Psychiatrist · Author · Speaker · Humanitarian Adviser
Stability is an illusion.
Dr. Suzan Song is a Harvard and Stanford-trained psychiatrist with over 20 years of clinical and humanitarian work experience. She helps people remain grounded through constant instability.
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The Newsletter
The Winter Letters
A monthly newsletter for people practicing how to remain grounded when life becomes unstable.
You've been handed a script, a costume, and pushed onto a stage. At first, you know you're acting. Over time, you forget it's an act.- Dr. Suzan Song, on Narrative
About
Understanding people under pressure.
Dr. Suzan Song explores how people think, function, and find meaning under pressure and uncertainty. A psychiatrist and anthropologist, she draws on more than two decades of work with people in humanitarian crises, executives under organizational pressure, and families experiencing distress.
Across these different settings, she examines how people make decisions, sustain relationships, and find a way forward when familiar assumptions no longer hold. Through her writing, research, and speaking, she brings these insights to a larger question: what should leaders and institutions do differently to support the people who depend on them?
A retreat with Dr. Suzan Song
An in-person retreat with Dr. Suzan Song is tentatively planned for August 2027 in Colorado. Join the wait list to receive updates as dates, venue and other details are confirmed.
Why We Suffer and How We Heal
Share the book this winter
For someone going through a difficult season, Why We Suffer and How We Heal explores narrative, ritual and purpose as ways through uncertainty and change.
Harmony / Penguin Random House · 2026
"An exceptional contribution to the literature, akin to Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning."
- Joseph C. Kolars, MD, Professor of Medicine, University of Michigan
Explore the bookThe power of ritual lies not in what is said but in what is felt. Not all emotions need to be processed verbally. Sometimes words just get in the way.- Dr. Suzan Song, on Ritual
Speaking & Advisory
For leaders who know the hardest work is the work within
Dr. Song speaks and advises across sectors, from Fortune 500 companies and philanthropic foundations to government agencies and global health organizations. A pediatric and adult psychiatrist, her humanitarian and policy work centers on the wellbeing of children and families in crisis. Her clients have included Google, Harvard, Stanford, and the U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security.
Keynote Speaking
Instability, resilience, leadership
Foundations & Philanthropy
Children, families, mental health, migration
Humanitarian & Global Health
Children, families, conflict-affected populations
Executive & Organizational
Performance, culture, change
Government & Public Sector
Trauma-informed federal policy
Clinical Services
Individual and organizational care
Speaking & Advisory Inquiry
For conferences, foundations, government agencies, humanitarian organizations, and leadership teams navigating complex human challenges.
For keynote and conference speaking, Dr. Song is represented by the Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau.
When purpose is missing, success feels empty. The difference is between living with meaning and simply making it through.- Dr. Suzan Song, on Purpose