Kambeze B. Etemad, MD is a psychiatrist, educator, author, amateur musician, and retired homeschool dad. He recently launched Talisman Development Services, LLC – a training and consulting company that combines principles from multiple fields into a fresh approach towards maximizing human capacity in life and work for individuals, groups and organizations

Born and raised in the greater Philadelphia area into a heritage of physicians, educators and artists, Kambeze has always been disposed to both scientific method and holistic views, to consultation and dialogue, to learning and service, to artistry and creativity, the physical sciences and spirituality.  From early in his life he’s been a natural educator and integrative thinker – natively attentive to people’s capacity and purposefulness – and irresistibly inclined to empower others in their learning, advancement and fulfillment on all levels of life.  These interests and abilities derive from an evolving inspiration that he has followed since his high school days.  Minoring in both Education and Music, Dr. Etemad earned both his B.A. in Biology and his M.D. at Brown University in Providence, RI, and completed his residency in psychiatry at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia.  

From early on, he has pursued two parallel work paths.

First, he has worked for 30 years in general psychiatry, addiction treatment and psychotherapy – at various sites in the inpatient, outpatient, nursing home, school campus, rehab and urban settings.  His training and clinical work in psychiatry are enhanced by experience in mental-health related research, writing, teaching, curriculum development, team building, systems development, executive committee work and community outreach.  In 2009, he was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. 

Second, for even longer, Kambeze has also followed an avid calling in education and development, around topics and in venues outside of mental health care.  Beyond study, teaching and advising, this has entailed the development and management of courses and curricula, as well as educational resources, programs and systems.  It has included interpersonal communication, coaching, consulting, and organizational development.  It has also entailed civic outreach, community education/development, public information/speaking, writing/publication, and media work. These have occurred in various settings – including college and university campuses, public and night schools, civic and community venues, hospitals and health care systems, organizations and associations, and conferences – on the local, regional, national and international levels. At one stage, Dr. Etemad spent three-years in Switzerland as faculty, administrator and advisor, helping to develop an attempted international college.  He also contributed to the Children and War Project based out of the University of Alberta in Canada. Most recently he focused these skills on homeschooling within his family, in team processes at hospitals, and in freelance work.

For decades, he followed these two paths in tandem periods of alternating focus – drawn by a broader, encompassing path: the ongoing pursuit of a unique overarching personal epistemology.  The underlying drive to explore, engage and articulate a novel integrative paradigm of human capacity and learning, which transcends any particular professional field or track while also synthesizing their respective insights, has steadily pervaded his efforts throughout his studies, training, during and between jobs.  It is why he remains an ongoing student of several other subjects (such as diversity and cultural issues, spirituality and religion, the impact of dogmatism and personal activism, war and psychosocial trauma, peace studies, and several others).  It has informed and determined the nature, timing and sequence of each step in his paths – providing coherence to the overall unfolding of his variegated career. 

Beyond these, Kambeze eagerly pursues his creativity as a writer and a folk pianist/vocalist; whenever possible, he includes these in his educational programs.  He has even used some hobbies (music, poetry, sci-fi/fantasy and photography) as ways to bridge ideas to people of various temperaments.  He’s also started and collaborated in programs that foster atmospheres, venues and patterns of learning and dialogue, art and beauty, humor and storytelling, creativity and service – based on the conviction that these grassroots amateur settings are fundamental catalysts for healing and progress.

As these parallel paths continued separately, he steadily sought opportunities to blend them in novel ways.  His launch of Talisman Development Services was an opportunity to merge his parallel paths – combining diverse experiences into a single venue of professional service. 

Kambeze’s epistemology, educational activity, artistry and social pursuits also dovetail with his involvement in the Bahá’í community since his teens, and even moreso with his love for interfaith engagement over the past 20 years.