Integral Counseling Psychology

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

What if your most beautiful love story turned into your biggest nightmare? And what if your most devastating heartbreak opened a pathway to your greatest awakening?

In her critically acclaimed novels and immensely popular works of nonfiction including Eat Pray Love and Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert expands our understanding of creativity, spirituality, and love. This episode features a powerful conversation between Elizabeth and psychotherapist and CIIS professor Emily Marinelli on love, loss, and breaking free.

This episode was recorded at the beautiful Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco on October 24th, 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.

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.

Discover your fit among CIIS' five counseling psychology concentrations, each offering a unique path to becoming a transformative healer.

More than 10 million millennials are caring for aging parents before they've been able to fully launch their careers and consider starting their own families, and that's not including the incalculable numbers of people affected by long COVID. Writer and caregiver Jennifer N. Levin was 32 when her father was diagnosed with a rare degenerative illness. As she struggled with few resources and little support, she created Caregiver Collective, a national online support group for millennial caregivers. 

In this episode, Jennifer is joined by CIIS Assistant Professor in the Integral Counseling Psychology program Emily Marinelli in a conversation exploring our current culture of care and the impact it has on millennial caregivers.  

Jennifer shares insights from her latest book Generation Care, which offers wisdom from her own experience and her support group, Caregiver Collective. Jennifer details the urgency of caregiving, the financial burden for caregivers, and ambiguous loss caregivers experience. She also offers a roadmap to the types of solutions that can begin helping people now as well as build future policies.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on April 16th, 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.

Integral Counseling Psychology M.A. graduate Marissa Huang gave one of two student speeches at CIIS’ 57th Commencement Ceremony.

The Integral Counseling Psychology concentration now offers an online-focused hybrid format of its M.A. in Counseling Psychology.

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.

Every family has a story. For some of us, our family of origin is a solid foundation that feeds our confidence and helps us navigate life’s challenges. For others, it’s a source of pain, hurt, and conflict that can feel like a lifelong burden.

Licensed therapist and bestselling relationship expert Nedra Glover Tawwab is an expert in helping individuals reclaim their voice and set healthy boundaries. In her latest book, Drama Free, she offers clear advice for identifying dysfunctional family patterns and choosing the best path to breaking the cycle and moving forward.

In this episode, Nedra is joined by writer, author, and licensed mental health professional Minaa B. in a conversation about understanding and moving past family struggles—and living your life, your way.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on May 23rd, 2023. A transcript is available below.

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

Sharon Blackie is an award-winning writer and internationally recognized teacher whose work sits at the intersection of psychology, mythology, and ecology.

Her best-selling book, If Women Rose Rooted is an inspiring exploration of femininity and relationship with landscape, and her latest, Hagitude, unearths the stories of elder women in European myth and folklore to highlight the different ways women can flourish throughout all stages of life. Her renowned writings invite us to explore how developing a relationship with myth and the land we live on can both enchant our lives and lead to a greater sense of meaning and belonging in the world.

In this episode, Sharon is joined by CIIS Integral Counseling Psychology Associate Professor Rachael Vaughan for a transformative conversation on the importance of myth and land in our lives.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on June 28th, 2023. A transcript is available below.

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

Healing doesn’t happen in isolation, and one of the best ways to move past individual trauma is through connection and community—healing ourselves and one another.

In this episode, wellness coach and licensed therapist Minaa B. is joined by trauma and racial healing leader Jenée Johnson in an inspiring and practical conversation on the power of collective healing in moving past trauma and adversity.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on September 14th, 2023. 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 this episode, CIIS professor and clinical psychologist Jason Butler and clinical psychologist Genesee Herzberg are joined by psychotherapist and mentor in the CIIS Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research Gisele Fernandes-Osterhold for a conversation exploring how psychedelic medicine can be incorporated into contemporary psychotherapy.

Together, Jason, Genesee, and Gisele examine the practice of psychedelic therapy and offer practical guidance for cultivating a highly effective, ethically grounded, and integral approach to psychedelic therapy.

This episode was recorded during an in-person and live streamed event at California Institute of Integral Studies on January 25th, 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.

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.

CIIS plans to expand its community health services with the launch of a new psychedelics clinic that will provide patients with ketamine-assisted treatments, the first of its kind to be associated with a university in the United States.

CIIS Professor Jason Butler discusses his new book on the potential, pitfalls, and guidelines for psychedelic medicine and care in treating mental illness.

Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu explores how to live with mindfulness, compassion, and responsibility. He is joined in conversation by CIIS professor Helge Osterhold.

This episode was recorded during an event on March 15, 2018 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

In unsettling and uncertain times, the individual and collective heartbreak that lives in both our bodies and our communities can feel insurmountable. Many of us have been conditioned by the dominant culture to not name, focus on, or wade through the difficulties in our lives. But in order to heal, we must make space for grief, prioritizing our wholeness and humanity.

Social justice activist, social worker, and yoga teacher Michelle Cassandra Johnson offers the tools people need to be present and open hearted with their grief. In this episode, program innovation leader in mindfulness, trauma, and racial healing Jenée Johnson talks with Michelle about her latest book, Finding Refuge, as well as her life and work helping people to process family, community, and global grief.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on August 4th, 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.

