School of Professional Psychology and Health

The Women's Spirituality program celebrates its 25th year with a dynamic gathering

After a prolific and productive summer, CIIS faculty are back in the classroom and ready to share new work and experiences

A student's mom writes about the unique and transformative degree.

Why the humanities are more important than ever

The National Wellness Institute recognized Dr. Jordan's contributions to the field of wellness 

Lessons learned visiting the Zapatistas

The Integrative Health grad talks about creating positive change in the world and her work with the San Francisco Giants

Collaborative CIIS Research Project Helps Local Seniors

Celebrating the newest edition of the MFA journal

Committees gathered together to develop the transformative learning community

International Students and Stories of Courage, Severance, and Transition

Expressive Arts Therapy students offer weekly after-school programs for elementary school children

How a New Yorker Article Lit a Path to an MFA

Fernando Castrillón, M.A., Psy.D., core faculty in the Community Mental Health program, explores the origins of a recently published article series

My story of defending my Ph.D. dissertation in front of 150 high school students

Members of the Council of Sages share CIIS’ worldview and values. (And some of them are very famous.)

An Integral Counseling Psychology alum and Bay Area transplant helps promote social justice as a therapist in a Kansas prison

Integral Counseling Psychology alumna Karen Martin and her daughter Amanda both grew as students at CIIS, but their experiences reflect different facets of the Institute

The Religion & Ecology Summit featured leaders in the ecological, religious, and justice fields to bridge the divide between religion and the environment

Haridas Chaudhuri Endowed Chair for Indian Philosophies and Culture and Doshi Professor of Asian Art at CIIS

Counseling Psychology students connect with 60+ agencies at the annual Practicum Fair

East-West Psychology Ph.D. alumna Lorell Frysh published the novel, "Jewels in the Nets of Gods"

A listing of incredible work accomplished during the 2015-2016 academic year 

African American cultural artist wins recognition

Angela Davis has had a tremendous influence on radical scholarship and movement culture over the past half century

The first and only Archeo-Mythology Database in existence

Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness alum Scott Hill, Ph.D. lectured at San Francisco Jung Institute on psychedelic experience

Cat Brooks of San Francisco’s Anti Police-Terror Project is joined in conversation by journalist Manolia Charlotin of The Media Consortium to discuss race, police violence, and criminal justice reform. This event was made in collaboration with public radio program Making Contact.

This episode was recorded during an event on March 16, 2016 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

How CIIS' Women's Spirituality program brings forth the gifts of women

For more than 30 years, CIIS' 6 Psychotherapy Counseling Centers have been providing low-fee services to the Bay Area

Students, alums, and faculty represent at Utah conference

The Trans in SF series included filmmakers, visual artists, writers, and deepened the conversation started in 2014 with Laverne Cox.

In the Bay Area, our need for increased and better quality mental health services is urgent

Expressive Arts Therapy Alum Suraya Keating directed a production of Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice" starring male inmates at San Quentin State Prison

The integral message resonates with a large audience

Integral Counseling Psychology Alum Travis Mathews awarded $75K Filmmaking Grant

The scholar who "walks the mystical path with practical feet"

CIIS graduate Luis Aroche knows firsthand what an education means to a person caught up in the cycle of violence and incarceration: Everything.

The Integral Counseling Center at Church Street is now offering therapy in Arabic, Catalan, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Mandarin, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, and Tagalog.

Expressive Arts Therapy Professor Denise Boston taught in Hangzhou, China in the summer of 2014

Zoe Bender, alumna of the Bachelor’s Completion and Master of Fine Arts programs at CIIS, was chosen as a 2014 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact.

Experts from multiple backgrounds in the Symposium explored solutions to the rising tide of violence facing our country.

Scholarship assisted workforce in San Francisco

Enriched perspectives on the transformative potential of theatre arts

Expressive Arts Therapy Students Archive for ArtsChange