Welcome to The Sankofa Healing Institute!
Connect With Us. Learn With Us. Heal With Us.
Welcome to The Sankofa Healing Institute (SHI; pronounced 'shee'). I'm Dr. Shelly Harrell and this is the homebase for my work as a psychologist, teacher, healer, and scholar. This includes Sankofa Theory & Practice, courses and webinars, workshops, retreats, meditation and healing-oriented offerings, training programs, membership groups, coaching and consultation services, and my applied research. Rooted in the African wisdom of Sankofa, the work of SHI is located at the intersection of psychological, cultural, relational, spiritual, contemplative, embodied, and liberatory aspects of healing, wellness, and transformative change.
If you have been connected with The Soulfulness Center, no worries! The Soulfulness Center will continue as an entity within SHI for mindfulness and meditation-centered offerings. Our courses, webinars, and programs continue at The SHI Center for Learning and Healing (renamed from Dr. Shelly's Soulfulness Center Courses). Our flagship Soulful Intro to Mindfulness course and Sankofa Theory & Practice webinar series remain available.
I am excited about what has been gestating and moving and growing, and I welcome you to join us as SHI evolves!
Join Us & Subscribe
Feeling aligned with our work? Join us! If you already subscribe to our Soulfulness Center mailing list, no need to re-subscribe, you will continue to receive our communications. Not yet a subscriber? Use the link below to receive announcements and updates of all things SHI and soulfulness. You also receive a 10% discount on our courses, services, and products. Additional subscription and membership options will be coming soon (including Dr. Shelly's new Reclamations & Revelations blog)!
The Sankofa Healing Institute is growing from seeds planted by our ancestors that informs the centrality of culture, connection, and wisdom for our healing. Our work is rooted in African and Black diasporic wisdom which grounds, guides, and inspires us. Our branches and blooms are expressions of that wisdom that reach into and beyond our present conditions, as healing offerings to humanity now and for our descendants.
What we do at SHI
Connect.
The dynamics of connection, reconnection, and interconnection for healing are at the core of Dr. Shelly's comprehensive Sankofa Theory & Practice framework. Connectedness is the foundation for everything we do at SHI, and how we do it.
The public facing expression of this is the SHI Membership Community, our emerging collection of dedicated online communal spaces for our various groups and areas of focus. Over time, we will be rolling out different membership opportunities and ways to connect with us. These will range from our all-member online community space and special member-only events, to a variety of private online spaces for our ongoing groups and programs.
Detailed information on our SHI Membership Community will be available soon.
​
Learn.
"Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it."
-African Proverb
Coming from a family of educators, teaching is in Dr. Shelly's DNA and one of her favorite professional activities. At SHI our core value of sharing, cultivating, and circulating knowledge and wisdom shows up in many ways. These include current offerings and some things that are in the works:
-
The SHI Center for Learning and Healing (where our courses, webinars, and programs live)
-
Development, Research, Training, & Applications of Sankofa Theory & Practice
-
The Sankofa Practitioner Circle (focused training in Sankofa Theory & Practice)
-
Dr. Shelly’s upcoming content-rich blog, Reclamations & Revelations
-
Expert consultation for mental health and wellness professionals
Heal.
SHI's orientation to healing is holistic, culturally-grounded, and relational. Our healing offerings at SHI are located within a world view of body-mind-heart-soul-culture-community-nature-Spirit-cosmos interconnectedness. Our practices are intentional in the integration of cultural and liberatory aspects of healing, with attention to healing in the context of racial and intersectional oppression.
Our current and in-development healing offerings include:
-
Soulfulness Sisters Meditation and Support Group (private group)
-
Healing While Black (HWB) Retreats & Events
-
Meditation & Healing Practices Group (starting in May 2026)
-
Sankofa "Connection & Care" Healing Circles
-
Expanded opportunities for private Coaching with Dr. Shelly for individuals, couples, and groups
Full Access to Video Recordings of the four November 2025 Class Meetings, Study Guides, and Worksheets!
Add Sankofa Theory & Practice to your healing resources for both professional and personal applications. Join Dr. Shelly for 4 sessions in an engaging tour of her comprehensive healing approach.
You will learn A LOT!