Sankofa Theory & Practice is a new culturally-grounded and evidence-informed approach to psychotherapy, counseling, community-based prevention programs, wellness practices, healing circles, and life coaching developed by Dr. Shelly Harrell and inspired by the African indigenous wisdom of Sankofa.

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Sankofa Theory & Practice begins with the premise that addressing pain and suffering, cultivating resilience, promoting well-being, and contributing to transformative and liberatory processes, must center the interrelated dynamics of connection, disconnection, reconnection, and interconnection. The roots of distress, disorder, and dysfunction are illuminated by understanding the nature of disconnection. Movement toward the expression of optimal well-being must include processes of REconnection and INTERconnection.

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Sankofa Theory & Practice starts from the ground of African wisdom to offer an integrative and comprehensive praxis that centers the power of connection. The approach was inspired by the wisdom of the Sankofa adinkra symbols and the associated Akan proverb, "it is not wrong to go back and retrieve what you have lost or forgotten". The nature of connection is amplified through the lens of an indigenous African collectivist-communal-interconnected worldview and its many expressions throughout the African diaspora. A foundation in Pan African Black Psychology is supplemented by congruent theory and research in multicultural,  liberation, community, and humanistic psychologies, as well as by research on stress, trauma, resilience, and contemplative/mind-body practices.

COURSE FEE: $97

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• Four 90-minute Zoom class sessions with Dr. Shelly Harrell (available in both audio and video formats)

  • ​Session 1: Orientation, Origins, & Overview

  • ​Session 2: The Healing Wisdom of Sankofa

  • Session 3: Healing and Metabolizing Disconnection

  • Session 4: Applications, Interventions, & Practices

• Summary Handouts, Study Guide Pages, and Slides available for download

• This series is a prerequisite for our Sankofa Study Circle & Practice Community for healers and helping professionals who wish to integrate Sankofa Theory & Practice more meaningfully into their work.