Meet Your Practitioner
Nicole Berrios
MSOM (Master of Science in Oriental Medicine)
Dipl. Acu. (NCCAOM Nationally Certified)
L.Ac. (Arizona Licensed Acupuncturist)
CSP (Certified Shamanic Practitioner)
And that's enough letters behind my name, don't ya think?
Welcome to my home on the inter-webs! My name is Nicole Berrios and I'm the face that runs the place. I'm so happy that you're here. Since you made it to this page, I'm assuming you're wanting to learn more about me and what I do, so here's the quick and dirty version!
I'm an acupuncturist and can do all the acupuncture things, like help get people's back pain to go away, but my secret sauce is that I'm also a shamanic practitioner. I blend both acupuncture and shamanic work to help my clients achieve really deep inner healing at the soul level.
Because of the nature of what I do (we go waaay down the rabbit hole in my sessions), I know I am not everybody's cup of tea, and I promise that's ok! But if you're looking for a practitioner who will not only help make your back pain better but will also guide you on shamanic journeys, drum over you, pull oracle cards for you and tell you how the current moon phase is impacting you, then I'm your girl! Oh, and I try not to take things too seriously, because healing work can be intense enough as it is and we have to be able to laugh about things, amiright?
So if you haven't run away yet, check out the (very) long version of my story below to get a sense as to my background and whether or not we would be a good fit to work together. See you on the flip side!
My Story (the long version. If I am your cup of tea, now's a good time to grab some of it)...
I'm Nicole Berrios and I'm the founder of Path of Wellness Healing Arts, which came to be in 2017. I am an Arizona state licensed and nationally certified acupuncturist, Chinese herbalist and certified shamanic practitioner. As a shaman, I'm all about journeys and walking the path, so this bio is the story of my long and meandering journey. And fun fact, I'm also a Gemini sun, Libra rising and Sagittarius moon, therefore I love words and everything about communication. Hence the long bio!
My story began in February of 2008 when a series of debilitating anxiety attacks landed me in the E.R. Looking for a better solution than taking Xanax indefinitely, I tried acupuncture on a whim and discovered that it allowed me to manage my anxiety naturally with no side effects. This event sparked the fire that led to my journey through acupuncture school and eventually professional licensure.
Beginning in 2009, I went on to receive my training in acupuncture and oriental medicine from both Yo San University in Los Angeles and the Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture, where I eventually graduated. My education included over 3000 hours of master’s level training, with a rigorous clinical internship and two clinical externships: one at the Southwest Center for HIV in Phoenix, AZ, and the other at the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Longhua Hospital in Shanghai, China. I hold master’s degrees in both acupuncture and oriental medicine (this is Chinese herbalism) and have been licensed, nationally certified and insured since June of 2014.
Starting my journey at Yo San.
Externship in Shanghai, China.
I began practicing acupuncture under my own license in June of 2014, where I started off by working as a community style acupuncturist. Working in community acupuncture clinics has allowed me to perform thousands of treatments on people from all walks of life, while refining my technique and gaining a ton of experience. It also helped me to understand that working as a community acupuncturist and treating up to 40 patients in a single shift was incredibly taxing on me energetically. I felt that acupuncture school had left me vastly unprepared for this more energetic aspect of being in practice.
I was looking for a solution to managing the emotional overwhelm and overactive empathy I was experiencing in life and as an acupuncturist when I randomly stumbled upon shamanism (or rather, it was divine intervention and spirit led me to this path). I knew in my heart that I was meant to pursue shamanic training and I began studying the shamanic arts in December of 2014 under mentorship at Shamanism 101 (now Shaman College).
I continued working in community acupuncture clinics while I went through my shamanic training, all the while knowing deep down that community acupuncture just wasn't for me and I truly yearned for the ability to do deeper healing work in a one on one setting with clients. I originally founded Path of Wellness Healing Arts in 2017 while I was working at a Modern Acupuncture community acupuncture franchise, but I wasn't quite ready to actually dive full in to private practice on my own.
My baby girl hanging at my first office
I finally received the inspiration I was looking for to go all in on my private practice in June of 2019 after I became a mom. I remember holding my beautiful baby girl and thinking to myself that I wanted my little girl to grow up seeing her mom being brave and facing her fears, and starting my own practice was terrifying to me. So I decided what better way to be brave than to face that fear and take the plunge? This was when I got my first office space and began to see patients one to one. I was 4 months postpartum when I opened my little practice and in hindsight I have no idea how I accomplished this (women can do some truly amazing things when they're feeling inspired. I'm also a manifestor in human design so I suppose I'm just good at making stuff happen).
I continued working in my private practice and then finally finished my shamanic studies and received certification in April of 2020, right smack in the middle of lockdowns. When it's written down like this it seems so straightforward, but going through shamanic training was anything but. It was one of the most challenging things I'd ever done. Going through shamanic training means that you do incredibly deep healing work on yourself before you can even dream of working on clients. Shamanism is all about gaining personal power (and no, not in a "black magic" sort of way, but in more of a "restoring your soul to its original splendor" sort of way), and a big part of that is you have to check your baggage at the door. You have to face very uncomfortable truths about yourself and essentially rip yourself apart and then put yourself back together again. It ain't for the faint of heart, I can tell you that.
Me in my first office
But because I did all the work on myself, I understood the power of it and I was super excited (and scared!) to begin offering it to my clients. So in June of 2020 when people started to venture out more again, I began adding shamanic healing sessions to my list of offerings.
Doing healing magic in my current office
And one of the biggest lessons I've learned from all of my own healing work is that the journey never ends. Healing is an ongoing process and there are many layers to it. When you start to do this type of work, once you think you're in a good place, your soul will get bored and create an experience in order for you to "uplevel", which really feels like being thrown under the bus, but hey, it's for your highest good, the spirits say! But you know what, I sort of live for it. I can't imagine life without ongoing healing work and I love that I get to offer it to my clients too.
As the shaman, I walk through the dark so I can help my clients walk through their dark on their way towards the light. And if you've made it this far into my epic bio, maybe we're a good fit! So if you're looking to do some deep dive healing work, hit me up and let's chat! I offer totally free discovery consultations to see how my offerings can help you.
Thanks so much for reading.
In the years since then, I have really started to find my footing as a shamanic practitioner and eventually decided that I wanted to revamp my entire business to be focused on this aspect of my practice. I'm still an acupuncturist and can do all the things an acupuncturist can do, but by adding in the shamanic piece I can do so much more. The healing that people can get from combining acupuncture with shamanic work is profound, as I've seen in both working with clients and working on myself.
Contact
Curious if our services are right for you? Let's connect!
480-712-7032