California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS)

26/08/2026

Are you curious about becoming a drama therapist or a licensed marriage and family therapist or licensed professional clinical counselor with an entire skillset of embodied, action-oriented drama therapy skills and modality? This is for you! You'll get to meet faculty, current students, and alumni — and we'll answer all your questions about the program, the field, applying and more in-person! It's free — just RSVP at the link. I'd love to see you there! https://www.ciis.edu/events/drama-therapy-info-session-campus-september-1-2026

18/08/2026

The Soul of a Nation Symposium seeks to illuminate the dynamics shaping America’s evolving identity through wisdom traditions and perspectives. This one-day hybrid (in-person and online) symposium is open to the public, students, and colleagues in the counseling and clinical psychology fields.

Date: Sep 19, 2026
Time: 9:30am - 7:00pm PDT
Location: California Institute of Integral Studies in Namaste Hall
In-Person and Online
Tickets: $11.49-$32.99

Note: Breakfast and dinner included with in-person ticket

Get ready to explore conversations and topics like: What might become possible in the United States, when we reflect on the nation not solely through political, social or economic frames, but through psychological and spiritual lenses, including imagination, compassion, interdependence, indigenous awareness, and the evolution of consciousness?

A symposium open to the public, students, and colleagues in the counseling and clinical psychology fields presented by the East-West Psychology program at CIIS.

14/08/2026

“You get to actually experience the very modalities that you are being taught at CIIS, not just intellectually or theoretically.” —Aileen Cho Chair and Associate Professor, Drama Therapy

Meet Professor Aileen B. Cho, M.A. '13. An associate professor, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Registered Drama Therapist, and Board-Certified Trainer, Cho has directed multiple Self-Revelatory Performances and Theatre for Change productions — two signature elements of the program that Emunah created.

"I am also an alum of the program," Cho says. "It's especially meaningful for me to be leading and teaching in the very space that shaped me and my path." Cho’s clinical experience spans private practice, residential treatment, and inpatient hospitals.

11/08/2026

Professor Jun Wang shares how CIIS’ East-West Psychology Department teaches students to unite scholarly understanding with embodied practice through Eastern, Western, and indigenous wisdom traditions.

In Wang’s classes at California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), students do not learn Chinese philosophy. They experience it. By practicing Taiji Quan, qigong, and sitting in meditation, they build the foundations for understanding. Many of her courses culminate in end-of-semester presentations where students share their work creatively — accompanied by poetry, music, and tea or food — in the spirit of what Wang calls a yaji, or "elegant gathering" in which scholar-artists come together to share work through the arts. The point, Wang explains, is not to separate learning from living. "Knowing and doing," she says, "is inseparable."

Wang brings two doctorates to her work, one in traditional Chinese medicine from China and a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from the United States. Her courses, which include Chinese Philosophies and Psychology, the Dao of Life Cultivation, and Chan Buddhism, are taught across all three programs the department offers. Want to learn more about CIIS’ East-West Psychology Department? Visit our website and academic programs and sign up for info sessions.

14/07/2026

Addam Ledamyen ’26 and Dazié Grego-Sykes ’18 share how CIIS’ M.F.A. in Interdisciplinary Arts and Writing creates space for artistic risk, collaboration, and work that refuses to play it safe.

Addam's final project — a staged reading of a new play they wrote — is also a collaboration with Dazié ’18, an alum of the same program. What began as a formal mentorship arrangement — six hours of guidance, as the program requires — quickly became much more.

For Grego-Sykes, returning to CIIS to work with Ledamyen has been its own kind of homecoming. “To be called back and to be remembered by your faculty,” he says, “it’s like coming home.” And for Ledamyen, the experience has confirmed what they came to CIIS to find — a place where they could become the artist they always knew they were meant to be.

