About

The work that has shaped me as a psychologist and as a person

Portrait of Nicole Sucre, PsyD, founder of Healing Bridge Psychology, a Colorado-based palliative care practice

For nearly two decades, individuals and families living with neurological and serious illness have entrusted me to accompany them through some of the most vulnerable seasons of their lives.

Again and again, I have been invited into conversations about fear and hope, love and loss, identity and change, uncertainty and choice, trauma and resilience. These experiences have deepened not only my understanding of psychological care, but also of what it means to be a human being and to accompany another person through profound change. 

I'm Dr. Nicole Sucre, a palliative care psychologist specializing in neurological illness. The psychologist I am today has been shaped by many influences—my own early experiences with life-threatening and life-changing illnesses, years of specialized training and experience, and the extraordinary people who have allowed me to share in their lives. Together, they continue to shape how I understand this work and the care I strive to offer each person who entrusts me with theirs.

Finding my professional home

Long before I became a psychologist, I was drawn to the human experience of serious illness. Early experiences with life-threatening and life-changing illness introduced me to experiences I didn't yet have words for. I started to see how illness reaches far beyond the body — reshaping emotional life, relationships, hopes for the future, and the everyday rhythms of life.

Those experiences drew me toward healthcare and eventually psychology. As my training unfolded, psychology gave me a language for understanding suffering, resilience, attachment, trauma, and healing. It also gave me the privilege — and responsibility — of meeting people in some of life's most difficult moments.

As I entered healthcare, I found myself returning again and again to conversations that reached beyond surface symptoms and treatment plans. I was drawn to the emotional and relational dimensions of illness: how people made sense of what was happening, how families adapted together, what people feared losing, and what they hoped to preserve.

In my postdoctoral training, I discovered palliative care and palliative care psychology, and something just clicked. It brought together everything that had been drawing me to this work from the beginning: human experience, thoughtful medical care, psychological depth, communication, genuine relationship, and a commitment to caring for the whole person and family as they navigated serious illness.

Early on, my training included a focus on neurological illness — an interest that has grown and deepened over the course of my career. 

Neurological conditions often bring together many of the questions that have shaped my work from the beginning. Supporting people through these changes has deepened my understanding of what psychological care can offer — not by removing uncertainty, but by helping people remain connected to themselves, to the people they love, and to what gives life meaning even as circumstances change.

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The values I bring to our work

  • Genuine Relationship

    To feel seen, understood, and valued as a person.

    Therapy begins with a relationship where you can feel safe enough to be honest about what you are experiencing and trust that the complexity of your life will be met with warmth and genuine care.

  • Steadiness

    Grounded support when there are no easy answers.

    I offer a steady presence through uncertainty, painful emotions, changing needs, and decisions that may not have a clear or ideal solution.

  • Active Engagement

    Therapy that is thoughtful, collaborative, and alive.

    I listen closely, ask questions, share what I notice, and actively work with you toward deeper understanding, healing, and meaningful change.

  • Respect For Personhood

    You are more than an illness, a role, or a set of symptoms.

    I hold in view the whole of who you are—your history, identity, relationships, strengths, values, vulnerabilities, and the life you are living within and beyond illness.

  • Agency and Choice

    Your life and your care belong to you.

    I value your agency and your right to make choices about your life, relationships, medical care, and our work together. I will help you stay connected to your own voice, understand what you need and want, and find where there is still room to choose, respond, and shape how you live—even when illness has changed what is possible or left parts of life outside your control.

The experience I bring to your care

My work is grounded in nearly two decades of specialized clinical experience, specialized training, and ongoing professional development. The sections below offer more detail about the experience that informs my practice today.

  • DOCTORAL & GRADUATE EDUCATION

    Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in Clinical Psychology | 2008
    California Institute of Integral Studies | San Francisco, California

    Master of Arts (MA) in Clinical Psychology | 2005
    California Institute of Integral Studies | San Francisco, California                                              

    POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS

    Advanced Postdoctoral Fellowship in Health Psychology | 2009–2010
    California Pacific Medical Center | San Francisco, California
    Advanced specialization in palliative care psychology and neuropsychological assessment and care.

