The HSC training I received has been invaluable both for myself and my clients. I appreciated April's openness to questions, and the direct and no nonesense manner in which she presented the techniques. While I have not been called upon to offer this service as of yet, I feel it has made me more sensitive to the concerns of my clients, and better capable of addressing them.
–Ben Jezirski

The HSC work is among the most powerful I have encountered, not only for myself at the training, but in use with clients afterwards. With regard to the training itself, I really loved it. April is a very focused teacher and that discipline translated into a very practical, useful training. I came away, not only with insights and new practices for myself, but a method I can use to help clients develop their own disciplined work and connection to helping spirits.
–Susan Rossi

In essence, the clients become practitioners of divinatory shamanism for themselves, with the help and guidance in ordinary reality of the shamanic counselor. One of the features of HSC is that the real shamanic counselors are in nonordinary reality. These are wise teachers that the clients encounter in their shamanic journeys and who provide answers to the clients’ questions. The ordinary reality HSC counselors, in contrast, provide instruction, orientation, and methodological advice based upon core shamanism and shamanic journeying.

All five days of this course are devoted to experiential practice in question framing, journeying, and shamanic interpretation in an intimate setting. The work is intense and exciting. As one participant observed, "The deepest journey I ever had occurred in this course."

Since HSC is a spiritual rather than a psychological system, it is not necessary for an HSC counselor to be a professional psychotherapist or other counselor. What does seem to be essential is that the counselor be well-versed in the concepts and practices of shamanism, and be a stable individual of sensitivity, intelligence, character, and compassion.

To read one student's personal experience of the workshop, click here.

"April's teaching style was a model of composure, empathy, and clarity. The focus on how to do this ethically and keep to the integrity of the process was brilliantly combined with spiritual, personal discovery leavened with humor and joy." —Jon Anastasio

Prerequisite: the FSS Basic Workshop, The Way of the Shaman®, with an authorized FSS Faculty Member. Before enrolling in this training course, please make sure that you have been having success in contacting your power animals and/or teachers on your own and that you feel confident about your journey skills. Persons who complete this course successfully may publicly state that they have been trained in Harner Shamanic Counseling. FSS members may list the completion of this five-day training on their Shamanic Services listings. Certification in HSC is no longer offered.*

Note: Those who complete this five-day training may request a Certificate of Completion, which states that the recipient has completed the Five Day Harner Shamanic Counseling Training course. Additionally, completion of this workshop is one of the prerequisites to receive the Gold Certificate of Completion, issued by the Foundation for Shamanic Studies.

IMPORTANT: To preserve the integrity and standards of the Harner Shamanic Counseling system, and of its teaching, unauthorized use of the Harner name is prohibited by law. Permission to employ the Harner name in this context is allowed for those who have successfully completed the Harner Shamanic Counseling training course. However, the teaching of Harner Shamanic Counseling to two or more persons at one time, in any form whatsoever, whether under this name or any other, in part or in whole, including oral transmission, and written, audio, or visual media, is prohibited without advance written approval by Michael Harner or Sandra Harner and is subject to conditions set forth by him/her. This applies to Certified Shamanic Counselors as well as to all others.

* As of 2008, the Foundation for Shamanic Studies ceased offering certification in Harner Shamanic Counseling. This cessation does not affect those who already are Certified Shamanic Counselors (C.S.C.)®. Note: Certified Shamanic Counselor and CSC are registered trademarks of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies.

Workshops*

BASIC WORKSHOP:

• The Way of the Shaman® Shamanic Journeying, Power, and Healing

ADVANCED WEEKEND WORKSHOPS:

• Shamanic Extraction Healing Training
• Shamanism, Dying, and Beyond
• Shamanic Divination Training
• Shamanism and the Spirits of Nature
• Shamanic Dreamwork™
• Shamanic Training in Creativity™
• Shamanism Practicum™
• Core Soul Retrieval Training™

ADVANCED 5-DAY & LONGER WORKSHOPS:

• Two-Week Shamanic Healing Intensive™
• Three-Year Program of Advanced Initiations in Shamanism and Shamanic Healing™

SPECIAL FIVE-DAY TRAINING COURSE:

• Harner Shamanic Counseling (HSC)™

Workshops in Other Languages

FSS Europa. Für Seminare in Europa (in Deutsch und in anderen Sprachen) besuchen Sie die website von FSS Europa www.shamanicstudies.net. Vielen Dank.

Informations sur les cours FSS en France, Belgique et Suisse, en français: www.chamanisme-fss.org.

Para información acerca de los talleres de la Fundación en España enseñado por Alicia Luengas Gates, por favor ir: www.estudioschamanicos.com.

Workshops in Japan

Workshops in Asia

All Foundation workshops and training programs are offered for teaching purposes only and not for the purposes of providing healing or treating any student or participant for any physical or mental condition or illness.

*All workshops are part of the core shamanism program, and were originated, researched, and developed by Michael Harner and are copyrighted. Shamanic Training in Creativity™ was developed by Sandra Harner and is copyrighted.

Core shamanism consists of the universal, near-universal, and common features of shamanism, together with journeys to other worlds, a distinguishing feature of shamanism. As originated, researched, and developed by Michael Harner, the principles of core shamanism are not bound to any specific cultural group or perspective. Since the West overwhelmingly lost its shamanic knowledge centuries ago due to religious oppression, the Foundation’s programs in core shamanism are particularly intended for Westerners to reacquire access to their rightful spiritual heritage through quality workshops and training courses. Training in core shamanism includes teaching students to alter their consciousness through classic shamanic non-drug techniques such as sonic driving, especially in the form of repetitive drumming, so that they can discover their own hidden spiritual resources, transform their lives, and learn how to help others. Core shamanism does not focus on ceremonies, such as those of Native American medicine men and women, persons who do both shamanism and ceremonial work.