Dr. Constance Scharff, PhD
Dr. Constance Scharff ventures where conventional mental health researchers do not tread. From the remote highlands of Tibet to the dense jungles of Indonesia, she leads expeditions into some of Earth’s most inaccessible regions to learn how some of the world’s most remote communities cultivate resilience.
Her fieldwork reads like an explorer’s journal: trekking through Nepal, crossing desert expanses in Namibia, and navigating dense rainforests in Ecuador, all in pursuit of traditional healing practices and ways of knowing that could revolutionize global mental health. Across 40 countries and counting, Dr. Scharff documents how music, ritual, storytelling, and community connection serve as powerful antidotes to trauma and addiction in cultures where Western therapy remains unknown, or is culturally inappropriate.
Dr. Scharff goes where few dare to follow: learning with the Māori in Aotearoa/New Zealand, off-roading to the Gabra’s remote camps in northern Kenya, walking the mist-laden Scottish Highlands in search of folk medicine traditions, and venturing deep into Amazonian villages for plant medicine; Dr. Scharff is keen to learn with and from remote communities firsthand.
The Human Resilience Project, her 10-nation research collaboration, transforms these field discoveries into evidence-based mental health strategies. Her work bridges ancient wisdom and modern science, proving that the most effective healing often happens far from clinical settings.
Dr. Scharff holds a PhD in Transformative Studies and has authored and co-authored multiple award-winning books, including the National Indie Excellence Award winner Rock to Recovery and Amazon #1 bestseller Ending Addiction for Good. Her latest release, Experiencing Transcendence, is receiving significant interest for its radical redefinition of addiction and trauma, and the application this has to addiction and trauma treatment in the United States and beyond.
When not in remote field locations, Dr. Scharff serves as an internationally recognized speaker and researcher. She is a member of The Explorers Club, American Psychological Association, American Anthropological Association, Society for Consciousness Studies, and World Federation for Mental Health. She received St. Lawrence University’s Sol Feinstone Humanitarian Award in 2019 for her groundbreaking work bringing marginalized healing practices into mainstream mental health discourse and being a passionate advocate for effective global mental health practices.
She remains true to her mission: to venture into the world’s forgotten corners and return with healing wisdom that can transform lives globally.
You may support Dr. Scharff’s ongoing research and explorations by contributing to her Go Fund Me initiative.