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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- Behavioral Medicine: A Guide for Clinical Practice, 5e. Chapter 35: Integrative Medicine (accessmedicine.mhmedical.com)
- Sharing Humanity through Arts, Reflection, and Expression (SHARE) (open-proposals.ucsf.edu)
- Mini Medical School for the Public: Embracing Life Challenges: Finding Balance through Integrative Mental Health Care (osherminimed.ucsf.edu)
- Osher Center for Integrative Health (osher.ucsf.edu)
- Mini Medical School for the Public: Creative Expression for Mind-Body Health (osherminimed.ucsf.edu)
- What is a D.O.? (my.clevelandclinic.org)
Videos
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- Video (youtube.com)
Publications (3)
Top publication keywords:
DelusionsMiddle AgedFeeding BehaviorHumansPsychotic DisordersFemale
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Behavioral Medicine: A Guide for Clinical Practice (5th ed., LANGE)
Chapter 35: Integrative Medicine 2019 Chan, S, Hecht, R -
Cotard Syndrome: "I'm Dead, So Why Do I Need to Eat?".
The primary care companion for CNS disorders 2016 Solimine S, Chan S, Morihara SK -
ACSM's Exercise Management for Persons with Chronic Diseases and Disabilities. American College of Sports Medicine
Chapter 26: Frailty 2009 Bayles, CM, Chan, S, Robare, J