Maira Clancy

I'm a therapist, clinical social worker, educator, artist, and musician residing in Oakland, CA, with 4+ years of experience and training in trauma-informed mental health care. Passionate about healing justice, expressive arts, technology, plant medicine, and the environment, I feel most fulfilled when exploring where these realms intersect.

In May 2023, I received a Master of Social Work from San Francisco State University. Since then, I have been working as a trauma therapist and clinical social worker, and am especially drawn to serving folks navigating violence recovery, complex trauma, complicated grief, life transitions, substance use recovery, and/or somatic rupture. I utilize Internal Family Systems, EMDR, expressive arts, music therapy, somatic therapy, mindfulness, transpersonal approaches, and other modalities to help clients heal from various mental health conditions including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, PTSD and Complex-PTSD, and attachment and developmental trauma.

Songs of the Vine (2017), a VR documentary made in collaboration with Indigenous Shipibo curanderos of the Amazon rainforest that I co-directed, co-produced, and sound-engineered, has been exhibited at the Raindance Film Festival (London, UK), Encounters Film Festival (Bristol, UK), LifeArt Festival (Athens, Greece), New Media Film Festival (Los Angeles, CA), Rendezvous Film Festival (Amelia Islands, FL), Tech Doc Fest (Seattle, WA), Seattle Transmedia & Independent Film Festival (Seattle, WA), RAW Film Festival (Los Angeles, CA), Oxford Film Festival (Oxford, MS), FIVARS (Toronto, Canada), the Social Impact Media Awards (Finalist), and the Earth Day Film Festival (Los Angeles, CA - winner of the “Best VR Experience” category).

I also recorded, co-produced, and engineered an album of their medicine songs, which is available for purchase on Bandcamp. 50% of all sales go directly to the healers, and the other 50% of sales are donated to a Peruvian NGO The Chaikuni Institute — a nonprofit which focuses its efforts on Indigenous and environmental rights in the Amazon Rainforest.

In August 2016, I was awarded an "Awesome Without Borders" grant from the Harnisch Foundation for my work with The Chaikuni Institute. I'm currently producing an educational 360° virtual reality documentary series about the healing modalities of the Shipibo. Through virtual reality, I aim to use an emerging technology to amplify Indigenous voices and traditions, including sacred plant healing, medicine songs, and the oral history of a complex and beautiful cosmology. 

In 2013, I received a Bachelor of Music from the Oberlin Conservatory in "Technology in Music and the Related Arts," alongside a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Art (concentration: animation and new media) from Oberlin College. Since graduation, I've been teaching various creative curriculum (digital media technology, music production, filmmaking, photography, making/DIY, robotics, basic computer programming, video game design, graphic design, creative writing, and animation) to Oakland and San Francisco youth. I have experience working with children ranging from grades pre-K - 12, college level students, and adults. I’m especially passionate about working with historically excluded communities.

I’m experienced in the following computer software: Avid Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office Suite, Ableton Live, Audacity, Amadeus Pro, SPEAR, iStopMotion, and iMovie.

     My mentors include:

• Tom Lopez

• Peter Swendsen

• Julia Christensen

• Per Bloland

• Lyn Goeringer

• Lewis Nielson

• Josh Levine

• John Pearson

• Pipo Nguyen-duy

• Susan Umbenhour

• Sarah Schuster

• Arzu Ozkal

• Nanette Yannuzzi-Macias

• Don Harvey