We were lucky to catch up with Susy Schieffelin recently and have shared our conversation below.
Susy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.
There have been two pivotal moments that completely changed the trajectory of my career. One was launching The Sound Healer’s Academy in 2021, and the other was the recent release of Angel Aura, my debut solo sound healing album on March 3, 2025.
Launching The Sound Healer’s Academy was a leap of faith. I knew that sound healing had transformed my life, and I felt an undeniable calling to create a space where others could learn to share this work in a way that was not only powerful and healing but also financially sustainable. I had no roadmap, just a deep trust that if I followed my intuition, something incredible would unfold. And it did! Hundreds of healers from around the world have now stepped into their purpose through this training, they have built thriving businesses and are changing lives. I am so in awe and forever grateful that I took the leap to establish this training in a way that had never been done before.
Now, with the release of my album, Angel Aura, I feel that same energy of expansion. This album is more than music… it’s a transmission of healing and an invitation for the world to experience sound as medicine. It represents a new chapter and a way for me to share my work on an even greater scale, reaching people beyond those in my live sessions or trainings. In many ways, it’s an evolution of what I teach inside The Sound Healer’s Academy: that sound has the power to open portals, shift energy, and guide us back home to ourselves.
Both of these moments taught me the same lesson: trust the calling, even when you don’t know exactly where it will lead. Every time I have followed that inner whisper, it has led to something bigger than I ever could have imagined.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Hi! I’m Susy Markoe Schieffelin of The Copper Vessel and I am so excited to connect with you! I am a Los Angeles based Crystal Alchemy Sound Healer, Reiki Master Teacher, spiritual mentor, business coach, wife, mama and the founder The Sound Healer’s Academy™ . My work is rooted in the belief that sound is medicine and a powerful tool for transformation, healing, and awakening. Through my sound baths, teachings, and now my debut album Angel Aura, I help people reconnect with their inner wisdom, release what no longer serves them, and step into a life of alignment, abundance, and purpose.
My journey into this work wasn’t linear. I didn’t always know I was meant to be a healer. I graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in East Asian Studies and Religious Studies, went to culinary school, then I worked in hospitality and luxury lifestyle management in New York City. For many years, I struggled with anxiety, self-doubt, and addiction. I have experienced alopecia areata since I was 7 years old, which I kept as my biggest secret for over 20 years. During that time, I found myself on a seemingly endless search for a way to truly feel whole. It wasn’t until I discovered sound healing and energy work that everything changed. The first time I heard the pure, crystalline tones of singing bowls, something awakened within me and I felt a deep remembering. Before long, a knowing emerged that this was what I was meant to share with the world. I followed that whisper, trained intensively, and have now devoted my life to bringing this healing to others.
Today, I work with clients, students, and mentees all over the world, offering immersive sound healing experiences, transformational mentorship, and a professional sound healing certification program. My work blends healing with Alchemy Crystal Singing Bowls®, Holy Fire® III Reiki, Kundalini Yoga, spiritual coaching, and somatic energy work in order to facilitate profound healing on every level: physical, emotional, and energetic.
In 2021, I founded The Sound Healer’s Academy™ , a professional certification program for aspiring sound healers who want to share this work in a way that is both deeply transformational and financially abundant. This three month virtual training is a life-changing initiation into a new way of being, a path of healing, empowerment, and expansion. With over 300 TSHA certified sound healers worldwide, we are leading a movement of healing that is deeply rooted in values of love, integrity, and generosity. Our students learn the skills to not only share healing with others, but also to become thriving entrepreneurs. Many of our alumni feel empowered to finally leave their corporate jobs, creating true financial freedom for themselves as they go on to replace and exceed their corporate salaries.
Now, with the release of Angel Aura, my debut solo sound healing album, I am thrilled to be bringing this work to an even wider audience. This album is more than just music, it’s a portal, an energetic transmission, a healing experience designed to help listeners access deep states of peace, clarity, and connection.
What truly sets my work apart is that it’s not just about sound… it’s about awakening! I don’t just teach people how to play bowls or lead sound baths, I help them step into their purpose, trust their intuition, and build lives and businesses that reflect their highest calling. Guests who attend my sound baths often find that they are awakening to a deeper calling and a more abundant life. From there, true miracles unfold.
