Sheila Lahijani MD

Sheila Lahijani, MD, is Medical Director of the Stanford Cancer Center Psychosocial Oncology Program where she works in Stanford Cancer Center leadership and oversees the development and operationalization of psychiatric consultation for patients with cancer. Dr. Lahijani also attends on the medical/surgical units, ICUs and in the emergency department at Stanford Hospital and Clinics to provide care for patients with complex medical and psychiatric diagnoses and to teach psychiatry, internal medicine, and neurology trainees.

After graduating from Brown Medical School, Dr. Lahijani completed the Combined Internal Medicine/Psychiatry Residency Program at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. She then served as a physician in the areas of primary care and triple diagnosis (addiction, HIV, mental health). Thereafter, Dr. Lahijani completed the Psychosomatic Medicine Fellowship at the Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University where she worked at the Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center. During her fellowship, she also served as a psychiatric oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Dr. Lahijani’s clinical and scholarly interests include the interface of medicine and psychiatry, pharmacology, psycho-oncology, collaborative care models, psychotherapy for the medically ill, interdisciplinary medical education, teaching, and writing.

As Faculty of the Advancing Communication Excellence at Stanford, Dr. Lahijani leads foundational workshops for faculty and staff to advance communication skills with patients, families, and their colleagues. She is committed to developing and contributing to efforts that focus on relationship centered skills and provider wellness.

Dr. Lahijani is a member of the NCCN Cancer-Related Fatigue Panel and the NCCN Distress Management Panel.