Awakening the Healing Soul is a paradigm busting exploration of contemporary psychology that updates the profession with ancient shamanic wisdom. Having traveled to remote regions of the world exploring "jungle medicine" Blanchard, through storytelling and in fine trickster fashion, charts a hopeful healing course for the suffering person. Shamans and sangomas are among the author's instructors. The healing power of the human mind, rituals within ceremonies, community involvement, and plant medicines can remedy most any malady from trauma to addictions. Age-old aboriginal concepts of sacred magic and the super natural hold equal standing and can be as effective as many Western healing practices. After being successfully applied for tens of thousands of years, evidence-based methods are the hallmark of indigenous medicine. Similarly, best practices are not just mechanical in nature but spirit infused - another time-tested way of healing. "Geral Blanchard's beautiful book truly bridges psychotherapy and indigenous practices, and all the while he has the great fortune of encountering himself. What amazing stories, adventures, transformations, healings, and, simply, reconnections! I love the way Geral presents indigenous people in such a straightforward way, with no idealization. As our modern world seeks better ways of healing, this insightful and lively book brings hope to the human family as it looks to Nature for balance and peace." -- Consciousness Medicine. "Timely, provocative, and exhilarating! Geral Blanchard connects conventional psychotherapy with the sacred art of healing through personal, elemental, and spiritual realms of consciousness. His stories of personal and patient healing reveal the deep truths of our own inner power to transform lives. Merging Western medicine and psychology with indigenous wisdom, Blanchard gives birth to a new paradigm for practitioners to become midwives for their patients' healing as they awaken the 'shaman within.'" -- Carlene Mattimore, author of Sacred Messages of Shamanic Africa "'Books, books, books, everywhere books,' remarks one of the indigenous healers with whom Geral Blanchard has connected. 'Much information. Not much wisdom.' This concise assessment of Western psychology forms the basis of this volume.""Blanchard transforms stories into powerful teachings. With a clear, accessible style, the reader can see far deeper into human experience than in most psychology textbooks today. More than simple descriptions, Blanchard's purpose is to educate Westerners about indigenous healing. He is almost never at the center of his own writing, except as an example of the vulnerable experiences that Westerners must have if they are to move beyond learning into wisdom. Despite having traveled the world and written extensively on the topic, Blanchard remains humble to the core.""How does one take a topic like the soul of healing without crushing it like a flower between the pages of a book? Unlike all too many Western resources, Blanchard moves us beyond heart and soul and into the sacred." -- David Prescott, author of Feedback Informed Treatment in Clinical Practice "Blanchard is a Western trained psychotherapist trained in psychology and anthropology who has traveled extensively and gathered vast knowledge from indigenous healers worldwide. His assertion that we must learn from shamans as part of an integrated rather than alternative approach is seminal. This original medicine, Blanchard points out, is in danger of being lost if we ignore the wisdom and warning of our indigenous brethren." -- David Cumes, M.D., author of Africa in My Bones and The Spirit of Healing "Blanchard is like an avatar, embodying ancient healing wisdom in this modern world." -- Clint Ober, author of Earthing Geral Blanchard, LPC, BCCP, NCP, has enjoyed the privilege of serving patients in a psychotherapeutic setting over several decades. His professional career began in the field of child abuse, and later he addressed both sides of the equation-abusers as well as victims. Gerry has worked in a variety of settings as a consultant assessing violent individuals including rapists, lust murderers, and serial killers. With training in anthropology and psychology, Gerry has become increasingly appreciative of the diverse ways in which antipodal cultures respond to trauma, addictions, abusive behavior, and other seemingly irreparable physical maladies. In the last decade, his practice has shifted focus to incorporate indigenous healing wisdom into contemporary treatment models impacting a wide variety of patients. Gerry has observed and worked alongside shamans and sangomas in a variety of locations: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Swaziland, Rwanda, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Canada, and the United States. He has participated in many indigenous rituals and ceremonies that incorporate plant medicines into the healing process. This experience has given him a strong i