About Fern

I am Dr. Fern Pinkston (she/her), and I am a queer licensed clinical psychologist, educator, and writer living in Chicago. I started Bespoke Healing to create the kind of space where folks can come home to themselves, whether as artists, professionals, or people.

I come from a long line of strong women who farmed their own food, worked as riveters in Detroit during World War II, and were vegetarians before it was cool. I am a first-generation college student. I am a self-identified “grief nerd,” and I have learned to befriend grief as a common companion in my life thus far. I was also brought up in a rich storytelling tradition, and family gatherings were often punctuated by tales and music around the campfire or dinner table. 

I’ve stayed rooted in the power of narrative as the years have passed. My attention to how we narrate and who gets left out of those narratives has been a theme across my work. Whether working with someone on a personal statement as part of applying to graduate school, or exploring the choices someone made as they were telling a story, I am interested in how cultural messages and our own insecurities inform how we show and tell ourselves. I love watching the community that forms out of the authenticity and vulnerability it takes to share our stories well. 

Regarding my formal professional training, I have a B.A. in Women’s Studies and B.S. in Psychology from the University of Georgia, as well as my M.A. and Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. I have worked in community mental health, private practice, residential, and college counseling settings around the country including the Carl Rogers Institute, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Texas Woman’s University Counseling and Psychological Services, and the Marquette University Counseling Center.

I am an educator at heart. I currently teach in the Masters in Counseling Psychology program at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and the Clinical Psy.D. Doctoral Program at Adler University, and I have served as a Clinical Supervisor and founding Training Director to masters and doctoral-level trainees through an LGBTQ+ Focused Fellowship Program. I care deeply about fostering first-generation college students and business owners. I believe the most effective psychology professionals are the ones who bring their own identities, quirks, and values to the work to model authenticity. I often receive feedback from students that they leave my classroom caring more about how history and politics inform how we internalize our experiences in the world. I also challenge toxic competitiveness and perfectionism in higher education by cultivating warmth and community among my students.

I have performed as a member of The Midwives, a collective of artists supporting artists, and I have told stories at The Moth, Story Sessions, and Gilead Chicago. I am also the host and founder of The Grief Party and The Show and Tell Show, a 90-minute artifact based storytelling experience.