Research: Grief

Grief and Experiences of After-Death Communication (ADCs)

Synopsis

Between Freud and the 1980s, society and most psychologists believed that to get past grief, the bereaved needed to accept the permanence of their loss: to let go and move on. In the 80s, the concept of ‘continuing bonds’ was introduced in which recognizing a continuing relationship with the deceased is viewed as normal and healthy. This is now well (though perhaps not completely) established within the clinical community and encounters with the deceased are seen as a natural part of grieving.

There are four types of experiences of after-death communication (ADCs) including requested ADCs, a type not previously established in the literature, and assisted ADCs which occur during readings with mediums. Similar to the beneficial impact on grief shown to result after spontaneous and facilitated ADCs, assisted ADCs should also result in improvements for grief as anecdotal and pilot survey data demonstrate.

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Factsheets

Windbridge Research Center. (2017). The potential therapeutic benefit of mediumship readings in the treatment of grief [Fact Sheet]. (PDF)

Windbridge Research Center. (2019). The four types of after-death communication experiences (ADCs) [Fact Sheet]. (PDF)

Peer-reviewed Articles

Beischel, J. (2019). Spontaneous, facilitated, assisted, and requested after-death communication experiences and their impact on grief. Threshold: Journal of Interdisciplinary Consciousness Studies, 3(1), 1–32. (PDF)

Beischel, J., Mosher, C. & Boccuzzi, M. (2014-2015). The possible effects on bereavement of assisted after-death communication during readings with psychic mediums: A continuing bonds perspective. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 70(2), 169–194. doi: 10.2190/OM.70.2.b (PDF)

Anthology Chapter