A Psychiatrist’s Journey from Medicine to Shamanic Healing – An Interview with Kerri Husman

What if the very experiences you once dismissed as imagination were actually doorways into healing?

For Kerri Husman, the path from subscribing to Psychology Today in seventh grade to becoming both a psychiatrist and a core shamanic practitioner has been anything but ordinary. Shaped by family struggles with mental illness, her medical training revealed the limits of prescriptions alone—while her spiritual lineage and unexpected encounters with helping spirits opened a wider lens of healing that bridges science and soul.

In this conversation, Kerri shares how childhood dreams of becoming a healer evolved into a career in psychiatry, what first drew her into the world of shamanic practice, and how she now uses both traditions to guide people through trauma, spiritual emergence, and even the unseen burdens of the land we live on. With compassion, clarity, and a rare blend of medical expertise and spiritual depth, she invites us to explore what it means to reclaim wholeness.

Continue reading or listen in by subscribing for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or YouTube to discover how Dr. Kerri Husman’s story can expand your understanding of healing and awaken you to new possibilities.

One of the things I don’t read very often in people’s bios is that they wanted to be a shaman at a very young age. That is amazing that you had this sense, this knowing. How did that come up for you? How did you express it, and how did your family handle that desire?

Kerri Husman: It really started with learning about my heritage. I had always known about my German roots and a little bit about Welsh ancestry, but I thought that was it. This was long before 23andMe or other tools to explore family history. Then I discovered a grandmother named Winona Chamberlain from several generations back. We have the genealogy traced all the way to the late 1700s.

When I learned about her, I started checking out library books every two weeks. I was especially drawn to the Iroquois because that’s all I knew at the time. The stories and images were so compelling that they affected me deeply. I even began to dream about the scenes I was reading. Though this connection was just a small part of my ancestry, it felt powerful and alive.

Some of the books I found described how they approached medical work, and I felt an immediate pull: I think I want to do this. I think I want to be this kind of healer. But when I told my mom, she looked at me and said, “Kerri, you can’t do that. You don’t belong to a tribe.” It was her way of saying, Wake up, kid.

How old were you at that time?

Kerri Husman: I think I was about eight. By seventh grade, I was already subscribing to Psychology Today. I was fascinated by the mind and drawn to helping people—especially when it came to brains. That interest probably had roots in my family history.

Since my mom had said no to the idea of becoming a shaman, I thought, Well, then maybe I’ll become a minister for kids. That path fit better with the Missouri Synod Lutheran upbringing I had. By middle school, I was helping younger students in Sunday school, and I loved it. The parables we shared with kids were full of compassion and love—so different from the sermons upstairs. I resonated with those messages on a much deeper level.

At this stage in your life, you’ve somehow navigated the winding road of becoming both a medical doctor—a psychiatrist—and a core shamanic practitioner. How did you find your way to experience both of these paths? Take us on the journey from a seventh-grade Psychology Today subscriber to Dr. Husman today.

Kerri Husman: I can give you the short version. As I went through school, I became more and more interested in brain health. I had a cousin with schizophrenia and an uncle who died by suicide when I was 15. Being so close to those struggles made me determined to find better ways to help.

In college, I majored in psychobiology and loved it. People kept telling me, “Don’t become an MD—you’ll just write prescriptions all day.” I took that to heart, but I still wanted to be a doctor. For a while, I thought I’d go into OB-GYN since, honestly, it felt half like psychiatry anyway. But being left-handed made surgical knots a real challenge!

Then I rotated into psychiatry, right after OB-GYN, and within two days I knew: This is it. Listening to patient stories and the way they were treated lit something up inside me. I changed my entire curriculum and never looked back. Later, I did a fellowship in child psychiatry too, because working with kids felt especially meaningful. Addressing trauma early—at ages three, five, or ten—can change the whole course of a life. There’s nothing more rewarding.

And how did Healing Touch and Core Shamanism come into the picture?

