Spiritual healers work in a variety of settings, including hospitals, private practices, hospice programs, and other various healing centers. While there is no official licensure necessary for spiritual healers, there are programs that offer special certifications in holistic care. The therapies that are taught at these schools include therapeutic touch, prayer, counseling, supernatural healing sources, and metaphysical healing. Although spiritual healing certification is not associated with any official medical programs, the practice has gained much legitimacy in recent years.

Spiritual healing focuses on balancing the body and mind to achieve a more complete and peaceful state of being. Many spiritual healers are born with an intrinsic gift for healing. Some, however, have worked hard to hone the skills that may not come to them as naturally as those with that gift. Regardless of the methods of acquiring those skills, spiritual healers are able to see, think, and feel in a unique way. Much of their healing abilities deal with instincts and emotions, rather than hard science. Spiritual healers use a variety of healing methods. These include everything from skills related to sensing, cleansing, repairing, and balancing. These techniques are all meant to cater to the patient’s body, mind, and spirit.

For spiritual healing to truly work, the patient must remain committed to the healing process. It would be counterproductive for a patient to see a healer and then return to the negative behavior that caused the healing to be necessary in the first place. Spiritual healers help the patient not only heal from existing wounds, but also trains the patient in better personal care, which leads to greater individual growth and happiness. Some spiritual healers have begun to use other forms of healing in conjunction with traditional spiritual methods. One arena this is being done in is psychotherapy. In fact, some psychotherapists have found so much legitimacy in the practice of spiritual healing that they themselves have pursued personal certification in spiritual healing. This has been shown to provide a more all-encompassing healing experience.

As spiritual healing continues to gain more recognition and respect in the mainstream, it is likely that more certification programs will be established. Along with this will come more consistent standards and perhaps official licensure. The type of certification, however, is of little concern to those who have benefited from spiritual healing. A healthier body, mind, and soul is enough proof for them in regards to the effectiveness of spiritual healing.

Many medical schools around the United States now offer courses in spiritual healing. Some of these include Everglades University in Florida, the University of Florida, the University of Minnesota and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). But if you are looking for a school that is dedicated to these alternative and complementary forms of healing, you’re in luck. There are several of those, too.

The website www.naturalhealers.com has a list of schools in 25 states and Canada, with information about each school. Some of the listings link directly to the website of the school. Some of these listings include the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in Arizona, the Lionheat West Institute of Transpersonal Energy Healing in Los Angeles, the WakePoint School of Energy Healing in Colorado and the Self Realization Meditation Healing Centre in Michigan. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, www.nccam.nih.gov, offers links that are broken up into categories. T

raining and Career Development Opportunities offers classes to undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral trainees, newly independent investigators and mid-career and senior investigators. The Continuing Education Series offers online courses for health care professionals and the public. You can also do a search of various modalities including acupuncture, Ayurveda, chiropractic, herbal medicine, homeopathy, massage therapy, naturopathic medicine, and more.