A Foot in Both Worlds: How Shamanic Healing and Energy Psychology are Transforming Psychotherapy

5 Star Review

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Editorial Book Review:

By Daniella Stewart

Some books challenge a field by standing outside it. A Foot in Both Worlds does something more daring by standing firmly inside two traditions at once. What makes this book matter is its refusal to treat science and spirit as opposing forces. Howard writes because he thinks that healing is more than a single framework and that therapy can go deeper when it remembers what older wisdom always knew.

Reading this book feels expansive and quietly bold. In every chapter, there is a sense of wonder and compassion for both clients and clinicians who are dealing with complex pain. The emotional impact isn't so much from big claims as it is from being recognized. Case by case, you feel the relief of hearing about people who have finally stopped just coping with their symptoms and started making real changes. The book is interesting to read because it asks the reader to be curious without needing to know right away.

At its core, the book explores integration, trauma, and the human capacity for healing on multiple levels. Themes of balance, embodiment, and wholeness echo throughout. These ideas resonate far beyond psychotherapy rooms. They speak to anyone who has sensed that emotional healing also lives in the body, the nervous system, and something harder to name. The universality lies in the idea that healing often requires more than talk alone.

Howard's writing is grounded and casual, even when talking about ideas that are new to the reader. With purpose, the structure moves from historical background to real-life clinical experience. Case studies are very strong because they give real-life examples that help make abstract ideas more concrete. His language doesn't use mysticism just for the sake of it. Instead, it focuses on being clear and useful. When shamanic practices and modern therapy come together, they are treated with respect instead of making a show out of them.

Several cases linger, especially those where long held trauma shifts after energetic interventions that traditional methods had not reached. At these times, people are humble and ask people to think instead of trying to convince them. A Foot in Both Worlds is more of a bridge than a manifesto by the time it gets to the end. Anyone who wants to learn more about healing and what can happen when old knowledge and new care finally talk the same language should read this.

About the Author 

Howard Brockman

Howard Brockman was born in Los Angeles in 1951 where he soon discovered what turned out to be his favorite haunt, The Bodhi Tree Bookstore. He spent countless hours browsing and reading literature from spiritual masters throughout the world, never imagining that one day he would find his own book amongst the stacks and actually be a presenting author at this revered North Hollywood bookstore. Howard went to school at USC where ironically he began his practice of Kundalini Yoga and meditation and went on to earn his first master's degree in Social Ethics/Religious Studies. Yet his yearnings for a more natural environment drew him to Oregon where he eventually settled and went on to create an engaging life in the Pacific Northwest. This included finding a master shaman who mentored him for an initial eight years in the mysteries and richness of core shamanic practices. He continued his studies through Dr. Michael Harner's training program in the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, culminating in the 3-year training in advanced initiations. Subsequently, he studied with Tom Cowan in his multi-year training in Celtic Shamanism and Hank Wesselman in Hawaiian shamanism. Howard went on to earn a second master's degree in Clinical Social Work and continued to deepen his learning in shamanism, process-oriented psychology and energy psychology. His first book that synthesizes all these learnings in Dynamic Energetic Healing came out in 2006 (garnering four publishing awards) and continues to sell internationally, particularly in Western Europe.