Kerri Husman: Well, as much as I resisted the idea of “just writing scripts,” I did end up writing a lot of them. At the same time, I started learning functional medicine—partly because of my own health struggles, and partly because I saw so many patients dealing with complex conditions. Functional medicine takes a wider lens: diet, lifestyle, sleep, stress management, and targeted supplementation. It can reduce inflammation and improve quality of life in ways medication alone often doesn’t.

Around that time, two people very close to me—my stepmother and father-in-law—were dying of cancer. Functional medicine helped extend their quality of life, but I could see its limits. Something in me kept asking: There must be more I can do.

That’s when Healing Touch found me. I had a reactivation of mono, and a friend connected me with two women, Laura and Maggie. The first time I spoke to Laura, she said, “I’ve been expecting your call.” She guided me over the phone to touch certain marma points and notice when the energy shifted. I hadn’t been able to breathe normally for three weeks, and suddenly my breathing cleared. It was the first real relief I’d felt—and I knew instantly: I have to learn this.

The next day, I visited her in person, and she and Maggie began teaching me. They were both highly trained instructors in Healing Touch, with decades of experience across multiple modalities. Each time I saw them, they introduced me to something new. I knew our time together would be brief—both passed away not long after—but even now, I feel their support from the other side.

Eventually, I confided in them that I’d secretly dreamed for years about shamanic work. They were hesitant because they’d seen people misuse it or work unsafely with middle-world spirits. They were worried about me. But the call within me was clear, and it wouldn’t go away.

For those who don’t know, what is core shamanism? What does that mean? People have heard the word “shaman,” but what does core shamanism actually mean?

Kerri Husman: Core shamanism refers to universal techniques that have existed across time and cultures. If you look back from cave drawings up to the present day, you find near-universal practices on every continent where people have lived. These are the techniques that anthropologist Michael Harner studied for decades—with permission and consent—and distilled in a way that avoids appropriating from any specific tribe.

The idea is that we all carry these practices in our DNA. They precede every modern religion or faith tradition, so when you work with them, you’re tapping into something ancient and collective rather than borrowing from one particular culture.

So, Laura and Maggie were nervous about you learning this because you might be engaging with spirits that could be harmful?

Kerri Husman: Yes, exactly. In core shamanism, you’re taught primarily to work with fully evolved, compassionate helping spirits—beings that dwell in what we call the upper and lower worlds, or others might call the celestial and paradise realms. These spirits are loving and supportive.

The middle world, however, is more complicated. It’s the realm we live in, filled with suffering beings, semi-compassionate spirits, and those who protect their land or lineage. Sometimes they may help you, but the lines are gray, and if you cross them without knowing, it can be dangerous. Laura and Maggie were worried because they didn’t know what kind of ethical training I would receive or which spirits I’d be working with. Their concern was valid.

I paused for a bit, considered their caution, and still chose to move forward.

Now, some people might be a bit concerned and say, “Dr. Husman has gone from Missouri Synod youth group to psychiatry to putting hands on people, talking about healing energy, and engaging with spirits.” How did you make that transition, and how did you navigate all the transitions in your own mind?

Kerri Husman: It hasn’t been a smooth road. Not everyone understood at first. My mom, for example, was shocked. She worried it was black magic—even though she didn’t really know what black magic meant. She asked, “How do you know this is aligned with God?”

That gave me a chance to explain my own journey. For twenty years, I had been happily an atheist, having stepped away from Missouri Synod theology. The way I was raised, you had to constantly ask forgiveness, and if you died with one unconfessed sin, you were headed straight to hell. Leaving that belief system was actually a relief.

So why would an atheist—or maybe more accurately, an agnostic—pursue core shamanism? Curiosity. And then, during my very first training, everything shifted.

In my initial journey to the upper world, I was told I would meet a teacher at the second level, who appeared as Jesus and Mother Mary. Out loud, I might have even blurted, “Oh, shit,” because it was so unexpected. They were real, they were present, and they immediately offered me a healing.

