Our Story

Tipi Healing House, LLC has developed from years of experience working with children, women, and men undergoing deep pain and suffering. Throughout this time, an integrative whole-person approach to healing emerged which naturally merged traditional psychological training with ancient wisdom and healing traditions.

Tipi or teepee was historically used by indigenous Americans who lived a nomadic lifestyle. Tipi comes from the Lakota thípi, “dwelling.” Tipis not only provided shelter and warmth through the burning fire, but also forged family and community connectedness. Spiritually speaking, fire is a key element for alchemy and the process of transformation. Symbolically speaking, we are a momentary place of dwelling providing healing support along your life’s journey.

Healing is the natural process of becoming whole in body, mind, emotion, and spirit. Healing is associated with themes of wholeness, personal narratives, and spirituality. The healing process is an intensely personal and subjective experience which includes the transcendence of suffering. Healing is a journey as the experience of suffering is an integral part of life and can become a teacher showing us the way to use it for therapeutic healing experiences.

A House is a “dwelling” that serves as living quarters for people. House is also a term utilized to refer to groups of people. In the spiritual sense, a house is a sacred place of existence. The term Tipi was utilized historically while today it has become House. Symbolically, it is the doorway into our own dwelling, the internal house or tipi that resides within us all.

Our philosophical approach to healing is centered in Consciousness. To begin the healing process, we must become aware of what is most difficult to see, feel, and experience within ourselves. Our work together is to create a safe and sacred space to garner the strength necessary to move into our deep internal world and uncover what is hidden, making the unconscious conscious and understanding the subconscious mind in a grounded and integrative way.

Our approach to human suffering has helped our clients alleviate deep emotional wounds, clear negative mental beliefs and patterns, release trapped energy and emotions in the body, and helped people reconnect back to their spiritual natures. We are deeply honored to be working with you and look forward to our transformative and healing journey together.

CO-CREATORS

Jacqueline Hermida, P.D., LMHC, C-IAYT

Jacqueline Hermida has over two decades of experience teaching and counseling individuals of all ages and abilities. Through a whole-person approach and the integration of various cultural teachings that subtly culminate into a unified paradigm, individuals are guided and empowered to heal, transform, and self-actualize.

In her Western training, Mrs. Hermida has earned three distinct Master’s Degrees in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Special Education, and Educational Administration. Her career path began as an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapist, to becoming the Crisis Intervention Director of the STEP Program at Sagamore Children’s Psychiatric Center, to becoming the Director of Wellness at St. Joseph’s College, Counseling and Wellness Center. Currently, she maintains her private practice where she offers Psychotherapy, Clinical Supervision, Shamanism, and Energy Medicine. Mrs. Hermida is a licensed psychotherapist who has been clinically trained in both psychodynamic and humanistic orientations and practices as a transpersonal psychotherapist. Mrs. Hermida is currently completing her Ph.D. dissertation work in Integral and Transpersonal Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies and is a Special Topic Editor on Transpersonal Psychotherapy for the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies (IJTS).

In her Eastern training, she began her journey through studying the Martial Arts with particular attention to Wing Chun, Chi Gong, and Tai Chi. Through studying the Martial Arts, she was led to the practice of Yoga. After practicing daily for several years she went on to complete two separate and in-depth 500-hour teacher training programs. Currently, she is a certified yoga therapist through the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) and teaches in the tradition of T. Krishnamacharya, Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM). Both Martial Arts and Yoga have led to years of meditative study and practice from the Buddhist Mindfulness lineage with MBSR of Long Island, traditional martial arts, and yogic meditative practices.

In her Southern and Northern training, Mrs. Hermida has studied with Shamans and Medicine people throughout her life learning the ways of the natural healing world. Her South American Native heritage continues to guide all of her hands-on healing work. Currently, she practices natural spiritual healing processes from the tradition of Shamanism and continues to integrate the four directions through continual study and practice, applying alternative healing methods from these foundational teachings. Mrs. Hermida works as a Medicine woman devoting her efforts to helping children and women empower and free themselves.

Steven J. Ferriolo, M.A., MHC-LP

Mr. Ferriolo has over a decade of experience mentoring and counseling children and emerging adults. Mr. Ferriolo has earned his distinct Master’s Degrees in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and has received years of traditional psychological training along with spiritual, shamanic and energetic training from Shamans and Medicine people.

Mr. Ferriolo began his career working as an Assistant Campus Minister at St. Joseph’s College providing holistic leadership and creating outreach efforts and student service-learning programs centered on helping diverse and low socioeconomic communities. Through his continual dedication to raising consciousness, he has spent years working in soup kitchens and providing spiritual counseling and advisement under the guidance and tutelage of his own mentor, the late Pat Tracy, former Director of Campus Ministry for both St. Joseph’s College and St.John’s University. Throughout this time, Mr. Ferriolo also served as a Program Mentor helping students ready themselves for college through counseling, advising, and mentoring minority and underrepresented youth. Today, Mr. Ferriolo continues his humanitarian work as a psychotherapist in private practice and as an academic advisor counseling students at St. John’s University.

Currently, Mr. Ferriolo works to counsel children and men through the healing arts specializing in deep emotional work. He takes pride in helping to free unhealthy patterns of the mind while introducing individuals to expressions of self that are often blocked due to trauma, low-confidence, and fear. Through a Rogerian foundation, he works as a whole-person therapist aligning with transpersonal and humanistic qualities of awareness, by understanding that each person and space is uniquely different.

Sessions are orientated by creativity and flow, sessions are also realistic and honest. Healing occurs when we are able to feel what we do not want to feel. Mr. Ferriolo’s aim is to help guide men towards inward courage so that they see through clear eyes what needs to be healed. Utilizing nature and Ecotherapy along with the essence of Native American and Celtic wisdom traditions; Mr. Ferriolo believes that all can be healed if one is willing to feel, see, and accept oneself fully.