How should mental health professionals respond when children report experiences such as telepathy, precognitive dreams, encounters with spirits, past-life memories, or other exceptional experiences?
In this special interview for Mindfield: The Bulletin of the Parapsychological Association, we speak with Dr. Athena Drewes, licensed child psychologist, parapsychologist, and longtime researcher and advocate for children reporting exceptional experiences.
Drawing on more than 45 years of clinical experience working with children, adolescents, and families, Dr. Drewes discusses the intersection of child psychology, play therapy, trauma-informed care, and parapsychology. She shares insights from her own childhood experiences, her involvement in the pioneering dream research at Maimonides Medical Center, and her longstanding work supporting children and families navigating exceptional experiences.
Topics explored in this conversation include:
Dr. Drewes’s personal history with precognitive dreams and other exceptional experiences.
Her involvement in the Maimonides dream research program with Stanley Krippner and Charles Honorton.
How clinicians can respond ethically and compassionately to children reporting ESP, spirit encounters, past-life memories, and other anomalous experiences.
The importance of validation, openness, and avoiding premature pathologization.
Play therapy techniques, including sand tray work, puppets, and imaginative play.
Cultural and family influences on how children understand and communicate exceptional experiences.
The relationship between digital media, imaginative play, and childhood development.
The importance of balancing empirical research with qualitative and anecdotal accounts.
Emerging directions in clinical practice, research, and professional training.
Dr. Drewes also discusses her forthcoming edited volume, “Children’s Spirituality and Exceptional Experiences: A Clinician’s Guide.”
—
Dr. Athena Drewes is a licensed child psychologist and parapsychologist with over 45 years of clinical experience. She has conducted research on children’s ESP experiences, and worked with organizations including the Rhine Research Center and the Parapsychology Foundation.
Learn more about her work and resources:
https://perceptivechildren.org/
About Mindfield
Mindfield: The Bulletin of the Parapsychological Association is a publication dedicated to advancing scholarly dialogue and research on exceptional experiences, consciousness, and parapsychology.
Learn more:
https://mindfieldbulletin.org/
#Parapsychology #ChildPsychology #ExceptionalExperiences #PlayTherapy #ClinicalPsychology #ChildhoodExperiences #ESP #ConsciousnessStudies #MentalHealth
—
The Parapsychological Association is an international professional organization of scientists and scholars engaged in the study of psi (or ‘psychic’) experiences, such as telepathy, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, psychic healing, and precognition. The primary objective of the PA is to achieve a scientific understanding of these experiences.
Follow the PA: https://linktr.ee/parapsychologicalassociation
Donate to support the mission of the PA: https://donorbox.org/support-the-parapsychological-association
Published on November 12, 2026