    Postdoctoral Fellowship in Health Psychology | 2008–2009
    California Pacific Medical Center | San Francisco, California
    Specialized training in palliative care psychology, neuropsychological assessment and care, psycho-oncology, advanced heart and lung disease, and organ transplant assessment and care.

    PREDOCTORAL INTERNSHIP

    Predoctoral Internship | 2007–2008
    Institute on Aging | San Francisco, California
    Specialized training in geropsychology and neuropsychological assessment and care.

    ADDITIONAL EDUCATION & EARLY CLINICAL TRAINING

    Clinical Psychology Practicum Training | 2002–2005
    Haight Ashbury Psychological Services | San Francisco, California
    Clinical training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

    Bachelor of Science (BS) in Psychology & Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Religious Studies | 2001
    Regis University | Denver, Colorado

  • Founder & Palliative Care Psychologist | 2025–Present
    Healing Bridge Psychology
    Founded Healing Bridge Psychology to provide specialized palliative psychological care for people living with neurological illness and their loved ones.

    Palliative and Neuropalliative Care Psychologist | 2023–2025
    University of Colorado
    Provided palliative psychological care for individuals and families living with serious and neurological illness as part of an interdisciplinary outpatient palliative care team.

    Lead Medical Aid in Dying Navigator | 2024–2025
    University of Colorado
    Led system-wide Medical Aid in Dying navigation, contributed to the development and implementation of clinical protocols, and provided consultation, education, and support to physicians prescribing MAiD.

    Advisor, Work Group for End-of-Life Care Guidelines | 2017
    American Psychological Association
    Contributed expertise in palliative psychology and psychological care at the end of life to the development of the APA End-of-Life Care Guidelines for Psychologists.

    Palliative Care Psychologist | 2011–2015
    Alameda Health System
    Served as the attending psychologist on the inpatient palliative care team and co-founded and co-directed the health system’s first outpatient palliative care clinic.

    Palliative Care Psychologist, Consultant & Educator | 2010–2023
    Private Practice | San Francisco Bay Area
    Provided psychotherapy to individuals and families living with serious illness and served as a consultant, educator, and palliative psychology resource to healthcare professionals and organizations, including UCSF, John Muir Health, Sutter Health, and Alameda Health System.

  • My work is also informed by additional advanced training in approaches that support emotional healing, relational connection, adaptation, and psychological care across the course of serious and neurological illness.

    Psychological Care in Serious and Neurological Illness

    • Palliative care psychology and neuropalliative care

    • Psychological care across illness progression and changing needs

    • Dignity Therapy and dignity-informed care

    • Communication in advanced illness

    • Contemplative approaches to end-of-life care and communication

    • Advance care planning, medical decision-making, and care transitions

    • Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD)

    • Pain management and the interaction of physical and emotional symptoms

    • Neurobehavioral and neuropsychiatric symptoms

    Experiential and Relational Psychotherapy

    • Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)

    • Attachment- and relationship-focused psychotherapy

    • Emotion-focused and experiential psychotherapy

    • Emotional regulation, agency, and transformational change

    Trauma-Focused Therapy & Emotional Regulation

    • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

    • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

    • Trauma-focused psychotherapy

    • Complex and relational trauma

    • Trauma-informed psychological care in medical settings

  • Selected Publication

    Medical Aid in Dying: An Overview for Neurologists
    Christina Vaughan, MD, MHS & Nicole Sucre, PsyD
    Practical Neurology, March 2025

    Professional Associations

    • American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine

    • International Neuropalliative Care Society

    • AEDP Institute

    • Colorado Psychological Association

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Begin with a conversation.

Finding the right therapist matters. If something in you senses it's time for more support as you live with a neurological illness, I invite you to schedule a free 20-minute phone consultation. We'll talk about what you're experiencing, answer your questions, and see whether working together feels like the right fit.

Schedule a Free Phone Consultation