David Jordan, a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and shamanic practitioner, shares his profound journey of healing and transformation through Burning Bear, his private practice. Having integrated traditional psychotherapy with shamanic practices, he offers a unique approach to healing, bridging Western psychology with ancient wisdom. Through Clinical Shamanism, David guides individuals on their paths to wholeness, offering psycho-spiritual therapy and shamanic ceremonies tailored to each client’s needs. Learn more in his exclusive MysticMag interview below.
Who is David Jordan? Can you please introduce yourself to our readers?
First and foremost, I am a husband and father making my way as best I can. I am in no way immune to the heavy burdens and complex challenges that most of us face in the world today. I would like to think that my accomplishments, big or small, serve others and the natural world more so than myself.
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the State of Georgia and have been since 2006. In the years since my licensure, I obtained certification as a Professional Counselor Supervisor (CPCS), as a Clinical Trauma Professional Level II (CCTP-II), with a certificate in Neuro Psychology. In addition, I am a shamanic practitioner, teacher, and ceremonialist.
My formal education includes a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgia State University, a Master of Theological Studies from Emory University, and a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Prescott College. I went on to complete a multi-year apprenticeship in the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition of Cross-Cultural Shamanism through The Heart of the Healer Shamanic Mystery School. Finally, I am currently completing a year-long in-depth training as a Certified Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapist through the Integrative Psychiatry Institute.
In addition to many years of continuing education in a variety of clinical fields, I completed intensive training in Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT – Tapping) from the Association of Comprehensive Energy Psychology and Internal Family Systems from IFSCA.
My work experience includes being a Wilderness Therapist at a nature-based residential program for adolescents, clinical director at an addiction recovery center, and a variety of leadership roles in several community-based social service organizations. Currently, and for the last 10 years, I am the Director of a large community mental health center in Atlanta while also working in private practice. My area of specialty is trauma.
What is the story behind the Burning Bear?
The story of Burning Bear is one of healing and transformation, two themes that guided its creation. Both my personal “medicine” name and the moniker for my private practice, Burning Bear represents a path that I took myself and one that I guide others through from trauma to wholeness.
I suffered a life-threatening burn as a toddler, rather than learning to trust during this key developmental stage, I internalized this trauma deeply and learned that I had to be stronger than the pain and that comfort was elusive. Aspects and possibilities for who I was born to be were lost and buried deep in the shadowy recesses of my subconscious. I grew into a highly introverted, anxious, controlling, and angry young man. Seemingly trapped by feelings of deep inner rage and worry, I never felt safe or secure. I described this to others as feeling stalked by a ferocious beast, day and night.
Fortunately, when my life seemed to be imploding, I began to work with a therapist who was steeped in both clinical psychology and shamanic healing. Under his guidance, I was able to go deep and find resonance with the vision of the beast being a great bear. “What do you think it wants,” my therapist asked. He also pointed out the obvious that if the bear wanted to kill and eat me, it would have already. Together, we embarked on a shamanic journey to ask the bear what it wanted.
Transported by the simple, penetrating beat of a drum and my willingness to engage my creative imagination, I energetically journeyed down into the deepest recesses of my subconcious where I was able to encounter the bear and ask the question. That is when an alchemical transformation occurred that would change me in ways that therapy alone could not: the Bear answered my question, “I am not here to hurt you…I am here to protect you.”
Within hours, my anger subsided, and my anxiety abated. And while there will always be more healing work to do, I tasted wholeness for the first time. To this day, I walk into every situation that life throws at knowing that there is a 1,200 lbs. bear walking right behind me, keeping me safe. Burning Bear is my strength.
For those unfamiliar with it, can you explain what Clinical Shamanism© is and share a few details about your shamanic work?
Clinical Shamanism is a unique blend of psychotherapeutic techniques and traditional shamanic practice. With over twenty years of counseling and psychotherapy experience, as well as over fifteen years of lived experience as a formally apprenticed and sanctioned teacher of the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition of Cross-Cultural Shamanism, I have attempted to seamlessly integrate, and bridge traditional Western psychotherapy and the practice of a living shamanic lineage.
My fundamental goal is to share a holistic path toward healing and wholeness that brings what lies lost and deep within to the surface for personal re-integration. Expanded consciousness is the objective so that the natural and innate elements of our most authentic expression of Self are made manifest in our daily lives.
Essentially, I am combining Jungian Depth Psychology and its three-level understanding of consciousness with the traditional shamanic three-level cosmology that this integration is achieved.
What specific services do you offer?
Burning Bear offers two categories of services: psycho-spiritual therapy and shamanic ceremony. Psycho-spiritual therapy blends traditional psychotherapy and shamanic practices individualized to guide clients on their healing journey. Specifically, Internal Family Systems (IFS) psychotherapy lends itself to the shamanic practices of soul retrieval, entity extraction, and cord cutting. The shamanic ceremonial offerings, while also providing a container for deep healing, assist with cultivating a spiritual practice that is oriented toward the natural world and expanded consciousness. Whether through individually designed rites of passage or through guided plant-medicine journeys, the ceremonial services offer a rich opportunity to engage and honor the gifts of indigenous healing wisdom.
It is important to emphasize that the shamanic tradition in which I have been trained and apprenticed, is gifted by a native Peruvian shaman, don Oscar Miro-Quesada, with permission to teach and practice openly. Cultural appropriation occurs when indigenous practices are used without permission of the communities from which they originate.
To learn more about David’s work and the Burning Bear Healing Arts, you can visit www.burningbearhealingarts.com