Whether we feel unworthy, alienated, or anxious about our place in the world, the absence of belonging is the great silent wound of our times.

In this episode, award-winning author, teacher, and dreamworker Toko-pa Turner and licensed psychotherapist and CIIS Faculty Rachael Vaughan have a nourishing conversation about what it means to belong and the power of our dreams.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on February 9, 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 this conversation with CIIS Counseling Psychology program Professor Rachael Vaughan, award-winning neuroscientist Matthew Walker reveals his groundbreaking exploration of sleep, explaining how we can harness its transformative power to change our lives for the better.

This episode was originally recorded live with an in-person audience on October 9th, 2017. A transcript is available below.

The first of a two-part interview series celebrating the boundary-defying work of Chris Dorosz

For years, Mark Epstein kept his beliefs as a Buddhist separate from his work as a psychiatrist. But as he became more forthcoming with his patients about his spiritual learning, he was surprised to find many were eager to hear more. The divisions between the psychological, emotional, and the spiritual were not as distinct as one might think.

In this episode, Dr. Epstein is joined by CIIS professor and psychologist Alzak Amlani in a conversation about his life, his work, and his latest book, The Zen of Therapy.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on January 26th, 2022. Access the transcript below.

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

We all tell ourselves stories about who we are. Many of these stories are self-critical and disempowering. Through the practice of self-compassion, we can rewrite these stories and become more authentic and powerful versions of ourselves—transforming not only our own lives but also the lives of those around us.

For author Marianne Ingheim the practice of self-compassion changed her life in ways big and small, helping her unlearn harsh self-criticism, survive multiple tragedies, and live more authentically.

In this episode, Integral Psychologist Kendra Diaz-Ford talks with Marianne about her experiences unlearning self-critical patterns in order to live a happier, more courageous life.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on September 10, 2020. You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Somatic therapy combines talk therapy and bodywork to treat a wide range of psychological and physiological conditions, ranging from stress and anxiety to depression and PTSD. Nowhere has somatics proven more effective than in the treatment of trauma.

In this episode, author and somatics practitioner Staci Haines is joined in a conversation with therapist and CIIS professor Emily Marinelli. They discuss Staci’s book The Politics of Trauma: Somatics, Healing, and Social Justice, and share a restorative justice approach to somatic therapy, integrating mind-body healing with social activism.

This episode was recorded during an event on February 6, 2020 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

Author Nishta J. Mehra is the daughter of Indian American immigrants, the wife of a white woman from Texas, and the mother of an adopted black child. Her life is a series of intersecting boundaries—of race, gender, sexuality, and religion—and her essays have examined the ways she navigates the various communities and ideologies that make up her family's life.

In this episode, Nishta is joined by integral psychology professor and therapist Daniela Koenig for a conversation about family and motherhood, race, and raising a black child in America today.

This episode was recorded during an event on November 28, 2019 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

Author Irshad Manji talks with KQED journalist Kat Snow to discuss her experiences as a refugee from Africa, a Muslim immigrant to the US, and her Moral Courage project.

This episode was recorded during an event on March 5, 2019 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

In this episode, author Huda Al-Marashi talks with Daniela Koenig about the process of navigating love and expectations while straddling two cultures.

This episode was recorded during an event on November 29, 2018 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

Sharmila Sen, executive editor of Harvard University Press, discusses her recent book, Not Quite Not White: Losing and Finding Race in America, and talks about growing up as an immigrant in America with Counseling Psychology professor Jyoti Rao. This event was part of The Haresh Joan Shah Lecture and Performance Series.

This episode was recorded during an event on September 20, 2018 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

A beloved counseling center on Church Street gets an important upgrade.

In this episode, inherited family trauma expert Mark Wolynn is joined in conversation by Richard Buggs to discuss how the traumas of our parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents can affect us. Mark shares how inherited family trauma shapes who we are and how he works with patients to end the cycle.

This episode was recorded during an event on May 10, 2016 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

CIIS Professor and psychologist Alzak Amlani examines the benefits of developing the soul. 

This talk is part of our Big Ideas at CIIS series and was recorded during an event on September 20, 2016 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

Psychologist and author Eduardo Duran is joined in conversation by CIIS student Natalie Bell to discuss the legacy of historical trauma for Native American populations.

This episode was recorded during an event on November 4, 2016 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

Self compassion researcher Kristin Neff joins Michael Klein to examine how self compassion can lower anxiety and depression, and support more satisfying relationships.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on March 1, 2017.

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

Author and psychologist Harriet Lerner is joined in conversation by CIIS faculty member Barbara Morrill to explore what makes a good apology, and why they're so important.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on May 3, 2017.

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

In this episode, Dr. Yalom is joined in a conversation with Integral Counseling Psychology core faculty Barbara Morrill about his life, his work, and the profound power of self-reflection.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on December 7, 2017.

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

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

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

Stage Ai's Summer Blossom festival brought CIIS values to life in China through arts, healing, and cross-cultural connection.

Spotlighting on the 6 degree programs in CIIS' School of Professional Psychology and Health

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

The integral message resonates with a large audience

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

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.

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