The four founders of Surf Circle met working together in a community mental health setting and connected over our shared passion for psychotherapy, social justice, and the ocean. Through many years of deep conversations about our work and time spent in the ocean, the dream of Surf Circle was born. As the program has grown we have invited in a team of incredible psychologists and clinical psychology doctoral students.
Faciltators
Nathan Greene, PsyD
Nathan has been surfing since he was a sandy-haired Southern California seven-year-old. He is a strong believer in the power of the ocean, which has served as a sacred therapeutic space and has taught him patience, acceptance, and perseverance. On land, Nathan has extensive experience supporting children, adolescents, and adults through psychotherapy and education. If you’d like to learn more about his background as a psychologist, visit his website.
Adam Moss, PsyD
Adam has worked with children and families for many years as an educator, mentor, and psychotherapist. Adam has been surfing since high school and has long seen the ocean as a refuge, haven, and space for reflection. He personally testifies to the healing power of the ocean and is deeply excited at the opportunity to integrate his clinical work and his passion for surfing. He is both honored and stoked to be a part of the Surf Circle team. Read more about Adam’s practice and experience at his website.
Roberto Lascano, PhD
Roberto has worked for over 25 years with children, adolescents, and adults in community mental health clinics, inpatient and outpatient hospitals settings, and nonprofit organizations. He is an analyst and faculty with the Lacanian School of Psychoanalysis in San Francisco and is a licensed clinical psychologist with a private practice in Berkeley. Roberto experiences the ocean as a patient, meditative space, which feeds and heals and silently teaches about the forces beyond our understanding. To learn more about Roberto’s work, visit his professional page.
Christopher Arrillaga, PsyD
Christopher has worked with children and families for over 20 years as a psychotherapist and counselor. Christopher was introduced to surfing in Santa Cruz during his college years. He quickly fell in love with the tranquility of the ocean and its’ invigorating power and beauty. The ocean has offered Christopher a safe haven for reflection and a means towards rejuvenation in the midst of life’s stressors. He is very excited to bring his clinical wisdom to help youth discover the empowering and healing aspects of surfing. Read more about Christopher’s private practice here.
Kevin Bunch, PsyD
Kevin has been serving youth for over 20 years in a variety of settings. In addition to maintaining a private practice, he trains graduate students through a relational lens. Kevin’s love and deep respect for the ocean began early in his life where he rode the “beach bus” daily in the summers. It is in the water where he continues to learn presence in the face of uncertainty. The opportunity to touch into something much greater with revere and humility continues to be a driving force in his life. Read more about Kevin’s private practice here.
Practicum Trainees
Julia Mancini
Julia has always found joy and peace in the ocean growing up near the New England coast. She finds movement, community, and nature as important avenues of healing, which she hopes to cultivate with Surf Circle during the coming practicum year. Julia has worked with children and families that have experienced traumatic stress in Children's Advocacy Centers and Intimate Partner Violence centers. She is currently working towards her doctorate in clinical psychology (PsyD) at the PGSP-Stanford PsyD Consortium. Julia is passionate about community mental health and has gained experience in clinical training at the Gronwoski Center and the Children's Health Council through the Ravenswood Wellness Partnership Training Consortium.
Meg Stephens
Meg's connection with the water began in her early years as a swimmer and later grew to encompass the joys of surfing. Engaging with the outdoors and experiencing shared moments of awe bring her a sense of healing, restoration, and aliveness that she is eager to share with the Surf Circle community. Currently, Meg is pursuing her doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the Wright Institute. Meg's training thus far has been primarily in community mental health, where she has supported individuals and groups as they heal the manifestations of trauma in their bodies, minds, and spirits.
Past Trainees
Matt Jacobson
Matt has been in love with the ocean since he was a young boy exploring the coast of New England. He has been a lifelong swimmer but began surfing when he moved to Hawaii in 2006. He finds solace, healing, and joy in being near and in the sea, and he is passionate about sharing this resource with those around him. Matt earned his master’s in transpersonal counseling psychology with an emphasis in wilderness therapy, and he is currently working towards a doctorate in clinical psychology. In addition to his love of the water, Matt is an enthusiastic naturalist, always ready to marvel at the various forms of life on our planet. Over the past 20 years, Matt has worked as an environmental educator, school counselor, and individual psychotherapist in hospital and community mental health clinics.
Shareef Salaam
Shareef’s passion for working with children and families led him to serve as the Director of the LEAP (Life Enhancement Through Athletic Participation) program at the John F. Kennedy School of Psychology. His clinical training includes serving as an early intervention clinician for UCSF Benioff’s Children’s Hospital Center for The Vulnerable Child’s SPARK program. Shareef holds a M.A. in Sport Psychology from National University and currently studies as a doctoral Candidate of Applied Clinical Psychology (PsyD) at the John F. Kennedy School of Psychology. His philosophy of practice is rooted in a strengths-based, integrative approach, which he is grateful for the opportunity to share with the Surf Circle team during this practicum year.