That experience changed everything. There was no judgment, no demand for confession—just pure love, compassion, and support. It was beautiful, moving, and undeniable. When I shared that with my mom, she became much more open to the work.

If someone comes to you with a challenge in their life—whether it’s mental, emotional, or spiritual—how do you determine which form of care to offer? Is it Dr. Kerri the psychiatrist, or Kerri the shamanic practitioner? How do you navigate that with someone standing in front of you?

Kerri Husman: Usually, we start with a phone consultation where I listen to their story and needs. Most people come to me because they’re stuck—something in their life isn’t moving. From there, we figure out what kind of support is best.

For example, if they already have a psychiatrist they’re happy with, they don’t need me in that role. Or maybe they’ve been referred by someone in Healing Touch who knows I understand that work and how it could help with anxiety. In those cases, the path is clearer.

Sometimes it’s less clear. People may be looking for very specific coaching—like wanting to feel comfortable in their physical body again. If that’s a coaching goal, we’ll approach it that way. But if they want to feel comfortable because they have complex PTSD, then it falls under psychiatry.

I also find that many people experiencing a spiritual emergence or even a spiritual emergency will seek me out in my coaching and wellness capacity. They’re often terrified of being labeled, medicated, or caught in the psychiatric system. What they really want is grounding, clarity, and support so they can move through their emergence successfully.

Yes, I can relate to that fear. Back in 2008, when my life was melting down, I was a pastor and had just resigned. I’d made some poor choices and found myself curled on the kitchen floor, sobbing uncontrollably one moment and fine the next. My therapist suggested I go to the hospital, and my immediate thought was, If I go in, they’ll keep me. I’ll never get out. It felt like a black hole. Eventually, I chose to check myself in—and that decision ended up being incredibly helpful.

Kerri Husman: Exactly. That autonomy—being respected throughout the process—is critical. It can be difficult, especially if someone is acutely psychotic. The challenge is discerning how much of what’s happening is a true spiritual emergence and how much needs to be dialed down for safety so the person can move through it.

When you use the word “emergence,” what does that mean to you?

Kerri Husman: A spiritual emergence can take many forms. Sometimes it comes on spontaneously through vivid dreams or intense déjà vu. Other times it’s triggered by a psychedelic medicine, a shamanic journey without substances, or even as a side effect of a medication.

It can also happen through a kundalini awakening or a sudden psychic opening, when new senses appear and the person feels like they’re losing their mind. Imagine driving down the road and suddenly every chunk of tire on the highway holds the spirits of the animals from the tar pits that created the oil for that tire—prehistoric rhinoceroses, horses, all waiting to be psychopomped. That’s the kind of jarring experience some people have.

In those moments, people wonder, Is this going to keep happening? How will I navigate it? What’s real and what’s not? These experiences can be disorienting, but they can also be incredibly valuable. I’ve had my share of them. Thankfully, they’ve all worked out—and because of that, I can now help others move through theirs. Some I figured out with the support of mentors and colleagues; others I had to navigate alone when I was young, without guidance.

And some of those experiences came before you began your training in core shamanism?

Kerri Husman: Yes, some before and some after.

Would you mind walking us through an experience that might really resonate with people—something that makes them say, “Wow, I’ve had that happen,” or, “I didn’t even know that was possible”?

Kerri Husman: A simple example happened a few years ago. I was driving home from town with my husband in the passenger seat. We live in the country, and along the highway, I saw a man walking on the side of the road. He had shoes on, I could see the Hanes label on his underwear because his pants had no belt, and he was drifting into traffic. I thought, What is this guy doing? It startled me.

But then my husband said, “Kerri, there wasn’t anyone there.” He had seen nothing. We had just driven past a cemetery. Thankfully, he’s familiar with these kinds of experiences. Sometimes spirits even wake him in the night, needing psychopomp work, and he helps them in a simple layperson’s way. So he understood what was happening.

I haven’t heard the word “psychopomp” before. What does that mean?

