IONS researcher Helané Wahbeh, ND, MCR, has published a report on Shamanic Healing for Veterans with PTSD in Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing.
The article summarizes the development and outcome of an uncontrolled case series to assess the feasibility of creating a shamanic protocol that would be acceptable and helpful to Veterans suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder. The report details the experiences of six participants, and the results suggest the a treatment protocol of shamanic healing is indeed acceptable to Veterans and can reduce the intensity of PTSD symptoms.
Shamanic techniques focus on healing the spiritual dimension of the human being, which then affect healing of the physical body and the mind. In this study, the protocol incorporated the following shamanic components:
- Rapport building and power animal retrieval
- Extraction
- Spirit release
- Curse unraveling
- Soul retrieval
- Forgiveness and cord-cutting
- Aspect maturation
- Soul rematrixing
In this report, the researchers state that the results of this series should not be interpreted as definitive evidence that shamanic techniques are effective for alleviating the symptoms of PTSD. However, this initial step in investigating the efficacy of using this work with Veterans lays the groundwork for larger clinical trials with appropriate controls.
