After Death Communication (ADC): Characteristics and Potential Effect

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I have written several articles concerning After Death Communications (ADC). The pieces drew on research done by the Pew Research Center. One article was an overview of the percentages of how many Americans believed in ADCs. Another article broke down percentages of believers by religious persuasion. Each article was widely viewed and elicited a large number of comments. I decided to dig further.

On October 27, of last year the publication Psychology Today published the article, After-Death Communication Experiences May Promote Healing. The author Linda S Austin M.D interviewed Dr. Susan Kwilecki, Professor Emeritus at Radford College. The professor identified these characteristics of an ADC.

• The spirit may manifest in a variety of ways, including speaking, touching, visions, odors, flickering lights, or an intuitive sense of presence.
• The contact usually happens within the first year of bereavement.
• The spirit is usually in a self-improved form, free of illness, injury, or aging as they were at the time of death.
• There is often a simple reassurance that the spirit of the deceased has survived and the relationship continues, and this reassurance is deeply comforting.
• One cannot “will” an ADC experience, nor do they necessarily occur in conventionally religious people.

She also agreed with the premise of the article that an ADC can have a profound psychological effect, often providing a sense of healing. Here is one of the several case studies from the article.

“Kurt, a counselor in Florida, had always wondered, ‘Why does my father hate me?’ The answer came, according to Kurt, in a visitation from the physically and emotionally abusive man shortly after his death. Crying, the ghost said he now regretted hurting his family . . . He had always loved Kurt, the dead man explained, but had been unable to show it because of his upbringing. After the spirit left, Kurt felt, he said, as if ‘a large weight had been lifted from my shoulders.’”

The Psychology Today article concluded with this thought from the author.

Dr. Kwilecki commented to me that the ADC seems to tap into a deeply unconscious capacity to heal. While that may be true, it begs the question of why we therapists have to work so hard to access that capacity in therapy.

What do you think?

Are ADCs comforting? Do they aid in healing?

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