Shamanic Energy Medicine for Treating Trauma and Other Contemporary Afflictions: Introduction

I have a mission to make contemporary western shamanic energy medicine relevant and understandable to practitioners in mainstream clinical psychology, psychotherapy, medicine, and science.

This desire has grown out of my personal journey as I sought healing from chronic anxiety, depression and symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) through a combination of western talk therapies and various energy healing modalities, most notably what is known as shamanic medicine. In addition, as an academically trained anthropologist and folklorist, my research and teaching over 30 years delved into the fields of psychology, psychiatry, peace and violence studies, trauma studies, cultural and historical trauma, conflict and identity, and other interdisciplinary perspectives on the conditions, causes and consequences of violent conflict and war and the paths to peace.  I also studied the wisdom traditions of Native American spirituality and Buddhism with various indigenous and Euro-white teachers.

I became convinced along the way that all these rich and profound sources of knowledge and practice were not in conflict with one another, but could form a complete whole.  I would not be the healthy, balanced person I am today without the entire range of therapies I pursued. Therefore, in this series, I hope these blogs will be of value to anyone who has an interest in the application of energy medicines in the treatment of trauma, whether those seeking help or practitioners in various fields, including mainstream clinicians.

Contemporary western shamanic techniques and the tools and perspectives of medicine people from indigenous societies will certainly stretch the minds of anyone who has a deeply entrenched, materialistic view of the world or who believes only western medicine and science are valid, empirically tested and safe.  However, for those who are beginning to open up to other possibilities, then my wish is that they will find these blogs informative, eye-opening and inspiring.

There are so many people in the world today who are suffering from the maladies caused by unresolved traumas and other imbalances which have not been entirely relieved by western therapies and the use of pharmaceutical medications.  Just as people are trying energy modalities such as EMDR and EFT, it is possible for them to reach even farther to the wisdom and insights of contemporary shamanism.

These are the first blogs in the series to be ongoing. Click on the links to read them! Shamanic Energy Medicine for Treating Trauma and Other Contemporary Afflictions, Part 1: Keeping an Open Mind Shamanic Energy Medicine for Treating Trauma and Other Contemporary Afflictions, Part 2: The Science of  Transgenerational Trauma Shamanic Energy Medicine for Treating Trauma and Other Contemporary Afflictions, Part 3: The Methods and Tools of Shamanic Energy Medicine to Transform Transgenerational Legacies of Trauma (stay tuned for this edition in Fall, 2015)

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