Kerri Husman: Psychopomp literally means “conductor of souls.” It’s the act of assisting a suffering being—a middle-world spirit who, for whatever reason, hasn’t moved on. Often these are people who died suddenly: in a car crash, drowning, a house fire, or a heart attack. They may not realize they’ve died, or they may be stuck in old patterns—like in the movie The Sixth Sense.

In psychopomp work, you call on your helping spirits to guide that soul into the next stage of their spiritual progression, usually to the upper or lower world—compassionate realms of healing. There’s even a simple method anyone can use. You might ask the spirit if they’re happy or hungry. If they’re not happy, you can ask if they’d like help. Encourage them to call on their ancestors. If that doesn’t work, you can ask your own ancestors to help, with the spirit’s consent. It’s gentle, respectful, and rooted in love.

And what would the core shamanism method look like?

Kerri Husman: That’s more advanced training. Before learning psychopomp formally, students need to develop a strong foundation in connecting with compassionate helping spirits. It’s not something you do alone—it’s always done with their guidance.

My mom’s lay method would be, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” Very different approach.

Kerri Husman: Exactly. And not every suffering being is a demon. Most are simply souls in pain who need compassionate guidance to move on. Even if they’ve caused harm, they are suffering beings who deserve love and support in progressing to the next level. It’s a very different way of seeing things.

Walk me through the broader ways a core shamanic practitioner might help. You’ve mentioned psychopomp as one example—what else?

Kerri Husman: First, I make it clear this isn’t medical care or a substitute for it. If someone needs medical treatment, I’ll refer them appropriately. But when someone seeks spiritual healing—healing of the soul—then shamanic work may help.

Sometimes people know they’ve experienced soul loss after trauma. They may feel disempowered or drained of energy. In those cases, I ask my helping spirits what is needed in the moment. A person might think they need a soul retrieval, and that may be true, but often there are other steps first.

One common technique is extraction—removing intrusive thought-forms or energies. Many of these are self-directed: the anger we aim at ourselves when we miss a deadline, the frustration when someone cuts us off in traffic, the shame of not being “enough.” Extraction clears those patterns.

Another is soul retrieval, which restores power by bringing back parts of the soul that have become distanced during trauma. In core shamanism, those soul portions aren’t gone—they’ve simply stepped away for safety. They’re not suffering in stasis; they’re waiting until it’s safe to return. The work helps reunite them with the person’s living spirit here and now.

It sounded like you were differentiating between soul and spirit. Is that right?

Kerri Husman: That’s a great question. They’re really the same thing—interchangeable terms. Some people say “soul” when referring to spirit in a living body, and “spirit” when referring to one that’s no longer embodied. But essentially, they mean the same thing.

I want to go deeper into soul retrieval. From what you said, it’s not that the soul completely leaves the body—it’s more that a portion distances itself to avoid further trauma. Is that right?

Kerri Husman:  Let’s say you’re in a car crash, break bones, and are in terrible pain. In that moment, part of your soul might step away so you don’t fully experience the trauma. Maybe you even lose consciousness for a while, which could actually be protective. That part of the soul leaves to help you survive.

But later, when you’re physically healed and no longer in danger, it may be time for that soul portion to return. For it to come back, you need to be ready and empowered to receive it. Soul retrieval is a multi-step process: restoring that soul portion, reintegrating it, and then empowering the whole soul again. I often say it’s like an Oreo cookie—you need the empowerment on either side of the filling for the whole thing to hold together.

How does that relate to dissociation? Is there any connection between the two?

Kerri Husman: From a psychiatric perspective, dissociative identity disorder (or multiple personalities) can show up in different ways. One rare type is the “possessive” form, where people feel they’re being inundated by spirits—tormented or even possessed.

From a shamanic lens, it’s possible that some of those “intrusions” are actually their own lost soul parts. In those cases, healing may require a combination of psychiatry, therapy, and shamanic work to help weave the person back together. It usually stems from significant early trauma, though, of course, every case is unique.

