Welcome to an illuminating conversation with Elizabeth Alanis, the esteemed psychotherapist and shamanic healer behind “Love Into Wholeness™.” Elizabeth’s unique approach combines modern psychotherapy with ancient shamanic practices, creating transformative programs that mend the fragments of our self-relationships and, in turn, our connections with others. In this interview, Elizabeth delves into the profound impact of love on our personal fulfillment and shares her insights on how to heal the deep-seated wounds that often disrupt our sense of wholeness. Join Mystic Mag as we explore how embracing and embodying our true selves can lead to relationships filled with joy, reciprocity, and true love.
How do you integrate psychotherapy and shamanic healing techniques to support women in uncovering and addressing unconscious patterns?
My psychotherapy experience through the years has introduced me to wonderful tools that help us to uncover what is hidden in our unconscious. It is very important to discover the unconscious reasons for our actions and patterns in our lives because these help us to treat the roots of our distress, rather than just working with the symptoms.
As a first step with each of my clients, we explore the symbols and archetypes that work unconsciously within us and which often work against us. Tools such as The Mandala Assessment Research Instrument or The Voice Dialog Method are used for this. In the second step, after we have discovered the roots of distress, I use shamanic healing methods best suited to each client, for instance, soul retrieval or cutting cords.
In your experience, what are some common challenges women face in experiencing empowerment and fulfillment in their lives, and how do you address these challenges in your practice?
Many women who have lived within a patriarchal environment have developed an inner patriarch. This inner patriarch is an invisible force working within us, a part of us created by the internalization of the external patriarch views and attitudes. The inner patriarch can be very active in our lives and undermine our true power.
Women have often been trained to believe that we are less than other people and things, and that love means being self-sacrificial. If we are trained in this type of self-sacrifice, we often give away parts of ourselves trying to meet the need to be safe and to belong. We may lose our power at a very early age, as we do not concentrate on our needs, desires or dreams; rather focusing on what others want for themselves and from us.
Later on, as adults, we may fight the outer patriarch tooth and nail, without seeing our inner patriarch that continually puts us down. In this way, the inner patriarch has the greater power to enslave us.
I help my clients hear the voices of the inner and outer patriarch, using tools such as medicine wheels, shamanic journeys, dream interpretation, and mandalas. Once we are able to hear those patriarchal inner and outer tyrants, we can then choose how to respond to them. It is my experience and that of my clients, that any domination by the inner and outer patriarch can only be healed by true love. For the healing to take place, we need to be able to recognize what true love is. It is not the shadow of true love that most of us have experienced.
The tools I use with my clients to help them develop awareness and discernment, enable their healing at all levels: personal, family, ancestral, collective consciousness and even past lives.
What type of services do you offer?
I have designed unique programs for women who desire to heal from painful relationships to discover and experience what true love is. Ceremony acts as a container for this sacred work. It is in the context of ceremony that we discover and remember who we are and that we are not alone.
The first program I offer is “Seeds of Transformation: Creating an Authentic Relationship with Yourself”; an 8-week group program in which women can begin their journey of true self-discovery and personal transformation.
My second program is called “Expanding Your Capacity to Receive Love: Creating Harmonious Relationships with Others.” In this group program, we begin reconnecting with the Great Spirit and all the Sacred Spirits of Life, which include ancestors, animals, plants, great masters, and many others. There is help and guidance every step of the way, which helps my clients dismantle the belief that transformation work is very difficult and must be done alone.
In this program, as my clients learn and discern what true love is and feel it coming from the unseen world, they begin to truly love themselves and introduce changes that are best for themselves. When we are able to release and heal beliefs about ourselves, others and the world, we then transform ourselves, our relationships and our lives. The benefit of these changes extends to all around us, even if they can’t see it.
My third program, for women who prefer customized one-to one guidance, is
called “Nurturing One-on-One”. This offering requires a commitment of at least six months. Each month we focus on a specific aspect that unconsciously holds my clients back from experiencing the authentic loving relationships and life that they yearn for.
My fourth program, “Tri-Therapeutic Integration Into Wholeness”, is for holistic practitioners and psychotherapists who desire to help their clients experience joy, connectedness, grounding and fulfillment while living a life consciously chosen. The program trains practitioners on my unique treatment modality. I created the modality by integrating aspects of psychology (from 30 years study/practice), shamanic healing, and the practical spirituality of the Medicine Wheel.
This treatment modality allows practitioners to promptly assess and treat the causes of their own and their client’s challenges and resistances at the deepest levels: individual, family, transgenerational, collective consciousness and even past life trauma and agreements.
The practitioner’s two-year training is divided into 3-month modules, each module building on the preceding one. A mental health care or holistic practitioner can choose to take as many modules as desired.
Can you discuss how you navigate the balance between guiding women towards healing while also respecting their autonomy and self-discovery process?
Empowerment is about discernment, choice and actions. At every step of their journey through one of my programs, I support and guide my clients towards self-inquiry, deep listening and observation. This helps them to see things clearly from diverse perspectives and to develop discernment. With clear discernment on board, our choices and actions are empowered.
What role do you believe self-love and self-care play in the journey towards experiencing harmony in relationships, and how do you incorporate these concepts into your therapeutic work?
True self love is the core of the work for “Love Into Wholeness”. We women have been over-giving for millennia, depleting ourselves in this process and this is the fastest way to lose our power. When we give from a sense of obligation and guilt we often give inappropriately and we deplete ourselves, resulting in a life lived in “quiet desperation”. Conversely, when we make our priority our own selves, we then give wisely what is needed – and not what is demanded – from the fullness of our being.
