"It's made me reassess what I think and believe." An Exploratory Study of Therapists' Experiences with Their Clients' Deathbed Visions, Deathbed Coincidences, and After-Death Communication

Abstract

Research literature has highlighted the occurrence of deathbed vision (DBV), deathbed coincidence (DBC), and after-death communication (ADC) phenomena. To better inform the mental health profession about how psychotherapists respond to and are affected by working with these client experiences, we interviewed four therapists in private practice in the United Kingdom who reported having worked with clients who disclosed one or more of the phenomena. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), we identified three main themes from their accounts: (a) making sense of inexplicable transpersonal experiences on a professional and personal level, (b) experiencing personal transformation, and (c) perceiving clients' therapeutic benefits from addressing