I get asked this a lot!

In general terms, talking therapies are a fantastic way to bring your issues into sharp focus before ‘diving down’ to work with raw emotion from the inside-out.

Sound therapy is great for deep relaxation and breathwork is fantastic for working experientially with emotions and linking them back to 'held' narratives in the body. Finally, drum journeys are good for creative visualisation and guidance.

The type of session I'd recommend depends on the issue you're working with. Normally in the first instance, simple is best.

Have a look through my treatments to see if anything draws you in and call me if you need to talk things through.

The word Shaman, or “Saman”, comes from the Evenk tribal lineage; covering South Eastern Siberia, Northern China and Russia.

It means: to heat up, or get excited/frenzied; a bit like the boiling of water.

Shamanic traditions exist in particular corners of the globe, each with a unique set of tools and ceremonies to promote survival and sustain the community.

Shamanism is often incorrectly referred to as the root of all organised religion. This is in fact, ANIMISM. So, in order for us to grasp shamanism, we must first understand the meaning of animism. 😉

Animism is the basic understanding that everything is alive (rocks, plants and inanimate objects included) and in possession of a soul, or spirit.

Animism acknowledges a universal connection with the spirit world.

Shamanism is the act of actually visiting those spirits in a trance state.

No trance? No shamanism.

All shamanic cultures are animistic, however, not all animistic cultures are shamanic.

What is shamanism NOT?

In the Western world, we’re not part of a traditional, shamanic lineage. Despite this, the word, shamanic, is frequently misused; often as a casual adjective tagged onto anything remotely new-age and spiritual.

Imagine for a moment, travelling all the way to Outer Mongolia to get your dry cleaning done. Not the most time efficient way to go about things, right?

So it follows, attempting to build relationships with localised spirits, in far-flung lands, to try and solve problems in North London. Less still, should we assume that these spirits have any interest in us. 😉

Much as it taints the Western ego, not to be ‘chosen’ in some way, ours is an entirely different sickness!

Any curiosity is completely justified however. We Westerners are rudderless, with no indigenous link, or direct connection to our own lands. This thread was severed long ago; mainly by organised religions in their crusade for dominance and power.

Meanwhile, Westernised, or “core”, shamanic techniques (heavily diluted though they are), remain a good way to dialogue with spirit. The shamanic drum journey is one such tool.

Celtic traditions are powerful in their own right but no evidence has been found to support a direct Celtic Shamanism lineage (yet). See instead Celtic Paganism, along with the more modern, Celtic Reconstructionism and Neo-druidism movements (equally fascinating but not the same thing).

Shamanism isn’t necessarily all about psychoactive and psychotropic plant medicines either. Despite what you might hear, not all shamanic cultures work with ayahuasca, san pedro, peyote, iboga, cannabis or cacao.

Finally, shamanic trance work has nothing to do with schizophrenia or western spectrum disorders, despite similarities in some of the symptoms.

Anyone who feels the calling. Especially you!

Mildly curious?

Stressed or fatigued?

Lacking confidence or experiencing body issues?

Need some pampering to help you chill?

Lacking focus and direction in life?

Seeking creative inspiration?

Difficulty processing emotions?

Or perhaps you’re feeling READY and want to do some deep inner work:

Conquering addictions?

Revisiting major life traumas such as separation, shock, abuse or abandonment?

Dealing with long-term illness?

On the cusp of major life changes?

Needing to stand in your power?

Book a free discovery call and you’ll know if my approach is a match for you.

Come as you are, spill the beans over a cuppa and I’ll design a session to suit. This doesn’t have to involve anything too heavy like endless delving or trite ceremonial chanting if that isn’t your bag.

Equally, the experienced or curious among you, who like to work with smudging, guided visualisations, invocations and ritual, are encouraged to go wild! Sage, rapé, tobacco and cacao are great allies to work with when the situation calls, but you have all the inner technology you need, so I’m a fan of keeping things simple.

Generally sessions last around 90-minutes, including time for sharing and integration. For more information, see my treatments.

Ask the guy with the doctorate.

This work is a fantastic compliment to any traditional talking therapy (including Medicine Wheel work) as an aid to work with surface thoughts.

Cognitive talking therapies have us believe that dysfunctional thinking leads to dysfunctional emotions or behaviours. Holistic approaches put this theory in reverse, working with abstract felt sensations from the inside out.

Pause for thought: Feeling tones came before the ability to think and analyse (unless you were spouting that doctorate as a foetus).

The English-language shoehorns approximately 3,000 words into sonic shapes to define these states; an evolving art that’s like catching a butterfly.

How many feelings do we experience without definition?

Trust the process, sit a little longer and find out what’s on the other side.

There’s no pressure to disclose anything you’re not comfortable with; we can work with the essence of your issue regardless. If relaxation is the goal, you may wish for me to keep things simple, but above all, stay within your comfort zone and try not to prescribe an outcome.

A degree of fear and trepidation is healthy as it signifies the commitment you’ve made to yourself. Like excitement, boredom and sleep, fear can be a useful gateway to access the good stuff! Sometimes we need to move through these gateways to shift habits that don’t serve and subconsciously drive our life choices.

Unfortunately, there’s no shortcut and none of us are exempt, but living a heart-centred existence needn’t necessitate a ‘growth through struggle’ approach. Let go of the need to validate a session through the level of drama and suffering. Sometimes the process can be ecstatic!

Book a free discovery call and I’ll be happy to discuss any concerns.

I’ve hand picked a few clinical studies here.

It’s good to keep your feet on the ground, so believe nothing and question everything. The modalities presented here aren’t at odds with modern scientific principles. The idea that earth, air, fire and water make up all matter has been the cornerstone of philosophy, science and medicine for two thousand years.

Creative imagination doesn’t have to be exempt from rational thought. A structured approach gives us a map to navigate inward, creatively reshape our existence and ground our experiences in a meaningful way when we return.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited, imagination encircles the world.” – Albert Einstein

Much to my dismay, Fred hates gongs, so the work room is a cat hair free zone.

No.