HARNER SHAMANIC COUNSELLING

Shamanic Counselling is an experiential approach to counselling, guided by interaction with helping transcendent spirits.

Based on the principles of classical shamanism, Harner Shamanic Counselling (HSC) was originated in the early 1980’s by Michael Harner (author of The Way Of The Shaman, and founder of the Foundation of Shamanic Studies). It is a spiritual method of empowerment, not a treatment.

In essence, the clients become practitioners of divinatory shamanism for themselves, with the help and guidance of the trained shamanic counsellor.

How does Shamanic Counselling Work?

Harner Shamanic Counselling (HSC) is a unique method of personal problem-solving and empowerment, based upon inducing a state of altered consciousness using a sonic-driving drumbeat. This enables clients to access and utilize ancient shamanic practices for self-healing and growth.

One of the features of Harner Shamanic Counselling (HSC) is that the real ‘shamanic counsellors’ are in non-ordinary reality. These are transcendent helping spirits that the clients encounter in their shamanic journeys, who provide answers to the client’s questions.

The ‘ordinary reality’ HSC counsellors, in contrast, are more like a ‘technical help desk’, providing instruction, support, orientation, and methodological advice based upon the principles of Michael Harner’s core shamanism and shamanic journeying.

HSC uses a sonic-driving drumbeat to alter the state of consciousness of the client in order to go “outside of time” and utilise ancient shamanic problem-solving methods.

The client is trained in the method of simultaneous narration and recording of their shamanic journey which amplifies the quality of their experience and provides a record of their journeys.

During their experiences in the shamanic journey, clients have the opportunity to discover their own ability to obtain extraordinary, practical and wise answers to important personal questions, overcome fears, acquire self-confidence and access incredible wisdom.

The client commonly experiences a sense of personal empowerment and a new-found joy in life, based on a total of 5-8 journeys.

Shamanic Counselling: A client perspective

Working with Frances has been one of the most transformative experiences of my life. As a shamanic practitioner, she guided me through powerful journeys that deeply impacted not only my spiritual path but also my relationship with my physical body — in ways no other practice ever has.

I’ve explored many modalities over the years, but nothing has been as effective when it comes to transforming my relationship with the body. Frances helped me reconnect with myself on a deeply physical level. Her presence, her care, her patience and compassion — and above all, her genuine heartfelt involvement — created a safe and warm atmosphere in which deep healing naturally unfolded. For the first time in decades, after years of neglecting and even rejecting my body, I began to truly listen to it, and more importantly, to live in alignment with it.

As a result of our work together, I went through a powerful physical cleanse, completed an extended fast, gave up sugar, reduced gluten to a minimum, and stepped into a genuinely healthy lifestyle. All of this happened not through pressure or obligation, but through the deep reconnection that Frances facilitated between my physical and spiritual dimensions — a bridge I had long been searching for.

What makes Frances’ work so special is that this is not just a job for her. It’s clear that this practice is a living, breathing part of her life. She truly lives what she shares. This is not a profession in the conventional sense — it is a calling, a passion, a deep commitment to the path she walks and the sacred work she offers. And because she is so fully immersed in this path, she has the ability to lead others into equally deep spaces. You don’t just receive knowledge from her — you are invited into a lived experience.

Frances also offered tools and guidance that opened up an entirely new realm for me — a subtle, beautiful world of connection with the spirits of nature and the Earth. Through her, I was able to deepen a journey I had long been on — the path of harmony with the world — and make it even more grounded, embodied, and real.

But perhaps most importantly, Frances did not treat me as a client or student. She met me with the warmth and sincerity of a true friend. That’s something you can’t fake — and it’s something everyone who steps into her field will feel.

I wholeheartedly recommend working with Frances to anyone who feels the call. Her depth, her professionalism, and the loving field she creates make her work not only powerful but truly life-changing.

Sankarshan Dass
Coordinator, 360 Arts Chiang Mai

FIND OUT MORE

Contact Frances to make an enquiry or book a session.

 

FRANCES CARRINGTON

Craniosacral Therapist

frances.craniosacral@gmail.com

Hands On Healing

Soul Sanctuary
 
Reg. 0505568016289
 

Chiang Mai, Thailand