Dr. Ivy SHADIAH (Ivy Hylton), MSW, LICSW, Ph.D.
Soul Strategist for Justice and Joy™ • NTU™ Psychotherapist • Restorative Justice Visionary • International Inspirational Speaker • Concert Soprano & Recording Artist
Dr. Ivy SHADIAH—affectionately known as MaMa Ivy—is an internationally celebrated healer, inspirational speaker, and licensed clinical social worker whose five-decade career bridges psychology, spirituality, music, and social transformation. A native Washingtonian and graduate of Coolidge High School in Washington, DC, Dr. SHADIAH traces her descendent musical lineage to the legendary contralto Marian Anderson and carries that same power of song into her groundbreaking work in holistic psychotherapy and Restorative Justice.
Co-Founder and CEO of Youth & Families in Crisis, LLC, MA’AT Training Institute for Restorative Justice, where for more than twenty years she has trained courts, schools, and community agencies in Balanced and Restorative Justice practices, trauma-informed care, and violence-reduction strategies. A National Certified Restorative Justice Trainer, she has led initiatives for DC Superior Court, the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, DC Public Schools, and Restorative DC/OSSE, while mentoring new generations of circlekeepers and community healers.
Simultaneously, Dr. SHADIAH has pioneered a new frontier in neuro-psycho-spiritual wellness. She created Sound Vibronics®, Sonic Mindstreaming®, and The VERTEX Method™—integrative systems that unite sacred sound, brainwave entrainment, and mindfulness to catalyze stress reduction, emotional sovereignty, and personal transformation. Her ELEVATE™ Mind Reset Meditations, seven healing-music albums, the Frequencies of LOVE EP, and Iyanla Vanzant’s IVtv series Dr. Ivy’s is host of the Sound Spa.
Embodying her conviction that Sound is Medicine, Justice is Healing, and Love is the Frequency of Transformation.
A concert soprano and recording artist with six meditation CDs and a relaxation app, Dr. SHADIAH has performed with the Washington Performing Arts Men & Women of the Gospel Washington National Opera, and Bro Ah’s Sounds of Awareness ensemble, presenting vibrational music medicine to audiences from the Washington National Cathedral to the National Institutes of Health. She is the author of four books, including Reversing Symptom-Ontology™ of Post-Slavery Trauma and Journey into Inner Peace, and producer of the acclaimed Restorative-Justice documentary Heartstrings: Mothers with Sons in Prison, which continues to spark “Circles of Hope and Healing” nationwide.
Ordained minister, Reiki Master Teacher, Certified Cognitive Behavioral Mindfulness Therapist, and long-time community activist, Dr. SHADIAH embodies a rare synthesis of scholarship, artistry, and service. Her certifications span family therapy, NTU Afrocentric psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, guided imagery, yoga nidra, aromatherapy, reflexology, and more. Universities across the U.S. and abroad—including Maryland, Howard, Lincoln, Hong Kong, and Delaware State—have welcomed her as guest lecturer and field instructor.
From co-writing United Way’s post-9/11 healing initiatives to advising NIH research on contemplative interventions, from mentoring youth re-entering society to inspiring global vibrational leaders, Dr. Ivy SHADIAH continues to model what it means to live vibrationally, lead soulfully, and embody planetary peace—a lifelong mission to uplift mind, body, and spirit in every community she touches.