College of Education and Human Development

Department of Educational Psychology

Feven Seifu

  • Pronouns: she, her, hers

  • Assistant teaching professor

  • Education Psychology
    143 Education Sciences Bldg.
    56 East River Road
    Minneapolis, MN 55455-0364

  • fseifu@umn.edu
Feven Seifu

Areas of interest

Values: Open-mindedness, curiosity, humility, genuineness 

Research interests:

  • Existential issues (meaning of life and death in particular)
  • Impacts of death awareness on a person’s life, but more specifically on goals (intrinsic versus extrinsic), values, and sense of connectedness
  • Experiences of near-death survivors
Degrees

BA, psychology and management
MA, counseling psychology
PhD, counselor education and supervision

Biography

Almost on a daily basis, I wrestle with existential related questions. Questions such as: What makes human life meaningful? What makes a good life? Does death awareness lead to richness of life? Is death a reminder of life’s futility/meaninglessness, or a propeller that allows people to live richer and deeper? This quest eventually led me to write my doctoral dissertation on — Understanding Life Through Death: An Interpretive Phenomenological Inquiry of Death Café Attendance.

In reference to my teaching philosophy, I am of the view that growth can only occur to the degree that I am curious and humble enough to rethink and challenge my long-held beliefs and assumptions. I purposefully position myself in situations in which I am able to listen to diverse and opposing viewpoints on a specific topic. Similarly, I strive to create a space for students to do the same.

Research in progress: #narctalk: Analysis of Perceptions of Narcissism Traits and Diagnosis in TikTok Content

Publications

Seifu, F., & Maurya, R., & DeDiego, A. (2022). Life After Death: A Narrative Exploration of Near-Death Experiences. Journal of Death and Dying: OMEGA, 0, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228221108544

Seifu, F., DeDiego, A., Rassier, A., & Morgan, M. (2022). Death Cafes: An Exploration of the Setting, the Players, and the Conversation. Journal of Death and Dying: OMEGA, 0, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228221101277

Seifu, F., DeDiego, A., Rassier, A., & Morgan, M. (2023). Conversations of Life and Death: Experiences of Death Awareness and Death Café Participation. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, 1-14. http://doi.org/10.1002/johc.12199

Rujimora, J., DeDiego, A., & Seifu, F. (2022). Navigating Ambiguous Loss and Disenfranchised Grief Through a Pandemic: Perspectives from Counselor Educator Faculty. Under Review with Counselor Education and Supervision

DeDiego, A. C., Seifu, F., Rassier, A., Bartley, A., & Ollila, A. (2023). Professional Roles, Services, and Quality of Life for End-of-Life Doulas in the United States. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2023.06.026

Presentations

Seifu, F., & Asfaw, A.H. (2020, May). Death Awareness: The Path to Becoming a Fully Functioning Human. Education Session. Association for Humanistic Counseling (AHC), Denver, Colorado.

Asfaw, A.H., Cook, K., & Seifu, F. (2020, May). Being Human in the Face of Complex Decisions. Education Session. Association for Humanistic Counseling (AHC) 2020 Conference, Denver, Colorado.

Asfaw, A.H., Seyeneh, M., & Seifu, F. (2019, June). International Collaboration, Education, and Research: International Students’ Unique Needs and Opportunities in Counselor Education and Supervision (CES) Programs. Education Session. Association for Humanistic Counseling (AHC) 2019 Conference, Bloomington, Minnesota.

Bruce, M.A., Maurya, R.K, Faimon, K., Seifu, F., & Drew, K. (2017). Click Here for Telemental Health: Are We Preparing our Counselors? ACES 2017 conference at Chicago.