A shaman is a healer who moves into an altered state of consciousness to access a hidden reality in the spirit world for purposes of bringing back healing, power, and information. The word shaman comes from Siberia and means "one who sees in the dark" (the hidden realities), and widely refers to those who are medicine women/men, healers, and seers. Shamans believe that all problems, physical, emotional or mental, have their root cause in spiritual imbalance. A shaman works to restore balance and wholeness by addressing the root cause of the problem. Many methods are used in shamanic healing, including soul retrieval, retrieval of a spiritual ally, removal of unwanted energies, soul remembering, ancestral work, psychopomp (helping the deceased to cross over into the Light) and hands on healing. Shamans never work alone, but in conjunction with spiritual allies who guide them in providing what is needed for people.

Shamanism is an ancient form of spiritual healing. Some say it is the oldest form of healing on the planet, dating back approximately thirty thousand years. It has been found in many indigenous cultures in North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, Central and Northern Asia, Eastern and Northern Europe and Africa. The techniques used have withstood the test of time and are amazingly similar around the world, despite geographic and cultural differences among those practicing this mode of healing. Some of the techniques include soul retrieval where the shaman brings back an individual's lost soul parts, and power animal retrieval, where the shaman brings back a spiritual guardian, usually in the form of a power animal to help restore power to an individual.