Zeba Hafeez, MD

	Joined Jul, 2009 Department: Psychiatry (Adult) [Map] Title: Physician Degree: MD Interests: My hobbies are reading, traveling, hiking, cooking and gardening. Writing poetry, attending poetry readings and participating in writing workshops have been my favorite pastime activities. Languages: English, Urdu , Punjabi Practitioner Homepage
Bio I graduated from Dow Medical College (Dow University of Health Science, at present), Karachi, Pakistan, and subsequently joined a dermatology residency program. I practiced and taught dermatology for several years at the above institution, where my father had also served as professor and chairman of the Department of Medicine. During our earlier years, my brother (now a cardiac surgeon in West Virginia) and I often accompanied my father on his visits to see patients. My inspiration to choose this profession really comes from him, who has been my mentor as well. Most of my teachers have been his former students. I moved to the US with my family in 2000 and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the department of Dermatology Research at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), for three years. I later joined a psychiatry residency program as I had developed an interest in psychiatry and psychocutaneous disorders during my practice of dermatology. Psychiatry, in the recent past, has evolved as a highly specialized field in the US. After completing my psychiatry residency (from Texas Tech University and University of Nevada), I joined the fellowship program in Geriatric Psychiatry at UCSF.
My Medical Specialty
More details about my specialty: I began working at Kaiser soon after completing my fellowship in geriatric psychiatry (UCSF). It is professionally satisfying to work at this multi-specialty institution in collaboration with distinguished clinicians (MDs from various disciplines, psychologists, social workers and case managers). Some patients need to be referred for brief individual psychotherapy (we have excellent clinicians for this), and/or group therapy which can be highly effective in the development of better coping skills and psycho education as well. Every patient is like an institution for me, unique in his or her own special way. It is an honor to be given the opportunity to understand and integrate the symptomatology and cultural background of each patient in order to help each individual in a manner that works best for them, and with a commitment to continuity of care. My specialty interests and affiliations within my field: I am a member of the American Association of Adult and Geriatric Psychiatry. I am board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc. I treat the adult and geriatric population, and would be interested in further developing the specialty of Psycho dermatology which is a relatively new, upcoming field. I am interested in childhood trauma, its long term effects and impact on co morbid psychiatric illnesses. The co morbidity of pathological gambling with other psychiatric disorders (I was drawn to this subject during my residency in Las Vegas) is another area of interest as is the psychiatric presentation associated with dementia. For the latter, I work in collaboration with Neurology, as an extension of their dementia clinic, as well as within my own schedule.
Interests
These are a few of my poems: Northern California Mountains loom and grape vines_ a dream of primal green hair.. Branches of old trees spiral in the mind Come spring and the rosebush, delirious has willed its form to change Thin Line As the plane tilts its wings towards the night sky the Bay Bridge becomes a thin line of lights Across the ocean Oakland is a collage of geometric shapes. Precipitous turns take me where I ascend the path of a dream: Crimson seeds of a pomegranate gently separate from white curtains Prayer repeats itself, a hum, a shade entwined within Patient I am the infusion you the vessel Your turmoil is a dark ocean: fragments struggling to reform In time you reach the shore - a ripple a wave that has escaped the eye of the storm Group Dynamics Scorpion and hound snake and wolf gather pace A deer looks on apprehending the known unprecedented move No one to egg on, agitate here. The absence breathes a green expanse of relief Currently reading: The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch Great movie: Gone with the wind
Family & Friends
People in my life: I love to spend time with my two college going daughters, Sahar and Sarah, and my husband, Mohsin, who is in the Personal Financial Planning & Investment side of the financial services industry. I also like to socialize with extended family and friends.	Photos of my Family & Friends: My father, (1919-2011) My father, the late, Professor Dr Mushtaq Hasan (FRCP, FCCP, FCPS), who taught generations of physicians and professors not only Medicine but all the graces of the medical science.

Travel

Other Links & Photos
publication publication Room with a view; emphasizing light and shade With my program Director, Dr Craig Nelson on my graduation from the UCSF Geriatric Fellowship Program, June 2009 Room with a view My garden