Types of Psycho-Shamanic Healing work

As Shamanic healing work becomes more popular in our culture, we are seeing a diversity of approaches surfacing and this can often leave us with a lot of questions. What approach is the best for us? Is this safe?

Here I will describe three different types of working with Shamanic and Psycho-Shamanic Healing: Traditional Shamanic healing, Applied Shamanic Healing, and Facilitated Shamanic Healing.

1) Traditional Shamanic healing looks different depending on the cultural origin of the particular practitioner or the tradition they were trained with. The word Shamanism has originated from Mongolia yet has been adopted by Western Cultures to describe a way of working with traditional (often nature based) healing method that connects with unseen elements to facilitate healing on a soul level. The belief in most shamanic traditions discusses healing on the spiritual level of an illness.

Traditionally, shamanic healing was done in ceremony and within community. However modern day Shamanic work is often one on one - where the shamanic practitioner does the healing for the client. There is often a process of a client receiving the healing. However for the most part, the shamanic practitioner does the work and the client passively receives.

There are benefits to this way of working. It can be helpful if there are elements that may be blocking the clients of participating in their own healing or if the work is complicated and complex - it can be beneficial to start here and then transition to applied or facilitated shamanic healing. And of course sometimes it is nice to receive! We work so hard in our culture and allowing ourselves the opportunity to receive a beautiful healing might be just what is needed.

Some draw backs of this way of working include: Missing elements of integration, although spiritual healing is important and can have profound impacts on our life - we still have a body and if our body isn't grounded or our nervous system is dysregulated, we cannot apply this healing into our day to day lives.

Additionally, we can leak power out if we become dependent on healers to do our work for us. In Shamanic traditions, spiritual power is what keeps us connected to our life's purpose and to our core selves - essentially it is what keeps us fully alive. When we leak power, we are losing elements of ourselves that can lead to different types of illness or suffering.

2) Applied Shamanic Healing is similar to a traditional shamanic work yet includes an element of integration. With applied shamanic healing, the shamanic practitioner will conduct the healing on behalf of the client - typically by doing a shamanic journey for the client. After the healing journey is complete there is a process of integration. This can include a guided process to help the client integrate the healing and learn the lessons from this healing. Within Red Rowan Healing, we use a guided hypnotherapy process to help a client integrate the aspects of the healing. For example, if there is a soul retrieval, there is a guided process afterwards for clients to get a sense of the part that was retrieved and what that means for them. Other methods of applied shamanic healing include art or craft, song, story, or dance to name a few integrative processes to help a client participate in their own healing and increase the integration process.

3) Facilitated Shamanic Healing is when the client is guided by a practitioner to complete their own healing session. Often using an altered state process to support a deeper state for perceiving, the client will describe what they are noticing and a practitioner holds space/safe container while gently guiding the process. Often the client will make connection with a guide or a spiritual ally who will also help guide the process. Eventually, the practitioner is needed less and the client can conduct their own shamanic healing session with the support from their spirit ally and/or guide. The Client and practitioner may consult with a good intention to start with and the session will follow this intention for healing.

There are benefits here that help clients build essential tools for learning intuitive process, connecting to their own power and core self during the process, and becoming a more active participant in their own healing. The client will participate in the integration process during the healing session as well as they will often get integrative practices from their own internal wisdom that could help with deeper integration.

There is no right or wrong way of working with a shamanic healing method and each has a benefit at certain times. Each approach for healing can be completed in a safe way when conducted with a trained practitioner especially one who is aware of the complexities of living in our modern cultures.

If you are curious about where to start on your own healing journey, please reach out.