OEITH #303 Conversation on Anomalies in Therapy

Joined again by Paul, we probe the weirder sides of therapy and working as a therapist: defining the anomalous in the context of therapy; shifts in awareness and reality; Jeffrey Kripal’s definition of the paranormal and how it applies to therapy; the intensity of the therapeutic encounter; the pertinence of the psychoanalytic understanding of therapy; resistance to anomalous experiences (AEs) among the therapeutic profession; Freud’s ambivalence in this respect; Paul’s research and the responses received; perspectives from integrative therapy; transpersonal trends in EMDR; how what the theory allows influences what clients bring; clinical parapsychology in Germany; professional versus personal world views; problems concerning confidentiality and the discussion of AEs; the specificity of synchronicities; a personal experience of a prophetic dream; the pathologizing tendency of therapeutic language; collapsing boundaries; the therapeutic potential of AEs; possibilities for openings; the challenge to egoic structures; how the therapist might greet an AE; the “diagnostic” use of AEs; instances in which AEs might not offer opportunities; the shortcomings of therapists; holding AEs for clients; another personal experience, somewhat like a haunting; a sense of “the other”; an AE as an opening of “the reducing valve”; different types of AEs; the relative frequency of psi experiences and synchronicities; pathologisation and power structures; a personal experience of a presence felt in a session; bereavement as a hotbed for AEs; the question of whether the therapist should disclose an AE; when therapy encroaches upon psychic mediumship or occultism; the intersection of therapy, spirituality, and magick; the contrasting ethical frameworks of therapy and magick; erring on the side of minimising harm; the more open the therapist can be, the greater the possibility of grounding for the client; moving beyond vetoing AEs; the overlap of skillsets between therapy and psychic mediumship; a proposal for “weird therapy”; the lack of any manuals for how to work with AEs; the importance of keeping multiple paradigms in play; “living with” and “living in”; the importance of the therapist’s embodiment; holding AEs for clients; attunement; why the therapist must be well-versed in the weird; authenticity; the necessity of a certain selflessness in order to heal through therapy; why spirituality and psychology need to go hand-in-hand.

W.H. Kramer, E. Bauer & G.H. Hövelmann, eds. (2012). Perspectives of Clinical Parapsychology: An Introductory Reader. Bunnick, The Netherlands: Stichting Het Johan Borgman Fonds.

Jeffrey Kripal (2017). Secret Body: Erotic and Esoteric Currents in the History of Religions. Chicago: University of Chicago.

Thomas Rabeyron (2021). When the truth is out there: counseling people who report anomalous experiences. Frontiers in Psychology, 12: 693707.

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