Alissa Shanahan (she/they) is a therapist, folk medicine apprentice, and the founder of Whole Sol Medicina. Rooted in a deep reverence for the innate wisdom of the mind, body, spirit, and the earth, Alissa’s work supports others in remembering their inherent wholeness. Her approach is grounded in training in Internal Family Systems (IFS), Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, somatic therapies, and folk medicine, and it invites presence, inner listening, and connection to one’s spiritual self.

Alissa’s journey into the healing arts began through her own longing to mend the disconnections within her mind, body, and spirit. As a curious seeker and devoted student, she encountered yoga, Eastern philosophy, and folk medicine alongside her earliest experiences with Western psychotherapy. These formative threads later wove together as she trained to become a yoga teacher and clinical social worker—seeking not only to heal herself but to empower her community.

Her path eventually led her to a folk medicine apprenticeship with Escuela del Rio Cosmico, where she was introduced to the Wise Woman Tradition and ancestral healing. Through this lineage and the mythic teachings it holds, Alissa encountered the spiral path—a concept that deeply resonated with her personal and professional experience. This way of seeing mirrors the life/death/life cycle and encourages descent into the unknown as a sacred part of becoming whole.

As taught by Susun S. Weed, the Wise Woman Tradition holds that healing begins by returning to the void—the mysterious space where form dissolves so that transformation can unfold:

“To heal, to become whole, we turn again around the spiral of our life. We turn again around the spiral and enter the void, the great unknown, knowing only that our form is reformed, that our form is transformed, that rebirth inevitably follows death.”

For Alissa, discovering this tradition felt like finding the missing piece she had long been searching for. The deep resonance between the Wise Woman path, Internal Family Systems, and somatics affirmed her belief that healing is not about fixing what is broken, but about tending to what has been forgotten. Each of these modalities recognizes that we carry many parts within us, and that even our shadows hold wisdom when we are willing to meet them with compassion.

A queer, multi-ethnic person, Alissa brings a decolonial, multidimensional, and person-centered approach to her work. She understands that healing is never one-size-fits-all, and honors the unique path each individual walks. Her practice embraces the complexity and richness of identity, creating space for clients to tend to the many parts of themselves in an integrated, holistic way.

Outside of her practice, Alissa is often found crafting herbal remedies, immersed in the rhythms of nature, and sharing space with her community. Her days are enriched by sunlit moments, embodied movement, mysticism, deep reading, and the quiet pleasure of slow, intentional living.