You’ve also mentioned “helping spirits.” From what I’ve read, those could be angels, animals, ancestors, plants—many different forms. How have you personally built those relationships, and how do they work through you?

Kerri Husman: Honestly, I don’t know if I can answer it fully because it’s such a vast process. The Foundation for Shamanic Studies teaches that you first build a foundation, then build capacity. Healing work requires the ability to hold and pass power. For example, extraction requires a certain level of power, soul retrieval requires more, and de-possession requires even more.

Developing relationships with helping spirits is essential. Sometimes that means inviting them into the middle world where the healing work happens. It could be the tree outside your window that you’ve connected with deeply for years. It could be celestial beings—angels, archangels, ascended masters.

And sometimes, people encounter deities they’ve never even heard of. Someone might say, “This woman with six blue arms came to help me—I don’t know who she is.” Encounters like that are common and valid. These beings show up to support, empower, and guide the work. It can be a real mix, and there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s quite fascinating.

Do you personally have certain individuals you work with—specific ancestors or spirits—or is it more of a general sense of “ancestors” as a group?

Kerri Husman: I have multiple helping spirits. In the lower world, they’re often animals that assist me with different kinds of work. Depending on the type of divination or healing—whether it’s soul retrieval, extraction, passing power, or depossession—I call on different helpers.

In the upper world, I have teachers. Some are distant ancestors, others closer. And then, of course, there are Jesus and Mother Mary, who feel like the pinnacle of teachers for me. But I also have other teachers I turn to for wisdom, healing, and guidance. I go to them for my own healing, for insight, and sometimes for support in helping clients.

And when you say you “go there,” what does that mean? How do you go to these realms?

Kerri Husman: The foundational practice is journeying, which in core shamanism is done through sonic driving—not substances. Sonic driving uses repetitive sound to shift brainwaves into the theta state, which helps set aside the conscious mind so you can enter those realms more easily.

That sound might come from a drum, rattle, didgeridoo, or even chanting. Drumming is most common. The rhythm helps create a trance-like state that opens the doorway to connect with helping spirits.

I’ve had a taste of that myself. I haven’t done core shamanic training, but through mediumship and channeling work, I’ve experienced something similar. My teacher emphasized that these beings come primarily to express unconditional love—not just to deliver big messages to the world. Over time, I’ve connected with four entities I visit regularly. One is Jesus, who showed up unexpectedly and transformed me. Later, Mother Teresa appeared as well, even though I had no prior connection with her. It’s fascinating how these relationships form.

Kerri Husman: That’s beautiful. One thing I share when teaching is that outer space is still considered part of the middle world—unless you’ve passed a boundary into the upper or lower worlds. So when people are channeling, they may be connecting with middle-world beings, possibly from another planet or dimension. That’s why discernment is so important.

Now, when Jesus or Mother Teresa show up, there’s little doubt—they embody compassion. But not every being does. That’s why ethical guidelines in shamanic practice matter so much. They act as rails to keep us safe and ensure we’re actually where we think we are.

Practicing journeying regularly helps build that discernment and capacity, which is essential for safely doing this work.

One of the foundational questions I wrestle with—and I think many people do—is this: when I’m journeying, are these entities just aspects of my brain? Am I simply making up that Jesus or Mother Teresa are showing up, even if the experience feels real and beneficial? I’d like to ask this not to the shamanic practitioner, but to Dr. Kerri Husman, the psychiatrist. What’s happening in the brain?

Kerri Husman: That’s a wonderful question, and I’ll give you two perspectives. From a scientific standpoint, when you shift into an altered state of consciousness—moving into theta brain waves—you’re more likely to become aware of “the other,” meaning something that feels separate from yourself.

For example, when people are here in my office receiving ketamine treatment, the sessions are video recorded. Many times, patients report, “It felt like my grandmother was standing right beside me,” even though no one was physically there. Expanded states of consciousness heighten the likelihood of perceiving the presence of others.

