Jess Semaan is a queer Lebanese poet, psychotherapist, group facilitator and speaker. She researches, writes and speaks on subjects of healing from complex trauma, immigration, war and belonging. Her first poetry book Child of the Moon sold over 15,000 copies. Her second book Your Therapist is Depressed Too came out in December 2023 and chronicles the life of a new psychotherapist witnessing the collapse of her home country from afar.
Semaan facilitates student groups at various UCs, including UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz. She is also a trauma informed psychotherapist and offers Psychedelic Assisted therapy at Sage Integrative Health. Semaan immigrated to the United States from Beirut to pursue an MBA at Stanford and went on to earn an M.A. in counseling Psychology from CIIS. She was one of the early hires that helped scale Airbnb, and founded The Passion Co. an organization that helps people find and pursue their passions.
Semaan resides on Ohlone land, with her partner Berk, and their two cats.