Emily Meier, PhD

Emily Meier, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist. As part of Patient & Family Support Services at Moores Cancer Center, she provides psychological assessment, diagnosis or ongoing therapy for patients and families who are experiencing issues that are either related to the cancer experience or interfering with cancer treatment. In individual or group psychotherapy, she focuses on issues including depression, anxiety, communication, stress reduction, insomnia, grief or other psychological or emotional issues.

She is also part of UC San Diego Health's interdisciplinary palliative care team. Her area of focus is improving the quality of life of patients with cancer and other complex illnesses by providing patients and families with relief from psychological, social, spiritual or other types of distress.

Dr. Meier has a particular expertise in working with cancer patients and families during end-of-life care, including the bereavement period after the death of a loved one. She is among a select group of individuals in the U.S. formally trained in Dignity Therapy, designed for patients at the end of life. She has also been formally trained in Meaning Centered Psychotherapy, designed for advanced-stage cancer patients.

As an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the assistant director for training and education for Patient & Family Support Services, Dr. Meier works with trainees, interns and psychiatry residents at UC San Diego School of Medicine. She developed and facilitates a monthly "Death and Dying" seminar with psychology trainees and interns that provides specialized education and training in end-of-life care including an overview of hospice and palliative care, enhancing communication with patients regarding end of life concerns, highlighting the role of psychologists in end-of-life care, and psycho-education regarding the End-of-Life Option Act in California.

Dr. Meier also provides training on specific evidence-based clinical interventions that are designed specifically for hospice and palliative care patients (e.g. dignity therapy, meaning-centered psychotherapy, word clouds).

Much of Dr. Meier's research has focused on publishing and presenting on the topics of dignity therapy, rituals, successful death and dying, integrative medicine, and training for psychologists in hospice and palliative care. She has also authored or co-authored more than 20 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and abstracts, and has served as a reviewer for a number of journals.

Dr. Meier completed her post-doctoral psychology training with a specialization in end-of-life care and bereavement at San Diego Hospice and The Institute of Palliative Medicine. She received her doctorate in clinical psychology from California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego.

Dr. Meier is an active member of the American Psychosocial Oncology Society, American Psychological Association and the San Diego Psychological Association.

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For more information, see Patient & Family Support Services.