Case Studies
Case 1: Grief
L. is a middle aged woman who came to see me for help with her grief. Her husband K. had died one year previously and she hadn’t quite managed to move on. Her doctor had sent her for bereavement counseling shortly after his death, which helped in the short term but not the long term. Following that, L. decided to try Reiki healing to see if that would make a difference. Other than giving a general feeling of relaxation and bringing up a few tears, she did not consider that Reiki had done much for her.
A few months after his death, L. went back to her doctor who prescribed her a mild antidepressant as she still felt teary, depressed and uninterested in life.
When L. visited me, she presented as someone who was going through much grief and loss although she reported as not feeling suicidal. L. explained that her daily routine was difficult; that she had no interest in life let alone having to get up and do daily chores. Her eating habits had become a little erratic, going up and down along with her mood.
L. felt that the antidepressants were of no use and reported that she had ceased taking them three months ago. L. reports having felt no worse since stopping them.
Prescription:
I prescribed for L. a course of shamanic healing which would be used alongside informal psychological therapy. Each session would begin with some brief therapy; we would look at how she was feeling, what differences there had been since the last session and how she felt the sessions had helped her. This would be followed with a shamanic healing session and would finish with a brief look at what went on for her during the healing session and would also be a time for any goal setting. I suggested an initial four sessions with a view to ongoing sessions if required.
Session: 1 – Duration: 2 Hours
This session we talked mainly about L.’s husband K., their relationship and what she missed the most about him. This session was very much patient led and L. was given the time and space to share what she needed to share. It was a very tearful session as much grief came up.
During the shamanic healing aspect of the session we worked mainly on her heart chakra, we worked on removing the energy of grief via way of extraction, we also used colors and imagery to remove emotional pain and grief and also to fill the void with love and light.
L.’s reluctance and resistance to let go of her husband K. was very apparent. Halfway through the session she said she could feel him in the room. After explaining to L. about the need to let go of loved ones so that they can move on with their own spirit journey, we invited husband K. to stand at the left side of L. L. felt she had not been given the opportunity to say goodbye properly as K. died so quickly.
I asked L. if she was ready to say goodbye and to let her husband K. go. She said she was.
Through many tears and deep sobs I encouraged L. to speak out to husband K. anything that she needed to say to him, any forgiveness, any words of love, anything at all that she felt she needed to say before he went.
L. took about five minutes to say her goodbyes. It was an extremely painful time for her which was accompanied by an enormous amount of grief and despair. L. was encouraged to listen and share (if she wanted to) any dialogue from husband K. When the time felt right, I asked L. if she had finished, and whether she was ready to let go. L. was ready. I said a few words to K., thanking him for his presence and his help before telling him that he needed to go to the light.
L. watched in her own mind’s eye and saw and sensed K. becoming fainter and fainter, but before he had completely gone, L. reported feeling something pulling on her. She described the feeling as being like a cord connecting the two of them together. I encouraged and directed L. on how to severe the cord. Sometimes I severe the cord myself, but on this occasion I felt it was important for L.’s healing that she severed it herself. She cut the umbilical type cord that kept them connected and watched K. disappear.
The remainder of the session was focused on ‘cleaning up,’ it was about re-filling the void, the emptiness that L. was feeling inside. It was about bringing healing and light to an area that had been occupied for many years; it was about cleansing her luminous energy field or aura and rebalancing her heart chakra. I used much imagery, colors and sensations such as warmth to rebalance her emotions.
When the time felt right, I encouraged L. to slowly sit up. The end of the session was focused on ensuring that L. was fully present and safe before leaving, and also about ensuring that she had some understanding of what happened.
L. reported feeling ‘different’. She was shocked at all that had happened and was unsure whether her dialogue with her late husband was real or imaginary, which doesn’t really matter. What matters is that L. couldn’t believe how much better she felt, how much lighter, and as if a huge burden had been lifted off her shoulders. L. reported that she felt a little sore where the cord had been attached but felt free. For the first time in a year, L. found herself smiling and had a twinkle now and again in her eye.
I told L. that over the next few days, she may feel surges of emotion come up and that she needed to let it out. She was instructed on the importance of self-care and the necessity of food and rest in order to help her through the healing. L. was told that she could phone me at any time should she feel she needed too. Another session was booked for the following week and the session was closed.
