Julia Shiang

User Profile

Biography

B.S. Biochemistry, Wheaton College, 1971
M.S. Education, Bank Street College of Education, 1977
Ed.D. Human Development, Harvard University, 1984
Ph.D. Clinical Psychology, Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1992

Experience

Dr. Shiang's areas of specialty are the development of the therapist and most recently, issues of death and dying.  Another area of interest is study of culture (especially Chinese-Americans in the U.S.) and interpersonal relationships in the context of the adaptation to the U.S.

Dr. Shiang and colleagues from UCSF have conducted a series of studies of family conferences with clinicians in hospital Intensive Care Units.  Their focus has been on the expression of empathy, negotiating family conflict, and family satisfaction with the course of treatment.  With colleagues from Stanford University, she has conducted a multi-disciplinary study funded by the Spencer Foundation to understand how students integrate theoretical learning into their client work. Her research projects have been funded by the Pritzker Foundation, the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention, and the Sachem Fund.

As a clinician, she has focused on providing time-limited dynamic psychotherapy to adults, particularly in the area of bereavement, and has conducted family therapy at Children's Hospital at Stanford University, Yale University Mental Health Center, and community centers. She uses videotaped of patient-therapist sessions to supervise students learning to be therapists in both group and individual supervision. Her teaching focuses on brief psychodynamic theory and practice, supervision, cultural factors, and human development.