The Sankofa Study & Practice Circle
(PLEASE NOTE that you should register only if you completed the Screening Questionnaire and have received an invitation to join directly from Dr. Shelly Harrell.)
A Very Special Learning Community
The SANKOFA PRACTITIONER CIRCLE, led by Dr. Shelly Harrell, aims to be a space of learning and development for healers, mental health, and helping professionals who resonate strongly with Sankofa Theory & Practice.
What is Sankofa Theory and Practice?
Emerging from an Africultural paradigm and inspired by the wisdom of the Sankofa adinkras, Sankofa Theory & Practice is offered as a comprehensive, integrative, evidence-informed, psychoecocultural approach to psychologically-based interventions that centers the interrelated dynamics of connection, disconnection, reconnection, and interconnection. This centering is viewed as the foundation for optimal, multidimensional well-being. The theory aims to inform psychotherapeutic, holistic wellness, and community interventions that are healing, liberatory, and transformative. It provides a rich set of conceptual and applied resources that illuminate the many forms and expressions of connection. Particular attention is given to the biopsychorelational, sociocultural, and psychospiritual wounds that come from the disconnections of oppression. The distinguishing contribution of Sankofa Theory & Practice is utilizing the power of reconnection and interconnection to promote multidimensional well-being, as well as to prevent, heal, and transform human suffering.
Monthly Meetings alternate 2nd Fridays and Saturdays
We scheduled alternating Fri/Sat each month to maximize inclusion of those who have expressed interest in the community. However, all community members are encouraged to attend every month if possible!
Membership Options
Choose to pay monthly or annually. Paying annually saves you $56! (You can cancel membership at any time.) IMPORTANT: Registration requires a completed Screening Questionnaire and invitation to join. Verified students will receive a discount code.
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Enroll now
$27.77 / month
Monthly Membership ($17.77/month with Student Discount Code)
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Enroll now
$277.00 / year
Yearly Membership
Membership Criteria
Our criteria are intended to facilitate creating a community where members share a strong interest in Sankofa Theory & Practice, as well as a sincere and demonstrated commitment to serving BIPOC and/or communities impacted by intersectional oppression, collective-cultural-colonial trauma, sociocultural stressors (e.g., identity, belonging, acculturation, discrimination), marginalization, and stigmatization. The membership criteria are as follows:
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You are a Healing/Helping/Health Professional, a Community Practitioner, OR a student in training for a Healing/Helping/Health career, OR an Adminstrator, Program Developer, Trainer or other role in a wellness or community-based service delivery setting.
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Completion of the "Introducing Sankofa Theory & Practice" Webinar Series (or Registration with plan to complete within 3 months); Attendance or Video/Audio of all 4 sessions, PLUS review of at least 50% of summaries/handouts/slides/study guides; or equivalent exposure to Sankofa Theory & Practice.
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Genuine and demonstrated commitment to serving BIPOC, or persons experiencing intersectional oppression, collective/communal/colonial trauma, marginalization, stigmatization, and/or sociocultural stressors
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Commitment to attend monthly live meetings as frequently as possible
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Commitment to engagement in the Sankofa online community through reading and responding to posts, as well as posting relevant questions, comments, or related resources
THE SANKOFA WEBINAR SERIES
Familiarity with Sankofa Theory is required to join our Practice Community. The most recent Sankofa Webinar Series (November 2025) is available as an online, self-study experience. Click below for more information.
Your Community Leader
Founder and Director, The Sankofa Healing Institute and The Soulfulness Center Dr. Shelly Harrell
Born and raised in Detroit, Dr. Shelly Harrell is an award-winning Harvard-educated and UCLA-trained psychologist, as well as a certified meditation teacher. As an experienced therapist, mentor, and professor she has been helping, healing, teaching, and training for over 30 years. She is a researcher and published author in the areas of culture and psychotherapy, sociocultural and sociopolitical aspects of stress, racism and mental health, and psychological well-being among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Her soulfulness approach to wellness and resilience represents an integration of her work that is informed by cultural, African-centered, and liberation psychologies, contemplative practices, and stress science. Most recently, she has developed Sankofa Theory & Practice, a comprehensive, culturally-grounded, and evidence-informed approach to healing interventions inspired with the deep wisdom of the Sankofa adinkra symbols. Dr. Shelly has presented Sankofa Theory & Practice at the annual conferences of the American Psychological Association and the Association of Black Psychologists, as well as published about it in the American Psychologist.