Session: 2 – Duration: 1 ½ Hours
L. was looking much lighter in appearance, the heavy look of grief and loss was not so deeply etched into her face. L. reported that she went home after the last session and slept for fourteen hours. Over the last week, L. reports that she had only two moments of intense tears and that each time she was able to let them out freely. L. reports being able to get through the day much more easily and has found it easier to get up and do what needs to be done. L. reports being able to spend time reminiscing over the past, at some of their good times. She still misses him but has been able to see what a difference the first session made.
The shamanic healing aspect of the session focused more on L.’s solar plexus, sacral and root chakras. L. was holding onto lots of fears around survival and being able to manage on her own. The loss of her husband K. also brought up old memories and fears to do with when her dad died many years ago; L. was only seven and although she was sheltered to some degree of the issues which that brought up for her mum, L. was well aware of the impact it had on her as a little girl. L. was able to let go of many fears around seeing her mum crying, knowing dad had died and mum didn’t work. Many things came up for L. this session, things that she was not aware existed for her, yet with guidance and support she was able to face and deal with it all. Many of the things simply needed acknowledging, comprehending and releasing. The biggest thing this session was feeling once again ‘let down’ because the closest male to her had ‘gone and left her’.
Much of this session was about understanding how things connect, why we feel certain ways sometimes and being able to release such things. It was a very successful session and although it brought up past hurts and pains, L. was able to release more grief and loss. As she let go of the grief and loss that she had held onto so deeply within her, she was able to open herself up to the idea that she could support herself.
The session was once again ended with a reminder that she could phone me anytime if she needed to.
Session: 3 – Duration 1 ½ Hours
L. was coming on in leaps and bounds. She was eating properly, sleeping much better and feeling generally more able to cope with the loss. L. reports feeling much lighter, and feels more able to think clearly about what she would like to do with her life. L. was also able to think about what work she would like to consider doing. One of the big changes L. was able to report was that she actually managed to go out to meet a friend for coffee. Over the last year, she has let friends come around but had never taken any of them up on their offer for L. to go out with them. Now she is starting to feel that she is able to meet people again. L. reports that she still gets very lonely. She misses K. enormously and cannot imagine ever re-marrying. L. has been making enquiries about a couple of part-time jobs as she feels it is time to start to move on and feels that despite her missing K., she is now ready to start the rest of her life.
The shamanic healing session was very different this week. Although we did some basic rebalancing, cleaning up and refilling with love and light energy, the main focus was for L. to see how she truly felt about a couple of jobs she had enquired about. Through the use of shamanic counseling and/or journeying and visualization, L. was able to see and feel what path she needed to take. She was able to meet a Spiritual Guide who gave her lots of encouraging words. This session was more of a confirmation for her really but it did help her immensely. The session was ended and an appointment made for the following week.
Session: 4 – Duration: 1 Hour
This was the last session. L. was aware that she could come back whenever she wanted to and she was also aware that I offer on-going e-mail support for my patients/clients. We both felt that L. would benefit from a break from shamanic healing as it would give her time to consolidate everything and permit her the time and space she needed to deal with this next leg of her journey.
The shamanic healing aspect was focused on ensuring that she was balanced and not hanging onto unnecessary baggage. It was more of a final clean up and grounding session and I ensured that L. felt confident in grounding herself should she start to ‘have an emotional wobble’.
L. could not thank me enough. I reminded her that it was alright for her to phone me if she needed to and to at least keep in touch via e-mail to keep me updated on her progress.
It was quite an emotional ending for L., as she recognized the difference the sessions had made, and although she knew she needed time to do things on her own, she also recognized the loss she was once again feeling about our parting.
I didn’t hear from L. for about three months, despite e-mailing her one month after her last session. L. had been too busy and forgotten to reply to my mail. She was working in the job she had enquired about and was considering going full time. She had made new friends and was able to go out more often with her old friends. Her eating and sleeping habits had settled down and she had bought herself a dog as a companion. L. reported that there are many sad times, usually at night when she is alone, but she is able to cope with them better. They no longer leave her feeling full of despair. Her dog Monty has been a great comfort and great therapy for her as she also has to go out to walk him.
L. is a lovely example of how shamanic healing, when coupled with psychological therapies, can have an amazing result in such a short time. I think it is important here to remember that L. had tried some healing prior to coming to see me and had not found it that helpful. As always, I think it is important to remember that as multi-faceted beings we have to bring healing on more than one level. By using the two different methods, I was able to bring healing on all levels.
We are The Quantum Warrior, The Master Architect of our life – Braveheart
