HeartLab began in 2020, founded by Rachel Ratliff as a space for connection and healing. In 2023, Brendan Hall took on the stewardship of HeartLab—renovating, re-visioning, and rebranding it into what it is today.

For Brendan, a psychotherapist and group facilitator, HeartLab reflects years of work in education, healing, and community spaces. Creating a sanctuary for transformation and human connection had always been a dream, and when he first found HeartLab for a training, it felt like a divine unfolding—an opportunity to step fully into that vision.

HeartLab is now home to Brendan’s therapy practice and group work, while also serving the wider San Francisco Bay Area as a gathering place for retreats, workshops, concerts, celebrations, and more.

The intention is simple but profound: to nurture healing, transformation, connection, and community, and to contribute to a culture that truly values those things.

We also want to honor the land on which HeartLab resides. This is sacred ground—home for generations to Indigenous peoples, a place that has always drawn together cultures of wisdom, creativity, and resilience.

We acknowledge the complicated history of colonization, and we honor the Mission District as one of San Francisco’s first neighborhoods, with deep roots in Latino culture and community.

At HeartLab, we strive to be good neighbors—respectful, collaborative, and committed to holding space that uplifts and honors the community we are part of.