Conversations With A Wounded Healer

“I feel like there's so many different aspects of being a hairdresser. It's like, you're an artist, you're a counselor, a psychologist.” ~Shimi Shiba If only someone could take the easy intimacy that hairstylists enjoy with their longtime clients and translate the magic into a formal therapeutic setting… Oh, wait! I’ve met such a person.  In this episode, professional hairdresser Shimi Shiba shares the behind-the-chair insights that have prepared her for a return to school and propelled her toward a degree in counselling. Few vocations provide access to both a client’s body and brain in quite the same way as hairdressing. Routine visits strengthen the trust established through touch and conversation. It’s precisely this bonding that has prompted Illinois (the state in which Shimi practices) to enact a law requiring licensed stylists complete training to identify victims of domestic violence among their clientele.  Now, as a graduate student, Shimi’s melding structured learning with life experience. The years