Selena Chan, DO
Assistant Professor
Psychiatry
School of Medicine

Dr. Selena Chan is a board-certified integrative psychiatrist who specializes in helping patients find safe, evidence-informed, and cost-effective treatment options that can be practically implemented in each person’s current life circumstances.

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These may include conventional medications, supplements, botanicals, values-based psychotherapy, creative expression, and mind-body practices that honor lineage from indigenous healing traditions. As Associate Director of Clinical Programs, Dr. Chan is committed to nurturing the collective well-being of patients, healthcare professionals, and the community. She co-leads the development of several programs, including Grand Rounds, Public Classes, the Community Care Fund (CCF), and Sharing Humanity through the Arts, Reflection, and Expression (SHARE). CCF and SHARE address the significant lack of integrative treatment options for low-income, underserved, and marginalized communities. In collaboration with the Shanti Project, SHARE bridges a critical gap in accessibility: non-verbal and culturally relevant communication about approaches that improve therapeutic outcomes of mind-body conditions. Dr. Chan’s twenty-year service to Integrative Health continues to inform her approach to patient care, leadership, and teaching today. During college, she served as preventive medicine chair for the American Pre-Medical Student Association and an intern at the Centers for Disease Control’s Center for Healthy Aging. She researched mind-body interventions for healing at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Integrative Medicine. During medical school, she was the vice president of the integrative medicine group and trained at the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. As a psychiatry resident, she worked in multicultural, safety-net hospitals in Honolulu, after which she completed a two-year clinical fellowship in integrative medicine. Now, as a faculty member, she enjoys mentoring interprofessional students and teaching courses that examine how to mend the mind-body split that can stigmatize mental health, using film clips from popular cinema as case vignettes.

Awards

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  • PI: Sharing Humanity through Arts, Reflection, & Expression (SHARE), Mount Zion Health Fund, 2021-2026
  • Staff Appreciation & Recognition Plan (STAR) Award, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 2020
  • MZHF Travel Award, Mount Zion Health Fund, 2018
  • "Outstanding Research of the Year", Department of Psychiatry, University of Hawaii, 2017
  • "Outstanding Undergraduate Student of the Year", Department of Health and Physical Activity, University of Pittsburgh, 2008

Education & Training

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  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training University of California 2019
  • Fellowship Integrative Medicine University of California, San Francisco 2019
  • Residency Psychiatry University of Hawaii 2017
  • D.O. Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine 2013
  • B.S. Exercise Science University of Pittsburgh 2007

Interests

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  • Psychotherapy
  • Integrative Medicine
  • Integrative Psychiatry
  • Expressive Arts
  • Integrative Health Communication
  • Creativity
  • Psychosomatic Medicine
  • Mind-Body Therapies
  • Patient Education
  • Integrative Mental Health

Websites

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Videos

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Publications (3)

Top publication keywords:
DelusionsMiddle AgedFeeding BehaviorHumansPsychotic DisordersFemale