21/10/2025
A few reflections on my Shamanic Counseling Training.
On Sunday, I completed the Shamanic Counseling Training at the Irish Centre for Celtic Shamanic Studies, and I’m still in awe of the depth and beauty of this work 🙏🏻
For those less familiar with shamanism, it is one of the oldest spiritual healing traditions on Earth, dating back over 50,000 years and found in cultures across the world.
At its heart, shamanism is a way of connecting with Spirit and restoring balance and harmony within oneself and the world.
Classical shamanic practices include working with power animals (spirit guides), performing extractions to clear energetic blockages, soul retrievals, and helping souls transition peacefully after death.
Shamanic Counseling, specifically the anthropologist’s Michael Harner’s method, is an experiential method based on the classical shamanic journey.
In classical shamanism, the shaman makes a journey on behalf of the client whereas in Shamanic Counseling, the client becomes their own shaman, journeying to what’s called nonordinary reality to seek wisdom and guidance directly from Spirit.
A session begins with a shared reflection on the client’s question or important life challenge. The counselor helps the client formulate a clear intention for the journey.
Then, listening to the steady rhythm of a drum through headphones, the client enters a trance-like, meditative state (known as the theta state), the same state associated with deep healing, intuition, and imagery.
During the journey, the client may experience symbolic visions, encounters with spirit guides or ancestors, or insights presented through archetypal imagery.
They narrate their experience aloud, and afterward, the journey is replayed and discussed with the counselor, offering profound opportunities for integration and personal interpretation.
Psychologists and psychotherapists who have studied this approach note that “shamanic counseling has the potential for significantly accelerating personal growth, often requiring far less time to achieve meaningful results than traditional Western methods.” (Michael Harner, Shaman’s Path - compiled & edited by Gary Doore)
At its core, this work is about personal empowerment, reclaiming one’s own spiritual authority and inner knowing. Shamanism embodies a kind of spiritual democracy: the belief that anyone can access higher wisdom and healing without relying on intermediaries.
What I love most is that it’s a deeply experiential and transformative method, one that honours ancient, time-tested ways of working with the human mind and spirit, while allowing each person to receive direct insight from within.
I’m truly grateful for this training, for the profound experiences we shared, all the teachings and insights, as well as all the wisdom, knowledge and warmth of Annette and Martin and their unmatched ability to hold space and pass on their passion for this sacred work.
It’s a great reminder that the wisdom we seek is often already waiting inside us, we just need to listen… 🪶🥁💫
If you feel called to experience this unique method of connecting with Spirit and higher wisdom, feel free to reach out. I’d be happy to guide you through your own journey 🥁🪽