The second perspective comes from Carl Jung and Michael Harner. Jung wrote extensively about archetypes, which gave rise to concepts like shadow work. Michael Harner, who founded the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, once asked Jung why he chose the word “archetypes.” Michael believed the spirits were real, and he wondered why Jung had chosen that terminology. Jung admitted that archetypes were simply easier for people to understand and accept, but if he had to do it again, he would have used the word spirits.

That’s profound. And it reminds us: the work is never about accepting everything blindly. We’re meant to keep questioning, keep journeying, and keep seeking deeper understanding.

You mentioned ketamine. From my understanding, core shamanism is substance-free. Yet you also work with psychedelics in psychiatry. How do you integrate those two?

Kerri Husman: They serve different purposes. Core shamanism is indeed substance-free—journeying is done through sound, not medicine. But as a psychiatrist, I see people with severe, treatment-resistant conditions: depression, OCD, PTSD, anorexia, and alcoholism. These are individuals who’ve tried everything—hospitalizations, 20 different medications, ECT, TMS—and are still barely functioning.

For them, psychedelic-assisted therapy can be life-changing. I’ve seen patients who had no quality of life finally regain it after ketamine treatment. That opens a door: when their mental health stabilizes, they may finally have the capacity to explore their spiritual practice more fully. So from my perspective, psychedelics absolutely have a place as medicine.

That sounds more therapeutic. What about psychedelics as a tool for spiritual expansion or shamanic experiences?

Kerri Husman: For some people, they can be incredibly valuable. But what I often see in my coaching practice is people who’ve gone abroad for a handful of ayahuasca ceremonies in just a few days, then returned to their demanding jobs without time to integrate. They come back flooded with spiritual openings, ancestral patterns, or unresolved trauma, and they don’t know how to navigate it.

In those cases, my role is often to help ground them. We may use Healing Touch techniques, shamanic practices, or coaching to support integration. When it’s done thoughtfully, psychedelic work can be beautiful and transformative. But without adequate preparation and integration, people can feel destabilized and stuck.

We’ve talked a lot about individuals going through spiritual emergence—depression, anxiety, stuckness. But what about the physical spaces we live in? Homes, land, environments. What role can a core shamanic practitioner play in clearing or enhancing a space, and what challenges do people usually bring you?

Kerri Husman: That’s a great question. One of the first things I look at is what has happened on that land before. This can go back eons, and often the current residents don’t know the history. People usually come saying, “Spirits are bothering us in the house. Can you get rid of them?”

Sometimes I do this work remotely. A person might draw a floor plan—even a rough sketch showing rooms, doors, and furniture. Other times, I go in person. What often comes up are things like portals that need closing, and usually large numbers of spirits that need assistance moving on.

Why would large numbers of spirits gather in one place?

Kerri Husman: There could have been a massacre or a tragic event on that land long ago. Sometimes the current occupants themselves are vulnerable—certain medications, for example, can make someone more open to spiritual intrusion. In those cases, I work alongside their medical team while also doing psychopomp work, which may involve helping hundreds of spirits move on.

Out of everything you do, what lights you up the most? What’s your favorite part?

Kerri Husman: That’s almost unfair to ask—I love so much of it! On one hand, there are the miraculous physical healings. When my helping spirits assist in shrinking tumors, or when a man over 60 who broke his arm is skiing again just four weeks later, it’s humbling. I’m simply the middle person asking for the healing to flow, and it’s breathtaking to witness.

On the other hand, watching people with chronic mental health conditions finally get better is equally powerful. I’ve walked with many through years of struggle, so to see them reclaim their lives, travel, reconnect with family—that’s incredibly moving.

I’ve noticed that some practitioners become so passionate about their modality—whether it’s Reiki, breathwork, or shamanism—that they risk losing sight of the person in front of them. How do you navigate that balance between loving the modality and loving the individual?

