Whenever a person experiences loss or trauma of any kind, a piece of their essence or soul will separate itself from the whole in an attempt to survive the experience. This process is commonly referred to in psychological terms as dissociation and is a natural coping mechanism for surviving trauma experienced while in a human body. Unfortunately, if a soul piece isn't returned to a person shortly after a traumatic experience, it may continue to move further away from its true home and leave a void that will eventually be filled by energy that is not congruous with that person's energy field. This combination of events can lead to a host of ailments on either the physical, mental, emotional or even spiritual level. A primary function of the Shamanic Practitioner is to identify soul loss and to perform a soul retrieval ritual in order to track the lost soul pieces and return them to their proper home, thus restoring health and well being to the afflicted person, as well as helping to reconnect said person to their true self and purpose in this life.