September 2026 | Loss, Losing and Loosening: Poetic Medicine as a Communal Ritual for Grief and Loss | The MERI Center at UCSF

Part of the Poetic Medicine Summit 2026 year-long series

The Expressive Art of Poetry

The MERI Center for Humanity in Healthcare; Because Every Story Matters

Thursday, September 17

1:00 -2:30 pm Pacific Time

​Registration for the full series of events, including recordings of all previous sessions is here: https://givebutter.com/Summit2026April

This workshop centers on the feelings and experiences of grief and loss, and the healing that can emerge when those feelings are spoken and heard within a safe, respectful, and deeply attentive community. Together, we will create space for the creative expression of what lives deep in our hearts, minds, and bodies.

Includes a guided experiential writing session, followed by optional sharing and thoughtful dialogue. We will close with space for reflection and questions, inviting you to consider both the personal and communal impact of this experience. 

Open to anyone who has experienced loss, and to those who hold space for others navigating grief in their communities.

Michael W. Rabow, MD

Founding Director of the MERI Center.

He is the Director of the Symptom Management Service and Medical Director of Palliative Care at the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Professor of Clinical Medicine and Urology at UCSF, he serves as the Associate Chief of Education & Mentoring in the Division of Palliative Medicine and holds the Helen Diller Family Chair in Palliative Care.

Redwing Keyssar, RN

Director of Patient and Caregiver Education at the MERI Center.

She is a nurse, author, educator, and "midwife" to the dying. She presents nationally on issues related to Palliative and End of Life Care and this year she received the prestigious Humanities Award from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

Danielle M. Chammas, MD

Co-director of Patient and Caregiver Education

Danielle Chammas, MD is a palliative care physician and psychiatrist who works in the UCSF Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Symptom Management Clinic. In addition to providing clinical care, her professional and scholarly interests include the intersection of psychiatry and palliative care, the psychological dimensions of life-limiting illness, therapeutic communication, medical education, clinician wellness, and medical humanities.

Gayle Kojimoto, BA

Gayle Kojimoto has worked at UCSF since 2003 in various administrative roles from surgery scheduler to practice coordinator to her current position as program manager in the Division of Palliative Medicine. At the MERI Center, Gayle’s passion for palliative care has only grown and she has learned that palliative care offers more than just medication to treat patients. As a co-facilitator for the MERI Center’s poetic medicine workshops, she has blossomed into a lover of poetry and a poet herself.

Poetic Medicine Summit 2026

Learn more about the full series of Summit 2026 events here: https://www.poeticmedicine.org/summit2026

We would love to have you be in the circle with us. Come on your own or bring a friend!

Sponsorship opportunities are available too!

We hope that you will be able to join us for one or more of these upcoming events!