Kerri Husman: For me, it’s always about what will serve the person best—what will give them the most mileage. Over time, I’ve noticed interesting things. For example, if I do a Healing Touch session just before a Core Shamanism session, the energetic field work seems to “hold” longer. It strengthens the foundation so the spirit work has a more lasting impact.

That said, shamanic work can unfold slowly. A divination may reveal something that doesn’t make sense at the time, but two years later, almost to the day, the meaning becomes crystal clear. It’s about timing and readiness.

Ultimately, I don’t align myself with the modality—I align myself with the person. My role is to bring the right tool at the right moment. Sometimes that means using structured therapies for conditions like functional neurological disorder. Sometimes it means blending approaches, always with the client’s autonomy at the center. The goal isn’t to showcase the modality—it’s to empower the human being sitting with me.

For those who are interested in core shamanic training, you’re not only a practitioner but also a teacher with the Foundation. If someone feels drawn to this path, what would be their next step?

Kerri Husman: I regularly post training dates on my website, and the Foundation for Shamanic Studies also lists workshops on its site. You’ll find both in-person and virtual options there. Depending on where you live, you might be able to drive—here in Iowa, for example, that works for some. But often people fly because there are so few instructors.

Some courses are sequential, especially the healing series—you need certain prerequisites before moving on. Others are knowledge-based and can be taken anytime after completing the Basic workshop or its online equivalent. Each class clearly lists its requirements, so people know where to start.

You also have a podcast called A Journey A Day. I found it really interesting, especially the agreements you ask people to make before participating. What is A Journey A Day all about?

Kerri Husman: A Journey A Day isn’t designed to teach people how to journey—that’s what the Foundation’s workshops are for. Instead, it supports people who already know how. One challenge I’ve noticed is that students take an initial workshop, get excited, and then return to their busy lives without practicing. Soon, they feel rusty and disconnected.

So A Journey A Day offers a daily prompt—questions given directly from the helping spirits—that guide a short, 10-minute journey. Some are meant to be repeated; others are specific to the upper, lower, or middle world. To access it, people agree to a simple disclaimer: they’re properly trained, won’t journey while driving or operating machinery, and understand this isn’t coursework content. The goal is to help people keep building their relationships with helping spirits and to stay engaged in their practice.

For those listening today who may be experiencing a spiritual emergence—or perhaps psychological challenges—what’s the best way for them to work with you? Do you see people individually, or do you also offer group sessions?

Kerri Husman: Both. In my psychiatric practice, I offer group breathwork sessions using Neurodynamic Breathwork. I also facilitate small-group ketamine treatments, which makes the therapy more affordable and adds a supportive community element. It’s powerful for people who’ve struggled with significant mental health issues to go through the process together.

For anyone who wants to work with me, the best place to start is eastwindhealingcenter.com. That site links to both of my practices, with full bios and details for one-on-one sessions, group work, and how to get started.

If someone is in the midst of a spiritual emergence—maybe their clairs are opening, or they’re experiencing spirits and feeling overwhelmed—what encouragement would you give them today?

Kerri Husman: I would ask, Who’s your team? Each person needs anchors in their life. That might be a faith leader, a parent, partner, child, sibling, or close friend—someone who can help keep you grounded.

If the people around you are saying things that terrify you or don’t align with your path, then it’s essential to find different support. Thankfully, there are organizations with directories of practitioners who specialize in spiritual emergence and spiritual emergency. For example, the Integrative Mental Health University has a worldwide list of spiritual emergence coaches. There are several other international resources as well.

And of course, people are welcome to reach out to me. I have connections and may be able to point them toward helpful practitioners in their region. The important thing is to know you’re not alone—you can find grounding, guidance, and support as you move through the process.

Thank you so much for sharing your story, your wisdom, and your compassionate guidance. You’ve given us such a generous, clear picture of how psychiatry and shamanic practice can come together to support healing. It’s been an honor to spend this time with you.

Kerri Husman: Thank you, David. It’s been such a pleasure.