Dr. Dorothy (Didi) Firman, Ed. D, LMHC, BCC

Dr. Firman (Didi) has worked in the field of psychology and counseling for more than thirty years and has traveled and taught nationally and internationally. Her specialties include: psychosynthesis, a spiritual psychology; coaching & counseling towards meaning and purpose in life; and speaking, teaching & consulting with a focus on personal and spiritual empowerment.

Didi and her books have been featured on many TV and radio shows, including Oprah, Fox News, New Morning, Wisdom Television, Nightbeat, Eldervision, Time for Spirit and the CBS special Family 2 Family, among others. She works in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she lives with her husband of forty years. She has three grown children and four granddaughters. Didi is a practitioner of Iaido, a Japanese martial art, and holds a black belt.  Her life is defined by an ongoing inclination to listen for the call of Self—and then to answer.

Didi is also the New York Times bestselling co-author of Chicken Soup for the Mother and Daughter Soul as well as Chicken Soup for the Soul, Celebrating Mothers and Daughters and Chicken Soup for the Father and Son Soul. She is also the author of Daughters and Mothers: Making it Work, and co-authored with Kevin Quirk, Brace for Impact: Miracle on the Hudson Survivors Share their Stories of Near Death and Hope for New Life. Coming on the anniversary of the miracle landing of flight 1549 on the Hudson River, the book celebrates the call to living lives of meaning and purpose that passengers and first responders have experienced after this near death experience. Her books have been translated into many languages.

Didi is the founder of the Synthesis Center. She is a professor of psychology, an author and a speaker. Her work in coaching is primarily as a trainer, though she maintains a small coaching practice.  We are delighted to have Didi as the Director of Curriculum at Synthesis Center San Francisco, and as a Lead Teacher in our Psychosynthesis Coach Training and Senior Trainer in our programs.