14/07/2026

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

“My professors consistently encouraged me to ask more questions, reflect more deeply, and draw from my own life experiences. Through that process, I began to rediscover parts of myself that had been quiet for a long time.”
Linette Illastron, Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies

Illastron plans to continue at CIIS by pursuing the M.A. in Expressive Arts Coaching and Community Building. Her vision centers on creating spaces where people, especially children, can express themselves freely through creativity, music, and the arts.
https://www.ciis.edu/news/teacher-student-student-teacher-how-ciis-helped-early-childhood-educator-rediscover-her-own

After 15 years in early childhood education, Linette Illastron returned to school at CIIS and found a new sense of voice, creativity, and community.

07/07/2026

“Beyond being a group of students and teachers, we are really a learning community together.” -Becca Tarnas Associate Professor, Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness

Looking for a program where you study philosophical questions about life, our minds, and the universe? Explore our Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness program.

The heart of CIIS’ Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness department is the focus on knowledge that is transformative—of ourselves, others, and our civilization. Our programs attract intellectually engaged individuals who are to varying degrees dismayed by what they see happening in modern societies and who are striving to find meaningful ways to develop their gifts to serve the future of the world.

24/06/2026

“There is a part of me that has really emerged and through these experiences and conversations I have had, has allowed me to grow in ways that I had not seen.

The breathwork in the Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy program was moving that it felt like you could move a mountain within the conference room we had.” -Daniel Grisales, Class of 2024-2025, Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy and Research Certificate Program

Are you ready to step onto a psychedelic-assisted therapy certification path?

There are just a few weeks left to apply to join the 2026-2027 class for the world's gold-standard training for psychedelic therapies and research. Whether you are a licensed clinician or an unlicensed professional with an advanced or bachelor's degree, there is a place for you in this rapidly evolving field.

Join our growing community of over 1,700 distinguished alumni leading the field, and help contribute to the transformative future of psychedelic healing. Final application deadline is July 13. Apply today from the programs and certificate link in our bio.

23/06/2026

“It’s really powerful to see how students find their voice as emerging somatic therapists.” -Helena Vissing, Psy.D., Associate Professor of Somatic Psychology

Want an expansive experience and looking for a program that can enhance a lifelong practice? Explore what our Somatic Psychology program.

CIIS is one of only three accredited U.S. graduate schools offering a fully immersive master’s curriculum in body-oriented psychotherapy, not just electives or concentrations, making it a distinctive choice for those seeking to center the body in therapeutic work.

Our program is an immersive, three-year, fully on-campus/in-person program rooted in embodied learning and trauma-informed care. Through clinical training, personal inquiry, and socioculturally-responsive curriculum, you’ll prepare for licensure as a psychotherapist and develop a deeply relational, body-based therapeutic practice.

20/06/2026

“For those who are descended from people who were enslaved, it’s a day to recall the fortitude and the perseverance of the ancestors.”
— Isabel Wilkerson, author of Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents

This Juneteenth, we're sharing the great message from our Division of Community Engagement and Belonging:

Today, we recognize and celebrate Juneteenth, a day of profound historical and cultural significance in the United States, and in San Francisco where CIIS is rooted.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when the last enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom, good news that came more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. While the proclamation declared enslaved people free in 1863, the reality of freedom was delayed for many until Union troops arrived to enforce it. Juneteenth has since become a symbol of liberation, resilience, hope, and the ongoing pursuit of justice and equality.

As we observe this day, we honor the strength and perseverance of those Africans and African Americans who endured slavery and their descendants whose legacy and contributions continue to shape culture and critical consciousness in this country. Juneteenth reminds us that freedom is not simply a historical event but an ongoing commitment to building communities where dignity, self-determination, and belonging are upheld and valued for everyone.

At CIIS, this reflection and ongoing movement invites us to learn from our shared history, engage with one another with compassion and understanding, and continue the work of creating a Beloved Community.

Whether you spend today in celebration, reflection, learning, service, or community, we encourage you to take a moment to honor the significance of this day and the enduring values it represents.

Want more resources for Juneteenth and to keep updated on our beloved community? Follow the Division of Community Engagement and Belonging on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ciis_belonging