About Mike Sheffield

I have a PhD in Clinical Psychology and have been blessed to have many wonderful teachers throughout my life.  My most important teachers have come from dreams, imagery, synchronicities, and the earth.  I encountered muses, totem animals, spiritual teachers, healing energies.  These teachers transformed my relationship to wounds, defenses, shadows, inner resources, and personal gifts.  They helped me in the healing process from cancer and toxic treatments, reconnected me to mystical participation with the earth which had been dulled by the noise of our culture, showed me more about my life purpose and path, led me into new creative pursuits, and helped me heal ancestral wounds.

What I do in working with people is naturally informed by what I learned from these experiences.  My approach is very flexible, depending on what the individual’s interests are and what we negotiate together.  This may involve more traditional talk therapy when that is called for.  When desired, I function as a coach or guide to specific processes or activities, such as the personal mandala, nature based map of the psyche, nature-based soulwork, creative processes, mindfulness practices, or deep imagery journeys.  I meet with people in various places, indoors or in nature, for varying lengths of time depending on what is desired and best-suited to accomplish a person’s specific goals or interests.  Whatever I do with people, the thing that is consistent is unshakeable respect for the wisdom of the psyche and each person’s unique process.  I seek to be a deep listening companion on the beautiful adventure of exploring the inner wilderness and creating an outer life that fulfills the soul’s imperatives.

In my free time I enjoy writing and singing songs, playing piano, writing poetry and nonfiction, doing creative projects with my wife, running with my dog, hiking, and being in nature.