Delve into the depths of holistic grief counseling with Shabnam Hashemi. With a unique background merging science, complementary medicine, and personal experience, Shabnam shares insights into her journey from hospice care to launching her own practice, offering guidance on navigating grief’s intricate terrain and uncovering hidden emotional knots for healing. Lean more in her exclusive MysticMag interview below.
Can you please introduce yourself to our readers and share a few details about your professional journey?
My name is Shabnam Hashemi. I have a hybrid background in science and medicine, as well as a 20+ year history of working in the complementary medicine field. I started as a microbiologist in the clinical laboratory, and years later became a registered nurse. I was already practicing Reiki and Clinical Aromatherapy at that point. My first job out of nursing school was in hospice, where I found out I had a gift for being with the dying and comforting them through their transition. Luckily it was also a place where I could use my complementary medicine skills to ease the burden of pain and letting go, both for the patients and their families. A series of personal losses starting in 2009, set me on a journey of dealing with my profound grief and learning how to move through it.
I also studied Shamanic healing in 2014 which added a very important component to healing on all levels. Getting certified as a health coach in 2018 also allowed another dimension of guiding people through their inner landscape and exploring what is hidden that needs to be dealt with. A few years ago I found a grief counseling certification course for healthcare professionals which changed the course of my career and helped me launch my own Holistic Grief Counseling practice.
What are the main ideas you base your Grief Counseling on?
I learned through personal experience that we hold our grief and stress in “pockets” well hidden in our bodies which then can show up as discomfort or illness, if not witnessed and released. For me, talk therapy alone did not address that and I resorted to my energy medicine practice and worked with some trusted practitioners to achieve the relief I needed. Over time, I came up with my own way of working with people that was helpful for them to move through the waves of grief. I also was able to help them with guided imagery to be able to get to a place of stillness and witnessing what was showing up to be witnessed on their own, when not in session, or when they were confident enough to do the journey on their own.
Can you walk me through the process of assisting or guiding a person through grief?
I utilize my skills to connect with the person and learn what needs to be worked on in that session. I also ask the client what they feel they need to work on. Usually, they coincide. We talk for a portion of the session and I use active listening to witness their grief or issue of the day. Then depending on the issue, I take them through a guided meditation to a peaceful place they can relax in (and sometimes get inner guidance), as I work on physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual levels, using Reiki, Shamanic Healing, and other techniques as needed.
You were recently involved in a book project “Sacred Death”. What can you tell me about that?
I was approached by a friend of a friend who was gathering a group of writers for chapters on their experience of loss and caregiving, which included the tools used when we were going through the experience. I was a caregiver to my sister through the last year of her life with metastatic cancer, and I wrote about my experience in that year, as well as the impact of losing our father prior to her death and losing my mother not long after. The chapter became something that touched a lot of people, and I almost feel like it came from a place inside that was hidden to me, and definitely not my mind! I received a lot of positive feedback on the chapter.
Can you share a memorable success story?
I had a client who was with me for 3 years. She was in the mental health realm herself. She stated once that if I didn’t use energy medicine she would not continue with me as talk therapy alone was not helpful! I consider that a success story.
Is there anything else about your work that you’d like to share that we haven’t covered?
I believe there are a lot of experts in the grief space, and a lot more coming out now with books and Facebook groups who are sharing their personal stories. I feel that everything one needs to know is out there to help them through their grief, theoretically. However, they may still need a live person to witness their grief and walk with them in their journey with a custom-made program. I know there are others in the field that use energy and somatic movement to release the “knots” we hold unconsciously in the corners of our emotional and physical bodies, and I do recommend that approach. The name of my practice “Hamrah”, represents just that. Hamrah means fellow traveler in Farsi, my native language.
To learn more about Shabnam and her work, you can visit www.Hamrahcounseling.com
