Perie Longo, PhD, MFT, Bereavement Counselor

Perie leads our bereavement poetry/writing group, which she has offered since 2003. What attracted Peri to Hospice originally was the support she received from HSB in the aftermath of her husband's death. After attending the widow/widower’s support group, she was invited to lead a poetry/writing group. Perie has been in private practice as a marriage and family therapist since 1991, and is also a registered poetry therapist and a past poet laureate of Santa Barbara (2007-09). She has led poetry workshops for California Poets in the Schools and the Santa Barbara Writers Conference for 30 years. She earned her M.A. from UCLA and PhD from Sierra University. She has published four books of Poetry: Milking the Earth, The Privacy of Wind, With Nothing Behind But Sky: A Journey through Grief, and Baggage Claim as well as individual poems in many journals. She enjoys hiking, beach walks, reading, and gardening.