Shelly Prillerman Harrell, PhD
Dr. Shelly Harrell is a psychologist scholar, author, therapist, meditation teacher, and consultant with nearly 40 years of experience. She is the founder and director of The Soulfulness Center, and more recently The Sankofa Healing Institute (SHI). She has been a tenured professor at Pepperdine’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology for nearly 30 years where she teaches, supervises therapist trainees, and chairs doctoral dissertations. Her work focuses on sociocultural considerations in healing and well-being with an emphasis on culturally infused contemplative and communal practices. She is particularly interested in developing and implementing offerings that address the wellness and liberation of BIPOC and Global Majority populations. Dr. Harrell is a co-editor for the 2026 special issue of the American Psychologist on Decolonial and Liberation Psychology Practice. She was chosen as one of the 2025 Powerful Women of Mindfulness by Mindful Magazine and was selected to receive the 2024 Distinguished Psychologist award by the Association of Black Psychologists. She is on the faculty of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy, on the Advisory Boards of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute and the Maple Counseling Center in Los Angeles and was a featured expert for NICABM’s Next Level Practitioner series for many years.