I am most proud of the community that has formed through my work. The Copper Vessel and The Sound Healer’s Academy encompass a global network of healers, leaders, and change-makers who are raising the vibration of the planet. Every day, I witness my students and clients step into their power, transform their lives, and create incredible healing experiences for others.
At the heart of everything I do is this message: You are here for a reason. Your gifts are needed. And when you follow the whisper of your soul, miracles unfold.
If you’re feeling called to this work, I invite you to step into this path with me. Whether through a sound bath, mentorship, The Sound Healer’s Academy, or my new album Angel Aura, I am here to support you in unlocking your full potential and sharing your light with the world. You are not alone. The world needs your light, and this is your time to shine!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I believe that resilience is not just about surviving… it’s about choosing to step fully into who you are, even when it feels terrifying. My journey with alopecia has been one of my greatest teachers in learning to trust, surrender, and embrace my true self.
I began experiencing bald spots at a very young age, and was diagnosed with alopecia areata when I was seven years old. For much of my life, I hid it. I kept my hair loss a secret, covering it with wigs and monthly steroid injections. As a result, I felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety. I felt broken, different, ashamed… like I had to work twice as hard just to feel normal. The fear of being seen for who I really was consumed me. It was always on my mind. Always.
For years, I struggled, trying to control everything: my appearance, my emotions, my worth. I numbed myself, thinking that if I just kept up the illusion, no one would know the truth and I would be loveable. But when I hit rock bottom and got sober, I could no longer escape myself. I started meditating, seeing healers, attending sound baths… and slowly, I began to feel something I hadn’t felt in a long time… peace!
I did everything I could to heal my body. I changed my diet, exercised, worked with practitioners, got weekly acupuncture, and still, my hair kept falling out. I wrote letters to my alopecia trying to understand the deeper meaning and gifts… And then, something shifted. I realized that my healing was never about “fixing” myself… it was about accepting myself.
On the new moon in June 2019, I made a decision that would change everything: I shaved my head.
I stopped wearing wigs. I stopped hiding, and I chose to let the world see me as I was: completely, unapologetically me.
I never felt more free.
What I thought would make me feel exposed actually made me feel powerful. Instead of rejection, I felt more embraced than ever before. Within six months, I met my husband Mark, the person who loves and supports me more deeply than I ever thought possible. The love and acceptance I had been seeking from the world were finally reflected back to me, because I had chosen to give them to myself first.
My journey with alopecia has taught me that real beauty is not in how we appear, it’s in how we embrace who we are. It taught me that true healing is not about getting back what we’ve lost, but about discovering what we’ve had inside us all along.
I share this story because I know I’m not alone. So many of us are walking around hiding pieces of ourselves, afraid of being fully seen. But I want you to know this – there is so much freedom on the other side of fear. There is SO much love waiting for you when you choose to embrace yourself, fully and completely.
This is what I teach. This is what I bring into my work… whether in my sound baths, The Sound Healer’s Academy, or my new album Angel Aura, my purpose is to create spaces where people can feel held, safe, and free to be exactly who they are.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
Mentors and community! Surrounding yourself with people who truly get it, who are walking a similar path, who celebrate you, support you, collaborate with you, hold you accountable, and inspire you to grow – is everything. Healing work isn’t meant to be done alone. Whether you’re just starting out or have been in this field for years, having a strong community makes all the difference.
This applies not just to peers, but to mentors as well. I am personally committed to always learning, growing, and evolving. I work with mentors, actively participate in multiple communities (beyond my own!), and intentionally seek out spaces where I can be in the energy of people who inspire me. Because the truth is, when you surround yourself with expansive, supportive, and like-minded people, you rise together.
This is exactly why I created The Sound Healer’s Academy – not just as a training program, but as a thriving, heart-centered community of healers who uplift each other, collaborate, and grow together. Success isn’t just about what you know, it’s about who you walk this path with.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thesoundhealersacademy.com
- Instagram: @thecoppervessel and @thesoundhealerdacademy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecoppervessel/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susy-schieffelin-26634014/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCopperVessel
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/album/7b6SxY6HoAQ9x8dyKPqH6y?si=jQXO_o1NR_yC3I9-8S9FyA
Image Credits
Rachel Madrigal