Dr. Gotami (Prem Suskawat, M.D.) was born in America of Thai heritage. She has shown how Buddhist teachings can be integrated with Western psychotherapy to treat social ills. She ordained as a bhikkhuni in India. She studied psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. There, she works with immigrants from Southeast Asian countries, offering counseling on a wide range of issues. She has established a Buddhist temple in Massachusetts.